Field Trip #3- Anne Kolb Nature Center -Hollywood,FL

The field trip to the Anne Kolb Nature Center was very informative and a great experience. As I am also completing my service-learning component at the Anne Kolb Nature Center, I was aware of the facilities offered and was aware of where the trails were. However, I have never been on the 3 trails they have and I was dumbfounded from the breathtaking views I saw along the trails. First off, the seawater tides advance inward and mingle with inland fresh water in the transition between land and sea. Also, the mangrove ecosystem represents a very diverse assemblage of uniquely adapted plants and animals. I first walked along the Lake Observation trail which happened to be my favorite of the three. At first sight, the vegetation appeared to be a monotonous tangle of branches and roots but it means survival to many wild creatures. There were also many red and black mangroves and the red mangrove, with its broad canopy and submerged based, crosses terrestrial and marine environments. The black mangroves are well adapted to growing in saline-saturated soils and are found at elevations that are covered by high tide but exposed at low tide.

The second trail, mud flat trail had mud flats that occur along waterways that are affected by the tides. Birds were the primary users of the mud flat for feeding and resting and herons and egrets wade in the shallows. As I started walking along the third trail, there was a construction sign posted that said not to proceed as it is a construction zone. I think that I will visit more preserves like this in the future as I really had a great time and experience at the Anne Kolb nature center. My thoughts on using tax dollars for land preservation is great in a way that there are natural areas where people actually can come, relax and enjoy nature. It gives us the opportunity to get away from other things and in return our tax dollars are actually put to good cause rather than replacing or paving a road that was just done a few years ago. I think that our tax dollars are put to waste in a lot of other areas that are completely unnecessary during an economic recession but land preservation should be a requirement. This program and nature center is something good and beneficial, so I support it 100%.

I had a great overall impression of the trip and will definitely return someday in the future especially when considering its location and the benefits of the center. The lake observation trail which had 1,231 foot boardwalk was my favorite part of the trip along with the 5 story, 68 feet tall observation tower. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable walk (despite the 95 degree heat) and it was very interesting to see all of the mangroves. I am thankful for the opportunity given as without this requirement, I would not have visited the trails and would have never seen and learned as much as I did today.

Note: All photos included in this post have been taken by myself or the my brother (the person taking pictures of me).

Field Trip #2: Woodmont Natural Area

The second field trip for this course was Corkscrew Swamp, however as I reside outside of SW Florida, I was forced to get an alternative place pre-approved by Professor Davis. Unfortunately, there weren’t any locations that fit the criteria in my area but there was one about 35 min from my house and that was the Woodmont Natural Area in Tamarac, FL. My experience at the Woodmont Natural Area was excellent as I really enjoyed the field trip as there was so much to see and it was really relaxing. Woodmont natural area is about 21.1 acres and the habitat is pine Flatwoods and cypress stand. Some of the species that can be found in the area are hawks, various wood warblers, owls, woodpeckers, and wading birds. My favorite part of the trip was walking up the boardwalk and watching the amazing view of all the trees and animals.

As I arrived at the park, I immediately noticed the entrance to the park and there was a large sign there (see picture below) with the park rules, brief history and a trail map. The first thing that came to mind was how clean and organized the place was with many signs, benches and it was constructed excellent. As I began walking through the area, the second sign read “Woodmont Wildlife” (see picture below) and that discussed the variety of birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles and amphibians present at the area. Two of the largest and most secretive birds that I encountered were the Great Horned Owl and the Pilieated woodpecker. There were also a variety of butterflies and along the canal banks, there are a variety of water birds present and they are fish, frogs, and turtles. There was a sign that said some mammals that have been observed at Woodmont are the gray fox, raccoon, opossum and armadillo.

Towards the end of the trail, I came across the Cypress Basin swamp and there was a sign that gave some very informative insight of the swamp and what I can expect to see in it (see picture below for more details). I really enjoyed my experience at the Woodmont natural area and the only thing that I disliked was the heat (I went during the afternoon) and the lack of a water fountain in order to keep hydrated. Coming in, I didn’t know what to expect but as I left, I gained a lot of knowledgeable information about the natural area.

I would definitely visit the Woodmont Natural area again as it was very serene. It would be easy for anyone to visit the area and have an idea what to look for as the signs and boards are very helpful and it is truly just an incredible experience for people of all ages and all backgrounds. I personally wish I was educated and had the opportunity to visit places like this growing up but factors like growing up in a large city and not taking a course like this never provided me with this opportunity. Places like the Woodmont natural area are very important and need to be supported and kept up in order to create a similar opportunity for people who try to visit in 10 or 20 years from now. This is the primary reason behind my service-learning project as I will volunteer for the Anne Kolb Nature center (if approved by Professor Davis).

