ECHO

Another great field trip for the books! Though I had been to ECHO once before in high school, I still learned so much and felt inspired by all the amazing things ECHO is doing to help communities around the world. We first walked around and area that was focused on all the technologies and sustainable practices that ECHO teaches to improve the lives of people around the world. An example of this is the wells and water transportation systems that can be used to make everyday life easier for women and children. Also, we learned how it is possible to make bricks out of used plastic and other discarded materials. This allows people in impoverished areas to take the litter that is polluting their environment and use it to make effective and cheap shelters. These techniques are so important because they improve the quality of life for those living in poverty in a sustainable way that will carry on for generations. 

The second half of our field trip was devoted to exploring the Global Farm. We learned about unique, useful, and practical plants that can be grown in a variety of climates like neem and moringa. Agribusiness and homogenous farming have been very dangerous for global biodiversity since only a handful of plants make up the vast majority of all plants that are farmed, such as corn and soybeans. As we learned in our reading this semester, biodiversity is very important to sustainability for many reasons including recovery for natural disasters and protection from diseases. By teaching impoverished communities how to grow and farm these plants ECHO is giving them a way to feed their family and hopefully make money off their crops. 

Lee County Waste to Energy

Our class trip to Lee County’s Waste to Energy facility was informative as well as inspiring. Learning about how the county is able to turn trash into energy with out emitting any harmful substances into the air completely blew my mind and made me wonder why everyone doesn’t utilize this process. I live in Collier County and it completely baffles me that Collier is still using a landfill after seeing that great success the neighboring county has had with a waste to energy facility. 

The gentleman that spoke to our class informed us of two reasons that limit other areas from building a similar facility. One reason is that Americans have a very bad impression of the trash burning processes because a while back, incinerators were used to dispose of trash and were very harmful to human health and diminished air quality. However, the waste to energy plant has a scrubbing process that eliminated the toxic smoke that an incinerator would emit. The second reason is that they are very expensive to build, but the great thing about them is that they generate power which brings in money to the county so after a while the pay for themselves. 

The waste to energy facility is such a great example of sustainability because it employs all three aspects that we read about in out text and talked about in class. The text states that in order for something to be sustainable it has to consider economy, equality, and ecology. This process definitely does that by eliminating waste that would otherwise be polluting the environment, making money for the county through energy generation, and creating better jobs for those that might otherwise have to work in a landfill. 

Six Mile Cypress

Our class trip to Six Mile Cypress Slough was such an unexpectedly empowering experience. Learning about how The Monday Group, a group of regular students, was able to take action and protect/restore a huge plot of land really goes to show that every citizen can make a difference in their community. Our trip also opened my eyes to how much beauty this area protects. We saw many unique wading birds, a massive cypress tree, two cottonmouth snakes together guarding their nest, and many beautiful wetland plants. I almost felt like a child again experiencing all of this for the first time, which remanded be about the Sense of Wonder we did earlier in the year.

The best thing about this protected area is that the entire city can reap the benefits of its ecosystem services. Six Mile Cypress provides cleaner air, biodiversity, land for animals to live on so they encounter humans less, groundwater regeneration, and decreases flood damage. All of these services are provided to us for free buy the natural world around them. But if we over develop and lose those services, what would it cost for humans to replicate them? We learned about these concepts from the reading on Economics in our text book and the truth is that it would cost an astronomical amount for humans to replicate these ecosystem service. That is way many are saying that natural lands should not just be valued at the normal property values but inflated to include the value of the services they provide. 

Six Mile Cypress in a wonderful sanctuary full of so much beauty but also a priceless asset to those around it who benefit from the clean air, water, and protection it provides. 

Vester Marine Station

Our class trip to Vester was so much fun. My favorite part of the trip was when we were able to get out of the canoe and enjoy the cool water. It was an extremely hot morning so the water felt amazing. I also enjoyed seeing the wildlife we encountered during our trip. Though we didn’t see any manatees or dolphins, we did see so ibis and a great blue heron. I also loved bonding with my class mates and learning about how amazing and vital estuaries are for our environment.  

Our field guides taught us that mangrove trees are defined as a tree that can with stand high saline conditions. There are three different types of mangrove trees that live on the coasts of Southwest Florida: red, black, and white mangroves.  These trees preform five main ecosystem services that are invaluable and prove that they need to be protected. Mangroves maintain soil integrity by preventing erosion, act as nurseries for marine organisms, remove CO2 from the air through photosynthesis, maintain the balance of salt in coastal waters, and act as a barrier by protecting the coasts from storms. 

I already knew a bit about mangroves, but I was surprised to learn about their different methods of dealing with salt and how important their salt uptake is to maintain the balance of salt in the water. This fact reminded me of the reading we did on water quality and what a problem pollution has become. If we continue to clear mangroves for human development our water quality issues will only become worse and worse. 

Your Relationship With Nature

I grew up in a household that knew how important it was for children to learn about and enjoy nature. All throughout my childhood I have memories of beach trips, nature trails, running around in the park, and playing outside with friends. I was even in 4H and WHEP (National Wildlife Habitat Education Program). I never had any fear of animals and would pick up frogs, lizards, and worms without a second thought. I also took it upon myself to rescue any animal I could. One great example of this is the time when a fog laid eggs in my kiddy pool and 4-year-old me absolutely refused to let my dad dump out the tadpoles. So, they lived in a bucket on our porch until they all grew up. All of these experiences lead me to have a deep love and appreciation for nature and I have carried that with me into adult hood. 

             Since nature has played such a big role in my life and development, this class and the readings we are doing are incredibely interesting to me. Specifically, the Nature Deficit Disorder reading we did. I was fortunate to grow up in a place with an abundance of unurbanized landscape to enjoy and in a time when iPhones and computers didn’t suck away all my time. The same cannot be said for today’s youth and the lack of exposure to nature is having drastic consequences on their health and ability to learn. I hope this is a wakeup call for our society and we will see a resurgence of families that know the value of a child’s relationship to the natural world. 

Campus trails and sustainability at FGCU

Our class trip through campus and the trails was so much more than I was expecting. I had heard that FGCU was taking measures to be eco-friendly, but I had no idea just how much they were doing. Everything from the trashcans to how the buildings were build was done with the environment in mind. I was truly surprised to learn about the air conditioning system on campus that cools air at night to save energy and cycles it through most buildings on campus. Another fact I was surprised to learn was that there are tunnels connecting the ponds all around FGCU so aquatic animals are not isolated and (if they are semi-aquatic) can move to new environments without having to walk across campus. 

After our tour of the main campus came our dreaded walk through the submerged trails. When were first walked into the trails we found ourselves in a beautiful oak hammock ecosystem that immediately reminded me of the readings I had done the night before. I was filled with the sense of wonder that Rachel Carson had written about and I felt a peace and healing that I rarely get to experience anymore since I grew up and stopped spending time outdoors. 

Next, we walked deeper into the trails and before long we were sloshing through knee deep water. As our guide Taylor educated us on problems facing the ecosystems we were walking through I realized how severe the problem of knowledge extinction is. This area has change so much so quickly that even I can remember a time when things were different. Native plants and animals are suffering at the hands of humans, invasive species, and climate change but it is all happening so slowly that we are not as alarmed as we should be.