Debriefing Summary

                This course allowed me to start exploring the important environmental issues such as over fishing, global climate change, world hunger, and oil drilling that a lot of political professions debate. With the 2012 presidential election just around the corner a lot of these issues may/will come up and now I will know the hidden truths about the subjects and with this knowledge I will be able to vote accordingly. I will also be able to help my community by getting involved and raising awareness about these issues.

                Academically this course has helped me with my writing and editing skills. I am very grateful for the opportunity of resubmitting paper 2. I had never been to the writing center before that time and the ladies there taught me quite a bit about what to do and how to make my paragraphs flow easily.

This course is very much related to my major and future profession. After college I would very much like to pursue a career in rescue and rehabilitation for marine animals as well as their environments. If global climate change and overfishing continue down the fast path they are headed, this job will be extremely difficult to do.

                I really enjoyed going to the field trips and learning what each had to offer. My favorite field trip was Ding Darling because I was able to share the experience with my family as well as learning about the reservation.

                Overall this course was very interesting and brought awareness to me that will definitely help me now and later in life with my future profession.

Downtown Fort Myers Field Trip Reflection

I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt at Downtown Fort Myers. I was able to read about how the area was developed and used. I walked around the area for about three hours; it was somewhat hard to find the answers to the scavenger hunt questions. Most of the questions were grouped together so that if you found one you were close to finding another one, but some of the questions seemed to have jumped around. I tried really hard to find the business that had the sword of Excalibur but I was not able to. I would walk around in search of one particular question but ended up not being quite successful in doing so. My scavenger hunt may have been more successful if I was able determined the “start” and “end” to finding the answers to all the questions.

                I’ve never been down to the downtown area and it was certainly a hot summer day and of course once again I went in the middle of the day when it is the hottest. When I was down there I found out that they have events every month such as art walk and music walk. During the art walk, you can walk around downtown and look at different types of art and if desired you may be able to purchase them as well. During music walk, bands from the community sign up to perform for those strolling by. I would very much like to go down on these nights with my friends to see this for myself, it seems fun and like a good way to spend an evening. 

Untold Stories of Downtown Fort Myers

By watching the Untold Stories videos about Ft. Myers, I learned quite a bit about the area I now live in. Fort Myers was originally named Fort Henry and was a small military outpost for the second and third Seminole war and was also used as a Northern Fort in the War Between the States. The name was changed Fort Myers after a Lutenit Colonel who held the rank of captain and was engaged to the general’s daughter, so the fort was named for a man in love. Downtown Fort Myers is where the old fort once stood. The area was originally considered to be in Monroe County and the first permanent settlers to come to Fort Myers came from Key West in 1866. The first school was then built in the early 1880’s but a few kids decided to burn it down. In 1884 the first newspaper was established in and in 1887 the area became known as Lee County. Thomas Edison was one of the first famous people to come to the area in search of Bamboo and when he found it he immediately bought 13 acres of land and built his estate. Henry Ford then came to Fort Myers to visit his friend and mentor Edison. The first railroad system opened in 1904 and in the early 1920’s the movement from rail to trail began when the trailblazers created a trail from Tampa to Miami. Downtown was a very crowded and busy place on Saturdays when everyone had the day off. In 1947 the Edison estate was bought by the city for uses in education. Before the Second World War baseball teams came to Fort Myers for spring training, such as the Pittsburg Pirates, the Boston Red Sox, and the Minnesota Twins. In the 1950’s after the war many people came and settled in the area, mostly retirees, and the area became a real tourist market. After hurricane Donna came in 1960 the area was badly damaged and became a quiet town until after the repairs were made. Also in 1960 the movement away from downtown began when shopping plazas were built and the opening of Edison mall. Lee County was one of the last counties in the country to fully become integrated among whites and blacks. At this time Edison Community College was the first higher education in the county then in 1997 came the first four year university, FGCU. The Barbra B Mann Hall brings much cultural performances to the community and the children’s education. Also the Imagination used for teaching children about science and technology furthers the community’s tourism.

                I really enjoyed learning about the Edison – Ford estates in this video. I went there when I was in the fifth grade with my class for a field trip. Back then I did not pay too much attention to what was going on because I was more excited about not having to sit and read or write in the classroom. I was more excited about being on a field trip than to actually pay attention to what was around me. I would love to go back again now to fully understand what is like in the Edison household. 

Service Learning Hours Reflection

          I did all ten of my service learning hours at the Food Forest located on campus by the Welcome Center. My hours consisted of two days of work for five hours each. My first day I dug up soil to create a walkway so that a wheel chair may be able to go through once the forest is complete. There were so many people at the site my first day and I was able to talk too many of them about University Colloquium and how our classes were the same and how they were different. The Backyard Farmers club was the organization running this event and site. A member by the name of Erica informed me and a few other people about what the organization’s plans were for the site. She said that they hoped to have the food forest ready by the time school started in the fall and that once every plant was ripe students, faculty, and community members will be able to walk through the forest and pick and eat anything you want. I thought this was such a wonderful idea to bring here to FGCU. We all had smiles on our faces while we were thinking about eating ripe fruit and vegetables. She then said that many of the plants they will have there will be exotic and some will be toxic if the fruit is picked and eaten at the wrong time. This concerned me, how would we know if something was alright to eat? Erica informed me that there will be signs along the pathway with information about each plant and when their fruit is safe to eat. The second time I went to the Food Forest there were not that many people as there was the first day. This time I was flattening the huge beds of compacted soil by using pitchforks and a wheelbarrow. This experience took a lot of hard work and patients. The first day when I began working in the morning I worked so fast that by the time two hours came around I was so exhausted I quickly learned for the next time I came to take my time and to stay hydrated. Overall, I enjoyed my time at the Food Forest and meeting new people. 