Our Environment in the News- Why deep-water oil spills do their damage deep down?

After reading the news today, I came across a interesting article about the recent oil spill in the Gulf Coast and the impact it is having on our environment today. This course has already educated me on a variety of topics and my awareness level has increased to be on the lookout for environment articles in the news. Here is the link to the article for anyone interested in learning more: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18927-why-deepwater-oil-spills-do-their-damage-deep-down.html

Packaging- All of the items I handle in 1 day and their packaging

Some of the things I handle everyday and their packaging is as follows:

Textbooks: In a plastic bag
Cell phone: came in a box with all the parts separately wrapped in plastic bags with card board and Styrofoam inserts in it.
Toothbrush: Plastic container
Food: Paper or Plastic packaging
Toothpaste: Came in a bag
Backpack- Plastic bag
Body Wash- Plastic bottle
Shoes: Paper box
Clothes: Plastic shopping bag
Laptop- came in a plastic bag in a cardboard box with a lot of cardboard, Styrofoam and paper directions
Drinks- Plastic bottles or paper cups

As a lot of things require packaging, we typically do not realize nor are aware of how we gain possession of certain items and often throw it away without even looking or using it. We always take more napkins than we really need and almost always carry fewer items in more bags. As a lot of energy and water goes into the production process and packaging that comes with nearly every product that we buy, we as consumers need to be more cautious of where we shop and how we do it. When it comes to purchasing, I do not consider myself as being the most sustainable person but gaining awareness of this will help me in the long run to consider others when using a product. If everyone made a conscious choice to purchase items that are packaged sustainably, the world would be a completely different place. A lot of wasted energy and water go into making plastic items, and if people took the time to notice the damage that they are doing, we will be a much better place in the future.

Till next time…

Water Usage- Do you really know how much water we all really use?

The following information are estimates of the amount of water I use in a 24 hour time period:

Garbage Disposal: 40 gallons
Dishwasher: 12 gallons
Toilet Flushing: 30 gallons
Bathing: 36 gallons
Laundry: 43 gallons
Brushing Teeth: 4 gallons
Shower: 60 gallons

Total Water Usage: 225 Gallons
I knew coming in that I use an outrageous amount of water per day as I shower a minimum of 3 times per day due to my physical activity and by drinking a lot of water, I am also flushing the toilet a lot. I definitely think that there is a lot of room for improvement in water conservation and how I can take shorter showers and do laundry less frequently to do my job in conserving water. If every person does a small part in making a conscious effort to be aware of how much water they are using and wasting, we can all make a huge difference. I know that my biggest problem is I do not pay for the way and I seem to “waste” a lot of it but my the knowledge gained over the past week of this course has made me change my perception on how to conserve and become a better individual to this planet.

Food Intake- How much food do I really consume?

Cereal with Milk: 150 calories
Banana: 105 calories
Fruit Bowl: 100 calories
1 Protein Shake: 150 calories
1 Recovery Shake: 200 calories
Orange chicken with rice: 500 calories
2 Gallons of Water
Dinner Meal: 700 calories
Yogurt: 65 calories

Estimated Calorie Intake: Approximately 1900 calories

As I am an athlete who plays tennis and is on a fitness program at the moment, I probably consumer a bit more calories than indicated above. I do consume a lot of water and this is simply to keep me hydrated as I do about 2- 2.5 hours of fitness per day in the hot Florida heat. The majority of my meals are environment friendly as my protein powder is a huge tub which is later recycled, the water is also recycled and I consume a lot fruit daily, typically a minimum of 3-4 servings. I keep a close eye to stay away from excessive unnecessary packaging.

Fuel Intake

I will base the following information based on the amount of fuel I use in one day throughout the school year (Aug- April). The following numbers are based on a typical roundtrip.

To FGCU: 2 Miles
To Dinner: 3 Miles
To a store (ie. Publix): 6 Miles
Total gas mileage for a day: 11 Miles
Estimated Miles Per Year (based on all travels): 8,000 Miles

Besides for the fact with the inflated prices for gasoline, majority of Americans seek ways of saving gas by purchasing small cars, using hybrid cars or carpooling. I personally keep a close eye on this as fuel intake is a major concern for me as I have the opportunity to carpool whenever possible with my roommates so gas isn’t utilized by everyone individually driving their cars. By making sustainable decisions like these will hopefully encourage others to go green.

