Blog 5: Reflection of my Colloquium class.

Blog 5: Reflection of my Colloquium class.

Colloquium is a required class at Florida Gulf Coast University that most students dread. I, on the other hand, love the concept of this class. I believe that everyone should have knowledge about his or her environment, plants, and animals, as well as the history. There was a LOT of readings for this class. If I’m being honest way too many! The only book I found to be really interesting and educated me but also had a catching story line was The Land Remembered. This is an amazing book. At first look this book is a bit intimidating, but once you get into reading it you will get really into the story line. I was one of the few people in the class who actually read the book and I feel like there should have been more than a 5 question quiz on such a large book. It took a lot of time that I could of dedicated to other classes that meant more than just a 20-point quiz. Reading the small summary on Wikipedia could have easily enabled you to pass the quiz and would of saved you from reading the entire book. I am glad I read the book but I do wish there was a larger reward. I did enjoy all of the field trips that we took in this class. It was nice to be immersed in the environment and able to receive more hands on experience. This class definitely made a difference in my knowledge about the environment. Growing up in Florida and having a very outdoorsy lifestyle has enabled me to learn a lot of this material previous to taking this class. But it because a reality to me that not everyone in the class was as fortunate as I was in their upbringing. I believe it is a great thing to have this as a mandatory class for all university students to take.

Word Count: 327

Field Journal

Field Journal

So many species to talk about!

Trees/ plants: Cabbage palms (aka the sable palm, Florida State tree and also South Carolina), Pine flatwood (adapted for fire; pinecones only explode with heat, the prop root, the bark sheds off), live oak (Southern symbol of strength), banyan (Part of the fig family, they take over their host tree where the nickname strangler fig came from, Prop roots allow it to get to the remarkable sizes recorded), bamboo (running vs clumping, Strong enough to break through concrete, used to make scaffolding, Edison used it for light bulb filament), banana plant (Male and female plants, the baby plants are called pups, they aren’t really trees at all they are giant herb, two different kinds of fruit the sweet soft banana / firmer starchy plantains, they are the 4^th largest agricultural product in the world), Spanish moss (part of the pineapple family), Coontie plant (used in A Land Remembered to make flour “Brown /orange cones”), Lichen (Algae and fungi, comes in all different kinds “Blood lichen, Old mans beard”), Bromeliads and air plants (Decipher good air quality), Bald Cypress trees (Deciduous – loose their pine needles, You can take a core sample of the tree to tell how old it is and place the sample back into the tree and it will heal, live in water, Extremely hard woods “Were logged for their hard wood / and ability to not be eaten by bugs”), Alligator flags (sign of deep water, when leave wave is a sign of something big moving under them), Saw Palmettos (rub one way and your okay, rub the other and you’re screwed), Mangroves! There are three kinds Red, Black, and white. (Red red pointy head), (Black Black checkerboard back), (White white hold on tight), Orange tree (Delicious fruit).

Animals: turkeys, turkey buzzards, red shouldered hawk, white ibis, Palliated woodpecker, snowy egret, great blue heron, grackle, Red winged black bird, Mocking bird, Tri-colored heron, Bald eagle, black bear, puma, manatee, alligator, armadillo, raccoons, white tailed deer, marsh bunnies, Black indigo snakes, Rattlesnake, copperhead, coral snakes, Blind snake, water moccasin, skunks, Brown recluse, black widow, banana spider, Housekeeper spider, bottle nosed dolphins and many more.

Word Count: 364

Photos Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Blog 3 – Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Blog 3 – Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

            The first thing I noticed when driving out to the corkscrew swamp sanctuary was the change in landscape on the trip there. As we approached the swamp I noticed a lot more greenery and vegetation and lack of concrete buildings. It was quieter and more peaceful without hearing the familiar sound of buzzing cars passing by on the busy Fort Myers roads. Since I am in the 8am class we embarked on the journey early enough to witness a bunch of deer and turkey foraging in nearby yards. I have lived in Florida my whole life but I haven’t had the privilege to see this but a few rare times. I did just spend the whole summer in Wyoming and seeing deer and antelope was commonplace, it was exciting to be able to see them in my hometown.

We arrived at the sanctuary and got to utilize their restroom facility and were educated on the “Living Machine.” This machine was fascinating. They had built a system that cleansed the sewage. It had multiple steps the water/waste flowed through: the anaerobic tank, the aerobic bacteria tank, then the water went through their mini estuary (the water believe it or not coming out of the estuary is 90-95% clean), the last stage the chlorinate it and then de chlorinate the water and it is safe to drink. The machine was very interesting to learn about.

Back in the day feathers were high in popular demand. Everyone wanted feathers in their hats (Especially white ones). People raped and pillaged all of the white wading birds in order to cash in their feather profits. At one point an ounce of feathers was equal to an ounce of gold! That’s statistic is insane. Some of the bird species went endangered and even extinct!

