#10 Final Impressions

Colloquium was a very fun and interesting class. I learned things about Southwest Florida I never knew before, and things about world issues I never knew before. The field trips were the best part of the class. My favorite field trip was walking through the swamp behind the school. I never walked through the swamp before, and it's an experience I will always rememeber.

Some of the Colloquium reader essays were really dull and boring. Maybe getting some new reading material would make reading for the class more interesting and not so confusing and boring. For example, Dewey and Louv's writings were so repetitative and hard to understand. I really didn't like reading their essays.

I liked all the assignments. I think it was just enough of a workload, and didn't get in the way with my other classes.

The sustainablity meal is definitely a keeper for the course, as well as, group discussions about the readings and all the field trips. Maybe, next time when going to Matanzas Pass Preserve, letting the students go to the beach side also and learn more about the features of the beach and not only the bay.

#9 Sense of Place interview

Growing up in a different generation than myself, my grandma Hengstebeck, my mother's mother, had quite an interesting take on sustainability. My grandma told me about growing up in Texas during the depression. Her father lost his business and they moved to a farm. She recalls growing and eating their own food from the farm, and never being wasteful with anything. She said you might call them the "Never Throw Away Generation."Nowadays, my grandma is a firm believer in recycling and other alternative methods that don't use up our natural resources. When I told her about my colloquium class Im' taking at school she said she was impressed and believed it would be a good idea for all schools to have a class like that. It was very interesting talking to my grandma because she really did live in another time.

#8- Downtown Fort Myers and History Museum

I am ashamed to say I have lived in Florida my whole life and didn't know any history about Fort Myers at all. I learned so much about Fort Myers history when we took a walk in downtown Fort Myers. I felt like I was exploring the downtown area for the first time, even though I have been there on numerous occasions. I really enjoyed the garden of different palms; It was very shady and calming. It seems like the downtown area is very lively at night, and we learned that the annual zombiecon took place there.

Taking a walk by the Caloosahatchee was very cool. I had never taken a walk by the Caloosahatchee, I only ever drove over it. The fountain had a lot of history behind it. For instance, I didn't realize that Firestone, Ford, and Edison were in the fountain sculpture, and I didn't realize that they were all friends and vacationed in Fort Myers together. It was also interesting to find out that Fort Myers was called Fort Harvie first, during the second Seminole War.

The way some of the buildings were constructed were amazing. For example, the art building had columns in the front made from limestone. The old coral was visible throughout the columns, it was very cool. The National Bank, we found out, had a "bank holiday" which are very very bad. Many people couldn't get their money out for a year when this happened. But, what I found the most interesting was that the first sidewalk in Fort Myers had 7UP circle advertisements every couple inches from each other on the sidewalk.

I had a lot of fun in the History Museum. I had no idea that in Prehistoric times, in Florida, there was  giant sloths and saber-toothed tigers. Some of their bone remains are in the History Museum. It was also interesting walking through the typical Florida home from back in the early 1900s. It was so small compared to homes today, but the tour guide told us that most people spent most their time outside so the need for a big home wasn't neccesary. 

Photos taken by Kayla Bjerke 

#7- ECHO

I had been to ECHO before the field trip with my boyfriend. When he first bought his house he wanted to have many plants in the yard and in the house. When we went to ECHO we didn't get a tour but we bought seeds and some potted plants. I never knew though that ECHO had displays of global farms. I really enjoyed the tour. It gave me more insight to what they are actually about. I enjoyed being able to taste test different leaves, although not all of them tasted good.

 

Our guide was in charge on the rice fields. She told us that each side had a different irrigation system. ->

They used live fences in some of the gardens. Live fences are just trees, that are in the ground growing, that make up the fence instead of wood that would rot quickly.

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Growing up my father was a plant fanatic. He paints for a living, but on his spare time he was always in the yard taking care of his trees and plants. We called him Dr. Green thumb as a joke. I remember going outside with him and watching him tend to his garden. I never really helped, but I think it gave me a greater respect for nature. Maybe one day when I have some free time I could start a garden. I could grow my own food, but I think it is wonderful to be fortunate enough to be able to make the choice of growing your own food or buying it in the store, which not to many people have the option of doing. 

