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