As we were walking though the amazing forest we talked about how magnificent the trees were. Our naturalist stopped and gave us a short talk on the trees. They are called bald cypress trees. This tree was sought out and leveled all over Florida for its lumber purposes. It is an extremely hard wood and in the 1940s and 50s everyone wanted to build their homes with it not only because it was sturdy but the insects like termites for example don’t eat it! Another cool fact on these magnificent trees is inorder to tell th age of a tree you usually measure the rings. In order to get these rings most people cut the tree down but this is not the case for the bald cypress. They take a core sample of the tree. A core sample is kind of like sticking a straw into the tree and when you pull it out you are left with a cylinder of wood that you are able to count the rings from. But here comes the cool part! You can stick the core sample back into the tree and it will heal!!! How cool is that!?

Walking on the boardwalk we were able to learn about many different ecosystems and different natural elements that aid them. My two favorites are the pine flat wood and the cypress forest. Fire is a crucial item in a pine flatwood.  Rain is a major component in the cypress forest.

Well I could talk forever on this field trip but I will save some of the amazing discoveries for you when you go to visit the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

But one more thing!... When you get there and you are in the middle of the bald cypress trees just stop and listen… It is the most amazing thing you will experience. I hope you enjoy!

Word count: 613 words 

Colloquium - ECHO

Colloquium – Journal 2

Colloquium – Journal 2

            Echo! Echo was an amazing field trip. First of all when was that last field trip you went on!? It’s been forever since the last one I went on. ECHO stands for “Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization.” I didn’t expect to learn as much as I did. There was a lot of interesting ways of farming, they showed us different methods of using your everyday resources in their appropriate technologies (using what you have to make what your need) department was by far the coolest part.

            Let me tell you about the farming! First of all the whole world revolves around poop! Yes I did say poop =). We discussed poop in almost every section of the walk. I thought the biotic pyramid part was very interesting. I never know about the duck poo feeding the Phytoplankton that fed the tilapia fish. It not only can sustain itself but it supplies the people with three forms of protein; fish, duck, and eggs! I also didn’t know there was two different ways to plant rice. I only thought rice patties were the way to go but there is another system called SRI – you plant only 1 to 2 seeds and get 50-100% more rice but the down side with that method is you have to weed. With the rice patties you plant 4-5 seeds and flood your fields which eliminates the weeding and might give you a chance to harvest frogs and other organisms that take refuge in the patty but the rice crop isn’t as intense as it is in the SRI method.

            I also learned all about bamboo. I knew there was different species but I thought they were all just different colors. Turns out there are the clumping and running kinds. Did you know bamboo is strong enough to grow through concrete!? Crazy right! Another tree I found to be amazing was the maringa tree! This three can do everything! Here are some fun facts of this tree: 7x vitamin C of oranges, 4x calcium of milk, 4x vitamin a of carrots, 3x potassium of bananas, 3x iron of spinach, 2x protein of milk. The seeds of the maringa tree can also cure water! One seed can completely cleanse a bottle of water and if you want it 99-100% filtered/cured just sit the bottle out in the sun for 6-9hours. That is amazing! I am also a clean teeth freak and the neem tree has an antimicrobial that in it. The need tree also can be used for insect repellent. While we are talking trees, did you know that bananas aren’t really trees? They are large herbs – just rolled up leaves. The banana babies are called pups! In order to get pups you need male and female plants.

            I learned loads more at ECHO. It is actually a pretty interesting place I would recommend making a visit!

Word count: 481

Colloquium – Journal 1

Colloquium – Journal 1

            Growing up in Southwest Florida has been a real gift to someone that enjoys nature and her bounties. Everyday after school I was able to swim in the near pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the lack of industry the rivers in the area team with many different species fresh and salt water. The area around Naples is one of the largest hatcheries for salt-water fish. Which makes the fishing exceptional.

            The pale blue-green water is some of the prettiest and cleanest in the world. For someone who scuba dives like me, seasonally, we can see large mammals like manatees and dolphins gliding and soaring through the waters. Sea turtles nest and hatch on our white sugar sand beaches all summer long. Topical fish are swept into the gulf from the Caribbean during the summer months as well. Even for the shellers out there Mother Nature helps out by providing a beautiful array of creatures and their shells that change with every tide. Have I mentioned the birds? In my neighbor hood there is a retuning pair of bald eagles that set up camp and raise their young. Red shouldered and Red tailed hawks regularly try to eat my chickens and my dog. Migrating birds like the beautiful indigo bunting have rested in my yard on their way to their far away destination. My mom and I camp out on the porch every year for that week. Growing up on the beach I have saved my fair share of pelicans and great herons that were tangled in fishing line. The conservancy and I and very familiar with one another.

            I am an avid horseback rider. The access that we have to the picayune state forest and other National and State parks makes for a wide range of different environments you can ride through. Being able to view all of the different ecosystems on horseback is a rare experience. I am grateful to have that opportunity. How many people can say that they live in the everglades? Not many… But I can!

Word count: 345 words