Pictures by Kayla Bjerke

#6 - Estero Bay Historic Cottage

The field trip to the Historic Cottage was very neat. I enjoyed the lecture about the history of Fort Myers Beach. I have lived in Florida my whole life, and to hear what it used to be like back in the early to mid 1900s was very incredible. I thought it was a fun little fact when the guide told us that in the 1950s the Estero Bay was crytsal clear. She said you could see your feet at the bottom through the crystal clear water. The boardwalk was, also, very interesting. We identified three different kinds of mangroves; black, red, and white. 

Conservation 20/20

Conservation 20/20 was started by a group of concerned citizens in Southwest Florida. They lobbied to conserve the natural areas that had not been developed yet. Their mission is to preserve the land, the water quality, to protect areas from flooding, and our community can use these areas for recreational purposes.

I received this information from www.conservation2020.org/index.cfm.

When we went on this field trip it was the first time I had ever heard of Conservation 20/20, and like I said I've lived in Florida my whole life. I couldn't believe I had never heard of it. I have been to many of the preserves though such as, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, San Carlos Bay - Bunch Beach Preserve, and the Koreshan Preserve.I would definitely go back to these preserves or go to others in the near future.

I don't necessarily agree on the property tax increase to make Conservation 20/20 possible, but if there is absolutley no other way the land can be preserved then I guess it's worth the price.

Pictures By Kayla Bjerke

#4 Sense of Place - Your Neighborhood

This is my house I live in with my boyfriend. We live in San Carlos Park and let's just say it's a gigantic neighborhood. We have many neighbors and not a lot of wooded areas around us. There are not many sustainable features around our neighborhood, or at least not that we can see. I took a walk around my neighborhood to see for any wildlife, special environmental features, etc. What I came to find out is there is not a whole lot of wildlife. With all the traffic in and out of the neighborhood it would be hard for many animals to survive. My friend and I almost got ran over by a car while taking a walk; a small animal or even large animal probably couldn't stand a chance. The only special environmental features I found were that all our neighbors seem to have very green yards with many plants. 

This is the main road by our house. I would consider our neighborhood a concrete jungle.

We did find a little bit of wildlife. In my backyard I saw a bee, a butterfly, and many lizards. Across the street at my neighbors house there was a Great White Egret. So, there is some wildlife, but like I mentioned before, it would be very hard for any wildlife to survive with so many cars and so much traffic. 

The one thing that was truly disturbing is all the trash on the side of the road. In a 10 foot radius this is what trash I found...



Pictures taken by Kayla Bjerke.

#5 Corkscrew Swamp

The Corkscrew Swamp trip was a very interesting field trip. I really enjoyed how the walk started from the pine flatwoods and slowly turned into a Bald cypress swamp. Even though it was extremely hot, there was enough shade to keep us out of the sun. It was very peaceful for the exception of the power washer that was cleaning the boardwalks. 

A few of the ferns we identitified.

The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it. 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was really interesting learning about the Living Machine. I had never heard of such a thing. We walked into the bathroom area, and I thought it was odd that a little screened-in garden was in front of the bathroom. Then, our class was told that our waste is contributing to the living machine. I think the living machine is very unique and sustainable.

This can better describe how the living system works.

I also enjoyed learning about the plumes. Even though the plumes were almost wiped out by hunters, they still survive and the Audubon Society helped to protect them. We didn't see any out on the boardwalk, but the pictures of them in the gift shop were amazing. I would love the oppurtunity to be able to catch a glimspe of one in it's natural habitat.

Some of the pictures I took on the field trip.

The picture of the Living Machine came from... ttp://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Information/LivingMachine.html.

The picture of the Plume came from...http://www.birdingintaiwan.org/gallery/long-shin/index.htm

The quote came from...http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/ralph_waldo_emerson.html

#3 Ecological Footprint

My results!



When I first starting taking the sustainability test, I thought my score was going to be good. I thought I can't possibly use that many resources. I'd say my home is the most sustainable aspect of my life. My boyfriend has all energy efficient appliances, efficient air conditioner, and uses efficient light bulbs. We recycle everything that is recyclable, so I think it's safe to say our home itself is energy efficient. But, the way we live is not so energy efficient. We go out to eat more than we don't. We eat a lot of junk food. I drive everywhere, especially to school and back. My boyfriend and I thought that we could maybe make some changes to live a more sustainable lifestyle, especially in transportation and food

consumption.

My Consumption...

