Journal Entry #5

          

      At first, I was kind of dreading having to take Colloquium. Being a Resort and Hospitality Management major, I don't really often think about the environment. But after taking this course, my outlook has completely changed. I was forced to think about nature and I feel like it has been such a benefit to me. Due to the first essay, I began to remember my childhood spent outdoors and helped me gather a sense of place. What has especially made me feel more connected to my environment has been the campus trail walk and the class field trips, they have made me learn so much about my surroundings because of those opportunities. If it wasn't for the trail walk, I would have never known about how pretty it was. The field trips also helped me be more knowledgeable about interesting places that are so close, that I seem to take for granted. I really enjoyed the field trip to downtown Fort Myers because it is a place that I have always liked so much. Learning what I have on that field trip (such as the Buffalo Soldiers and Thomas Edison) has made me like that area so much more. I also learned so much about animals. Before this course, I wasn't so knowledgeable about birds but Colloquium has changed that for me. For example, I particularly thought it was so interesting about the wood stork, and how they catch fish by wiggling their toes and extending their wings out to make shade. While snakes aren't something that I really care for, learning about the pythons that seem to be all over in this area was actually interesting (and a little scary!). I feel really grateful that I had the chance to take this course because it helped me to learn so much about my environment and it turned about to be such a fascinating course!

Word Count: 315

Journal Entry #4

By taking this Colloquium course, I have found that I have learned so much about our local species. Prior to this class, I never knew some of the things that I do now which makes me feel really happy that I was required to take Colloquium.

Some of them include the animals...

                American Alligator: Seen at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; their babies have a yellowish color.

               Lubber Grasshopper: Seen at Corkscrew; they make loud noises.

                Woodpecker: Seen (and heard) at Corkscrew; they have sticky tongues that can get the bugs out of the holes they drill in the trees.

(found at animals.nationalgeographic.com)

                Golden orb weaver: Spiders at Corkscrew that create webs that are stabilized by white zigzags.

(found at wikipedia.org)

Others are trees, plants, and flowers...

                Banyan trees: Seen in Downtown Fort Myers in front of the courthouse; they are exotic trees that become invasive, and their roots can grow down and crack water pipes.

                Red mangroves: Seen on Fort Myers Beach; they are the mangroves that are always closest to the water and have pointed leaves and smooth bark.

                Sea grapes: Seen on Fort Myers Beach; they can be used to make jelly.

(found at tradewindsfruit.com)

                Marsh sunflower: Seen at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; they bloom every other year.

                Strangler figs: At Corkscrew; they are vines that live on bald cypress trees and can grow from the ground up to another tree.

 

                Strap fern: Ferns seen at Corkscrew that resemble the straps on a purse.

                Resurrection fern: Ferns at both Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and on Estero Island; they "die" when it's dry and come back to life once they get water from rain.

(found at biosurvey.ou.edu)

                Alligator flags: At Corkscrew; they are plants that go up to 12 feet and shake when alligators go through the water and touch the stems.

 

                Miracle Fruit: Fruit that is at ECHO that, when eaten, can make everything taste sweet.

(found at tropicalfruitnursery.com)

                Cabbage (sabal) palm: Can be found on the FGCU campus and Downtown Fort Myers; they have boots that stick out where little animals can live in and also, there is a festival called the Swamp Cabbage Festival in Labelle each February for these types of trees.

 

                Slash pines: Can be seen both on campus and at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; when the pinecones on the trees become hot, they explode.

Word count: 375

Journal Entry #3

 

My favorite field trip for this course has to be the one to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. For me, it was such a new experience and so interesting to learn about some of the history it has, such as the plume feather hunters. I never knew before that the feathers that women used in their hats a long time ago came from birds that were located in this area. I also thought it was so interesting about the WWI soldiers who were coming home, and used the cypress trees from that area to build such things as railroads. A plus for me was being able to see the alligators. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always really loved alligators, so seeing the baby ones and even hearing what might have been a really big one jumping into the water was really exciting for me. Learning about the alligator flags was really interesting as well, especially learning about how when they would shake, that would serve as a warning to those going through those waters a long time ago that an alligator was near. Even though I have always been really scared of spiders, seeing the golden orb weaver was actually really neat. My favorite part was the wet prairie area and some of the trees there, like the red maple and especially getting to see the marsh sunflower. Being that there were photo journalists going all the way out there just to get a picture of it made me feel like seeing that in person made it a really unique experience. What I also learned and thought was really cool was the 'Living Machine.' It is so interesting that they have come up with a way that will re-use and recycle the water, making it a sustainable way to go about sewage systems.

Word count: 306

               

Journal Entry #2

            I thought that the field trip to ECHO was so fascinating. It was interesting to see all of the different animals they had (like the goats and ducks), all with a purpose that helped out the farm, and also all the different ways the crops were planted in different climates. The ones that stood out to me were the mountainside section, the urban garden, and the hot/humid lowlands. I thought the mountainside garden was so different because I never realized that crops could grow in such an area. The urban garden section was so exciting to me because I thought how they can use objects like tires, shallow pools, and even filing cabinets to grow plants in was so creative. The hot/humid lowlands was interesting to learn about because of their technique in how to grow the rice. I thought that it was so fascinating that they did a comparison of each, the first with just one seed being planted at a time and the other in dampen, higher ground. Another part that stood out to me was the appropriate technology area. It was so intriguing to see the inventions like the rope maker and the water pumps for irrigating. The shacks located in the urban garden area was something that really stuck with me. It made me grateful for the life I have and also feel so bad for the people that have to live in them every day. I really admire what ECHO does for those living in under developed countries and are less fortunate. Being that their mission is to help feed those that are hungry, I think it's amazing that they give them the knowledge and resources, such as seeds, to know how to grow their own crops. This way the knowledge of how to grow their own food is so beneficial as it can be handed down to future generations.

Word Count: 315

Journal Entry #1

 

                A lot of my time spent as a child growing up was outside. My childhood neighborhood is in a little town called Muse, which is located right outside of Labelle, Florida. There was nothing really around my childhood home, except for a little country store down the street and a huge orange grove that was right behind my house. My brother and I would walk through the grove so many times when we were children and I can still remember when I would be outside, all I could smell would be oranges and orange blossoms. There was a big empty field that was next door that I would spend a lot of time wandering around, whether it was trying to ride a bike through or climbing the trees. Across the street was a huge cow pasture that my neighbor and I used to walk to and visit the cows every so often. There was also a horse stable near the cow pasture where my dad kept one of his horses, so my family and I would spend a lot of time over there riding horses. In my front yard was a big oak tree that I used to spend a lot of time around, trying to either unsuccessfully climb it or just swinging around on a rope swing that my dad tied to one of the sturdy branches. My dad worked at a vegetable farm just a few minutes away and would often take my brother and I along to work with him to show us what kinds of crops were growing or what animals were out there, like deer, alligators, or panthers. Even though I have since moved away to Lehigh Acres, my time spent as a child in Muse will always be my favorite and have turned out to be such amazing memories.

Word Count: 305