ECHO Field Trip June 28, 2011

I went to ECHO on June 28, 2011 for their 10 am guided tour. I found the cause of their organization to be very incredible. They train people from other countries to grow crops and to provide for themselves. We usually hear and see people giving and sending food and provisions to other countries but this organization sees past that and truly helps those in need. ECHO was constructed in Southwest Florida because the region can grow a variety of crops that would grow in other countries all over the world. They have the second largest seed bank in the entire United States besides the Department of Agriculture. My tour guide Vic Estoye is a volunteer at the farm and was very knowledgeable about everything they do there.

                I learned what that there are two types of bamboo, there is running bamboo and there is bunching bamboo. Running bamboo is the type you do not want to plant near your house, it will spread all over your backyard, into your neighbor’s yard and it can even spread right into your house, the bunching type is the one you want. Bamboo is also the fastest growing sustainable crop used for construction.

                One of the most interesting pieces of information that I learned at ECHO was how to sterilize water. You can place water into a plastic bottle and let it sit outside in the day time for six hours and the increased water temperatures will destroy the water pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and protozoans.

                While walking on the tour I noticed that some of the planting beds were raised and some were sunken. Vic said that the beds that were raised are good in regions where there are a lot of monsoons so that the crop does not get flooded and washed away. The beds that were sunken in are good to protect the crops from harsh winds and dry land.

                The ECHO organization provides valuable assistance to those in poor nations. It is so important for people to learn how to provide for themselves and their families. It is also good to understand how your local environment works so that you can utilize it and care for it wisely. 

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Field Trip June 11, 2011

I went to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on June 11, 2011 around one o’ clock in the afternoon. I asked the woman at the front desk where I could find the living machine. She explained to me that the living machine was located in a room on the left before exiting the building. She also mentioned that it has been under maintenance since she started her job last December; I was not able to view it. After my trip I read about the living machine and read that it was a series of steps used to clean and conserve water.

                As I began walking on the trail I noticed a series of trail signs that later on helped me understand everything I was looking at on my trip. The Pine Flatwoods are right at the beginning of the trail. They need control burning in order to stay healthy and so that other plants do not crowd them making them disappear. The Pine Flatwoods support the slash pine, saw palmetto and native grasses. As local populations grow they leave less and less areas for the Pine Flatwoods to grow. Slash pines got their name because early pioneers would cut a slash in the tree to use the sap for pine tar, and oils found in disinfectant, insecticide, and turpentine.

                The hardwood hammock tends to have interiors that are shaded and more humid providing a great environment for small birds, lizards, and mammals.

                The pond cypress grows in still waters and is harvested for qualities that are desirable for railroad ties, docks, bridges, and boat building.

                The coastal plain willow is the only naturally occurring willow in Florida and if it is not controlled by fires it can take over an area hovering over native marshes and prairie plants. The willow’s leaves and inner bark contains salicylic acid which is commonly found in aspirin. Many Native American cultures took advantage of the trees and plants for medical purposes.

                Lichens are found on eight percent of the earth’s surface vegetation and are good indicators of air pollution because they are sensitive to sulfur dioxide and chlorine.

                Cypress knees grow upwards from the ground from the cypress’ wide spreading root system. They provide additional support in unstable soils which help the tree to withstand strong winds.

                An ecotone is where two different habitats meet. They are critical for courtship, mating, and foraging for food. This was located near the overlook also known as stop number nine on the trail.

                I found the strangler fig to be very interesting because of what they look like. They look like a tall tree with many vines shooting down the tree but really they are roots that are growing down the tree. These roots hug the tree’s trunk so close that it appears as though they are strangling it.

                When I arrived at the lettuce lakes I was a bit disappointed because there was barely any water. I saw alligators in a tiny little puddle of water, and they looked miserable. I later asked the woman at the front desk why there was no water. She informed me that I had come at the wrong time of the year and that the water is usually drained from the lettuce lakes in the beginning of the spring because the temperatures begin to rise and little rainfall is occurring. The lakes begin to come back in the summer and fall times when there is heavy rainfall.

                  I saw a nursery log towards the end of the trail. A nursery trail is usually a cypress tree that has fallen down and ferns quickly take root and provide nourishment for other plants, insects, mammals, reptiles, and birds.

                I noticed that there was a different trail that is open when the other one is not while walking on the boardwalk. This trail was closed off when storks were nesting. I read of why this is so after my visit and it is because the wood stork has struggled for survival and that the sanctuary has the largest historic colony of nesting storks in the nation.

                I saw many lizards and many birds on this trip but my favorite sighting was of the alligators. This trip was a hot one especially since I had come at the wrong part of the day. I learned an extremely valuable lesson on this trip and that was to wear bug spray. I got bit up like crazy, which then turn out to be an allergic reaction the next day. Overall I liked this field trip because I was able to go at my own pace and actually read all the signs that described what everything was.