1. Energy usage- My boyfriend and I have three fish tanks that have lights on them all day, we probably watch an hour or two of television each day, the water softener for our well has a timer that runs all day, the washer and dryer, lights being turned on and off, the air conditioner (even though energy efficient), the hot water heater, driving places in our cars, etc. This is just some of the energy we use on a daily basis.

2. Fuel usage- The only thing I can think of that requires fuel is my vehicle, all the appliances in my house are electric. Even though that's the only thing that I use that needs fuel, I still need a tank of gas every week and my gas tank can hold 11 gallons at a time. 

3. Food intake- I probably, on average, eat 3 or 4 times a day. I sometimes will eat at a salad and soup place, but mostly eat where it is quick to grab something. Being a college student, I really don't have the time to cook, so I just grab whatever is convienent.

4. Water Use- I take a shower once a day for probably about 20 minutes. I know I could probably be quicker if I stopped shaving everytime I showered, but I don't think I really want to do that. I also rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, wash my hands at least 7-10 times a day, if not more. We have a timer set to water the grass, usually only during the winter months. We also have three fish tanks that get a water change weekly.

5. Packaging- I eat out probably about 7 to 8 times a week. That is a lot of packaging I throw away once all the food is gone. We get mail everyday, whether it be just advertisements or bills it all gets thrown away eventually. When I go to the grocery store I get my groceries in plastic bags, most of the time. 

Picture websites…

http://goldschmidt.info/2008/sustainability

http://asbactivities.asb-wiki.wikispaces.net/Recycling+Club

#2 Field Trip- Campus and Trails

When I first starting going to FGCU I learned it is a "green school", but I guess I never realized just how green the school really is. I knew FGCU was a huge school and must be using many resources. After taking the field trip through the campus and going on the swamp walk, it finally dawned on me that this school was the most sustainable place I had ever been. From the toilets to the air-conditioning system, this school seems like it has taken every precaution to be more sustainable.

The Campus walk was pretty interesting. I enjoyed learning that they planted mulberry trees for the students to pick and eat; I absolutely love mulberries. Walking by the air-conditioning system really stood out to me, as well. My boyfriend Joe works at an air conditioning company that actually works on some of FGCU's system. He has told me before that out of all the places he has worked on air conditioning units, FGCU is by far the most unique system. I really like being outdoors and walking around campus made me feel calm and serene, even among all the commotion  of a busy school.

I didn't know exactly what to expect from the swamp walk. I thought it would be fun, but if I saw a snake or alligator I would probably freak out. Thankfully, we did not see anything like that, and it turned out to be a very good experience. It reminded me of growing up, and playing in the woods with my friends. I enjoyed that it felt like we were deep in the swamp when we were only fifty yards away from actual civilization. I didn't like not being able to see through the water, it made me wonder if there were snakes or alligators hiding, just waiting to attack.  

Picture websites…

http://www.zazzle.com/funny_sustainability_card-137385800672034715

http://www.itatennis.com/ITA_Teams/Florida_Gulf_Coast_-_Men/Roster.htm

http://erikakentcolloquiumblog.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

http://www.vte.qc.ca/en/destinations/usa/louisiana.html

#1 Incoming Reflection

The first time I heard anything about Colloquium, I was in orientation for transfer students in the Student Union. A short video about Colloquium was put on and it talked, in brief, about what Colloquium was all about. My first impression about Colloquium, after watching the video, was that it seemed like it was going to be a fun class. How many college courses take you on field trips to the swamp or beach? I love to take classes where I can learn about the environment, and what I can do to make it a better place.    

I love being in nature, a state park, or in my backyard. My favorites places outdoors are on the beaches on the east coast of Florida, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Smokey Mountains, and the Everglades.

I grew up my whole life surrounded by the "woods". When I was in elementary and middle school, the only time I was inside is if it was raining or my parents grounded me. I was always outside playing with the many animals we had, such as goats, rabbits, chickens, etc., or building forts with my brothers. But lately, maybe because I'm in college, I just don't feel like I get outdoors much. When I am outside taking a nature walk or just sitting in the woods I feel completely calm and stress free. I moved in with my boyfriend a few years ago in a house in San Carlos Park. San Carlos doesn't have much nature, maybe a patch of woods here and there. I feel disconnected with nature sometimes. Then, I remember there are many parks and areas that I could easily drive to in 15 minutes to feel that connection to nature, so it's not to bad.    

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. "

John Muir

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

Henry David Thoreau