Matanzas Pass

I was unable to attend the Matanzas Pass field trip due to being put on bed rest by the doctor. I loved visiting Fort Myers and Bonita beach as a teenager and now with my husband and children.

Matanzas Pass Preserve is located on the seven-mile long barrier island on Fort Myers Beach, FL. It is a 60 acre preserve. It's one of the few undeveloped, protected areas on the island. It allows visitors a way to view the real Estero Island before it became the popular beach resort we know it as now. There are three natural plant communities in the preserve which are the mangrove swamp, maritime hammock and coastal grassland. A boardwalk and trail system connects all of these plant communities. When you walk it, it offers an opportunity to view the communities. The Matanazas Pass Preserve also offers many educational opportunities including guided walks, tours led by an ethnobotanist, volunteer training, and stress detox tours. 

Corkscrew Reflection

Our trip to Corkscrew was fun and educational, although the field trips got harder and harder for me being now 7 and 1/2 months pregnant. It definitely got harder and harder to concentrate as well. Corkscrew has a bald cypress forest. pine flatwood, wet prairie, pond cypress, marsh,  and lettuce lakes. Just before we got to see a water moccasin. It was cool because it brought back many memories. When I lived in Jacksonville, FL with my mom and dad, we had a canal and acres of woods beyond our backyard. As kids we would run through the woods and wade in the canals with the black water moccasins - very  poisonous snakes. One time, a mother's eggs hatched in our yard and we had dozens of babies everywhere. My dad frantically tried to get them out of the yard. I remember the dramatics of the situation like it was yesterday. My favorite part of Corkscrew was lettuce lakes though. We saw a mother alligator with her babies. Then just past we saw an alligator eating fish or frogs. He was catching something and he was surrounded by beautiful white birds.

Sustainable Pot Luck

Sustainable Pot Luck

For the sustainable pot luck in class, I brought organic carrots, organic salad dressing, and ranch veggie dip. The carrots and salad dressing were organic and had sustainable ingredients. These items could have been more sustainable if they were purchased at a local producer. The ranch veggie dip had canola oil which has GMO's and the organic food can not contain GMO's. 

According to my True Food app on my iPhone, certified organic products are not allowed to use GMO's in their ingredients. Otherwise, you want to look for labels tat specifically state non-GMO. The True Food app has a GMO guide with various types of food you eat discussing what to watch out for.

I am continuing to use the suggestions I learn in Colloquium as well as my True Food app when I am purchasing food for my family. It even has suggestions on which infant formulas to avoid. I want my family and our soon-to-be new addition to have the most healthy, sustainable foods.

ECHO

My overall opinion of ECHO was positive. I feel like they are truly making a difference in a variety of ways. What stood out was the different tools they have designed to save money on cleaning water and cooking. I found several of the techniques very interesting. I enjoyed seeing the water pumps, especially the one that looked like a bike - exercise and pump water at the same time. Of course, my favorite part of ECHO was the cute mommy goat pregnant like me!

I would definitely be interested in volunteering for my service learning hours at ECHO. I do not know much about farming or planting. I am not very good at it but I would love to learn. I think it would be beneficial to pass skills such as this on to my children in helping them learn about sustainability.

You Can Always Go - Downtown!

DOWNTOWN

The song, "Downtown" by Petula Clark evokes emotions of downtown being a get-away. It tells us downtown can be a refuge to let go of all your worries. Downtown has become more populated and not as well-liked in people's minds. Some think it is too busy and others think the area is not safe in many big cities.

DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS

 Fort Myers is still considered experiencing something of a renaissance because the older downtown area and  historic districts have retained much of their old charm and architectural features. Fort Myers was one of the first forts built along the Caloosahatchee River as a base of operations against the Seminole Indians. During the 1870's, two general stores, a school and a number of private homes were built. Now it is over-poulated and over-crowded. A statue called "Uncommon Friend"s in Centennial Park depicts Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone on a camping trip. They are in camping suits which we would consider 9 to 5 work dress today. The statues and fun buildings with unique articheture are designed to rekindle the pedestrian spirit. Downtown Fort Myers is sustainable in the buildings they have preserved from the past. They still have sustainable plants and other aspects downtown, for example, in the courtyard behind Hotel Indigo.

  

Eco-Footprint

According to my eco-footprint calculationns, I am not as eco-friendly as I should be. If everyone lived in a similar lifestyle as me, we would need 5.1 earths to provide enough resources. If I cut the amount of meat I eat in half, it would reduce my eco-footprint to 4.6. If I used products that used less packaging, it would reduce my eco-footprint to 4.7. I could also try to car pool more, drive less miles, and use energy in my house more efficiently. There are always ways we can be more ec-friendly.

Here is a link to Calculate your Eco-Footprint!

Climate Change - Anthropogenic or Natural?

     I feel like climate change is a little anthropogenic and a little natural. I took the information I will discuss according to a study scientists did at Stockholm University as well the IPCC, Fourth report. According to a study scientists performed at Stockholm University, changes in the sun's output and volcanic erruption on earth may be the partial cause of climate change. They used data from the ocean and lake bottoms, ince sheets, caves, and annual tree rings. 

 

      According to the IPCC, Fourth Report, human activity has increase the proportion of greenhouse gases. Carbon emissions seem to have increased with population increase.
     In the media, climate change is portrayed as a startling issue to the human race that will eliminate us if we do not make certain changes. Personally, I have never researched what I can do to help climate change until taking Colloquium at FGCU. I am not sure my children or grandchildren will see many effects of climate change as it seems to be a rather slow process. However, I do believe over the course of time, we will regret not paying more attention to helping the environment.