Energy Usage

For a 24 hour time period I use the following amount of energy:
1.
Air conditioning: 24 hours
Television: It is plugged in for all 24 hours and I use it for no more than 90 minutes per day
Cell phone Charger: plugged in 24 hours, use 1 hour per day
Hot water heater for shower: 10-15 minutes
Flat Iron: 0
Laptop computer: Plugged in for 5-7 hours per day
Computer Printer: Plugged in for 24 hours, use 20 minutes
Computer Speakers: Plugged in 24 hours, use 30 minutes
Light: 4 hours
2. Meter Reading: As throughout the year I reside in the dorms, I am only aware of the amount of energy that my building utilizes and that is 2115 kWh on average.
3. Florida Power and Lights is the power company that is used, and they generate electricity through their 71,500 mile interconnected power-line network that consists of small and large power lines. They are able to read how much energy is being used by looking at the power meter.
4. After looking at the above data, I use so much electricity and fuel! I’m sure as my fellow classmates complete this exercise, they will be shocked as to how much electricity and fuel they are all actually using. My biggest downfall of sustainable choices is my choice to leave everything plugged in at all times and this is because of time constraints and laziness. I think the biggest problem is since many of us do not pay our own electric bills living in the dorms, we simply do not care about it. I do however try to not leave the lights on when I leave or turn them off when they are unnecessary but sometimes things are beyond your control. I think in the future as I will be paying my own bills, I will be a lot more cautious of the energy that I use. As this class is designed to better inform us, I hope we will all make the necessary changes in order to live more sustainably.

My Ecological Footprint

It would take 4.1 earths to support a planet living my lifestyle. Wow, that’s a lot. I thought that I lived a more Eco-friendly lifestyle but I guess I really don’t. I do recycle but that’s about it. The basis of my score was that I am "headed in the right direction" but I'm not necessarily living a sustainable lifestyle. The areas I can use improvement are public transportation, my house and the food and drinks I consume. Some things I can improve on that were not mentioned are that I still make a lot of waste, leave electronics plugged in, leave water and lights on when I can find alternative solutions. These are all bad habits all of which I think I can grow out of. I just have to be more conscious and alert to my surroundings. I now realize that this is something that I need to prioritize and make an effort to change my ways. I think this is something my family could also improve on. Many people don't realize that it's the little things that matter like recycling, buying renewable and environmentally-friendly products, unplugging electrical devices when not in use, that will all make a huge difference in the long run.

Growing up I knew that small things were important and every little part helps but I don’t think I ever realized how much it all adds up to and how much a person can save if they change the light bulbs to more energy efficient ones or getting energy efficient appliances. I think I learned a lot of valuable information from this short quiz and there are changes that I can make starting this second to make this planet a better place for everybody. Understanding the problem is the first step in finding the solution and taking a quiz like this allows us to really realize the impact we have on this planet. My family and I live in a large household and use electricity a lot and that is by no means an excuse for this low result. Everyone needs to be a conscious effort to improve and understand the situation our country is currently in.

I urge everyone to find out their own ecological footprint by taking the quiz via the following link: http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/consumerConsequences.html



Till next time...

Field Trip #1- Campus and Trails FGCU VS Nova Southeastern University

One of the major disadvantages of taking this course virtual rather than in a classroom in Fort Myers is the inability to visit all of the unique places Southwest Florida has to offer. As I am taking this class from my home in Fort Lauderdale, I was given the pre-approval by Professor Davis to do a compare and contrast of the campus trail at FGCU and the one in a large university such as Nova Southeastern University which is located about 20 minutes from my house. Well, there is a tremendous difference between the approach both schools take when it comes to sustainability and nature. First of all, Florida Gulf Coast University was built to be very ECO friendly and I like that. Everything was built and designed with energy efficiency and the environment in mind. I like going to a school that prides itself on those things because not many schools do today. We are different and it will be beneficial in the future, especially 30 or 40 years down the road. I think that not only will everyone be going to school on a sustainable campus but they all will be educated on how to live a sustainable future because of this Colloquium class.

I have been on the FGCU campus trail once before and it was very interesting to notice some of the things our school offers which the majority of both the undergraduate and graduate population is completely unaware of. Most people don't realize that we are walking distance away from gorgeous oak hammocks, and many would be impressed to see the beauty that fire can produce. The only aspect I disliked was the number of mosquitoes but that something that is part of nature. My final impressions of the campus trail is that I am very impressed at how hard everyone at FGCU works to create a sustainable environment.

On May 15, 2010, I visited Nova Southeastern University and was looking forward to my first visit to this institution to see the difference between it and FGCU. The difference is tremendous as NSU is nowhere as eco-friendly nor has the land to provide its students with the friendly environment and space that FGCU offers. The campus trails were limited and I embarked on the first trail at the main entrance off of University Drive and saw a few things, but nowhere as much as FGCU. At the lake, I saw a turtle that was getting some sun (couldn’t provide a picture as it went in the water at the time I took the shot) and some fish. I can conclude that we are all blessed at FGCU to receive an opportunity to educate ourselves about the importance of the environment and nature along with having unique campus trails and much more. After spending nearly 50 minutes on the campus of NSU, I was not impressed with the campus trails and was expecting something much better than what I saw.

Before I started this class, I was aware of the environmental principles that FGCU was founded on but I wasn’t really concerned about them. I think as I get further into this class it will make me notice things that I didn’t see before and make me more conscious of things and do my small part in the university community. Each and every single student of FGCU 11,219 student population should understand the impact FGCU has on the future each and every single day.

Below are some pictures from my trip to NSU:

My Neighborhood

The place I now call home is Dania Beach, Florida, a small quiet, coastal town which is just minutes from the Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport, minutes from the beaches and 30 minutes from Miami. Coming from a large city such as New York, this is drastic change for me. Living across the street from West Lake Park and minutes away from the Anne Kolb nature center, I'm becoming very close to the environment and nature. Anne Kolb nature center is simply a remarkable mangrove eco-system that really invites you to explore its brackish 1,500 acre realm by either paddle, bike or foot. My neighborhood is home to many creatures such as ducks, alligators, egrets and many more. With the number of trees, lakes and beautiful things about this neighborhood, there are no words to describe the excitement I hope to take from this course and step outside and use it to my benefit.

There are many unique features and sustainable aspects in my neighborhood and with the new recycling program recently implemented along with all households receiving two garbage cans from the city, one for regular garbage and one for recycling, they are helping our planet each and every single day. After walking around my neighborhood and think about the impact nature has on is, it really allowed me to look at things from a different perspective. I was able to notice that many households use solar panels rather than electricity to heat their swimming panels and I was impressed.

Above, you can see a picture of me at West Lake park and the pictures below are me taking pictures throughout my neighborhood.







Till next time....

Sense of Place

"You can't know who you are until you know where you are." -Wendell Berry

My comfort zone primarily consists of my family with whom I grew up and spend the majority of each and every day with when I'm not in college. For the most part, I'm from a very close-knit family that made any house a home which thus created by comfort zone growing up. With all of my life experiences, I have created a sense of place along with through learning about the environment and the impact that I have on it. As each days goes on and I grow older and wiser, I begin to understand that my surroundings have a purpose and that nature truly does coexist with itself. I am now learning to become an independent and environmentally-responsible adult because I am now fully aware of what I can do to make a difference and what happens today has a direct impact on what will occur tomorrow.

Incoming Reflection- Initial Expectations and feelings towards Colloquium Class

Upon transferring to FGCU in the fall of 2009, I immediately looked at my requirements for my major and noticed a course which was a requirement school-wide and it was none other than the University colloquium course. I figured that with both with the growing importance of our natural resources and our environment along with FGCU's beautiful campus, this course was a direct correlation of the Florida Gulf Coast University's vision, mission statement and guiding principles. As the university has made a commitment to make environmental education an integral part of their identity, I am hoping this class will help me develop a different ecological perspective.

My initial thoughts of colloquium are very mixed as growing up in New York City, I did not have the advantages to understand the effects of our environment to our future. I did however visit the Green Mountains in Vermont quite often as I was an avid skier and this allowed me to get a sense of the mountain, lakes, trees, etc and everything else I was missing living in a big city. My background knowledge of ecological perspectives is rather diminutive and I'm hoping to gather a wide array of useful informative information from both my fellow class members, our textbook and Professor Davis. My experience with the wilderness is minimal as besides going face to face with a deer and seeing some wild animals from a distance, I haven't had the opportunity to see much! Over the course of the past 5 years living in SE Florida of which 2 years I spent attending college in beautiful North Carolina and living across the street from West Lake Park (which I plan on discussing further in a future blog post), my understanding has enhanced but I'm hoping this course will provide me with a different perspective.

When it comes to personal goals, before I complete any task, I have gotten in a habit of setting a goal and objective and setting a high bar for myself and working very hard and diligently to fulfill my potential. I believe I can both learn a lot from this class which will in turn help me make better decisions that may have a better result on our environment. This class will have a very important component to my education and life experiences as I hope it will better prepare me for the future and provide with a background that will help me better understand where we have been, where we are right now and in which direction we are heading. FGCU has already played a tremendous role in helping our environment and I hope I can become a better citizen of the planet we live in and help others make a change. With the growing number of issues circulating on the worldwide news network daily such as global warming, recycling, etc I hope this course will make me have a broader understanding of the environment we live in today.

I am excited to learn about the environment and how my school is build energy efficient and eco friendly. I see it now as somewhat of a privilege to be able to have a class like this one. Not many schools have programs or classes that can even compare to what Florida Gulf Coast University has for us. We are at the forefront with that knowledge and commitment.

In my next blog post, I will be discussing my neighborhood to give you a sense of where I have been to where I am today. Till next time....