Journal 7 - Six Mile Cypress Slough

Our last field trip for the semester was to Six Mile Cypress Slough.  I wasn't sure if I would like it.  I had visions in my head that we would be walking through nasty wet swamps and I am  afraid of snakes and allergic to mosquitoes.  I put on some good bug spray and decided to go in with an open mind. 

I realized quickly that we would not be walking through the swamp but on a boardwalk that goes through the area.  I don't know if the bugs weren't out or if it was the bug spray but I wasn't  bit once.  It wasn't sweltering hot either.  We walked through with Ryan, a guide, who told us about the birds and what he knew about the wildlife and plant life.



One of my class mates saw a snake just chilling in a tree. I am afraid of them but it was really cool to see it in it's own habitat.  I have seen them in cages and aquariums before, but to see it where it lives was interesting to me.  It didn't move, realizing that we couldn't get to it. 

After the tour, we went to a clearing with a deck and the entire class was quite for five minutes.  The result was hard to deny.  We had been walking through the slough and had not noticed all the wildlife noises because we were talking.  Once still and quite, we were able to hear SO many birds and other animals and fish jumping in the water and air through the trees.  It was a bit moving for me.  The honest truth is that I have been very stressed out with school, surgery/recovery and home life, that I often forgot to stop and breathe.  As I sat there and took Professor Mendes's advice to forget about stress and responsibility, just for a minute, I began to listen to all the nature around me and felt a lightness that I hadn't felt in a while.  After we left, of course my stress returned, but not as severe.  It made me think of the discussions we have had about Nature Deficit Disorder and how studies have proven that we naturally feel better if we get natural air and sunlight.  I believe that I had experienced that, even for a moment.

I feel that I have gotten a lot out of this class, not just information from studies or books, but more of an awareness is how I would describe it.  I have always had an understanding not to waste things.  I grew up really poor and learned to not waste food or water or electricity, but only for money reasons.  I never learned that conservation was important or why.  I learned bits and pieces as I go older, heard about Global Warming and such, but never really had a clear picture.  THAT is how I would describe my feels about this class.  Whether I "love" nature or not, I have a clearer picture of my environment and my place in it.  Not at the top as others think humans are, but my own place.  And it's more than that.  Learning my place also means learning about my responsibility to use and conserve responsibly and to teach my kids and others around me to do the same.

I believe as a teacher I will be able to use my skills to help teach these ideas to my students.  There are a lot of ways I can incorporate learning about nature, the environment and to think about what we are doing and using in different types of lessons.  Even taking my students outside sometimes for lessons will help!!

Thank you!

Journal 6 - ECHO

WOW!  That is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about visiting ECHO.  Whether it be because of the amazing work they do for not only our country but for others or our enthusiastic tour guide Vic I can't even decide. 

I liked learning about all that ECHO does to train and help others learn to grow food and essentials to make their lives and that of their communities more successful.  Not only do they teach them to grow but also show them many other things to make things easier and/or more productive like using cow manure gasses as fuel! Many of their success stories start with one person who was struggling just to survive and yet was willing to try and learn new ways to do things that could literally mean life or death to him. Then they take that knowledge and share it with others in their community to help them and their families survive and thrive as well.

 

From the information I understood from the video and website, ECHO has been doing these things and helping people in impoverished counties successfully for 34 years.  They have learned what works and what doesn't through trial and error and only use things that work BETTER and that do not seem to harm the environment at all.  We have discussed in class the desperate need for innovative ways to help sustain our resources and environment.  For me, I am not sure why this same format isn't being used to come up with these types of ideas to help with these issues closer to home as well.  If the same effort had been put into it that ECHO has put in in the last few decades, things may be different right now.  People seem to care and talk about it but not much ACTION has actually taken place.  I read in our text about all these meetings that take place and data that is collected and people say "we need  to do something" and yet in a lot of those meetings the only thing done is scheduling the next meeting.

Seems to me that those people in these "meetings" need to take a few lessons from ECHO!

Journal 5 - Food Forest

We had a great visit to the FGCU Food Forest!  This was my first time there and I thought it was pretty amazing.  I was aware that it was there but was surprised that it was started for students by students and that students can go and get the things growing there for their use.  Just about everything in the forest is edible and the rest has a use as well.  They have everything from avocados to a plant called Moringa that is known for its many purposes including proteins, vitamins, and minerals.




Our guide was very knowledgeable about the forest and the plants and we were able to understand the benefits of the different plants he showed us on our trip.   He also gave us background about the Food Forest and how it is a perfect map of how sustainability can work.  We have discussed sustainability a lot in our class and some people in our society think that it isn't possible.  They feel that it is too much work.  They feel that it's a "dream" and not really attainable.  The Food Forest is literally living proof that it IS possible with some work and a little ingenuity.  Not only is it possible but in 5 short years, the FGCU Food Forest has proven that this could be beneficial to a lot of people and that doing this across our country, and in others where resources like this aren't available, could provide much needed nutrients and food.  According to their website, (FGCU 2016) "Combining engineering, ecology, horticulture, and design, the Food Forest is a truly creative interdisciplinary initiative that is for students, by students."

My family grows  few things in a garden at our home, all edible items such as strawberries and jalapeños (my personal favorite) and herbs such as cilantro.  My kids LOVE planting them, taking care of them ad then picking them all.  They not only benefit from the plants themselves but also from learning about how to grow things and take care of them and how to use the things we grow. 

I learned about a lot of plants at the Food Forest and I am already planning on planting some in our garden and teaching my kids about the benefit of them.  I think this has been the best and most beneficial field trip thus far.

                                                              
                                                          Work Cited

FGCU (2014). The FGCU Food Forest is by students, for students. Retrieved from           http://fgcufoodforest.weebly.com/who.html.

Journal 4, Wateer Usage

Itemized Household Usage:

Shower & bath: 60 gallons

Toilet: 24 gallons

Sink: 8 gallons

Dishes by hand: 15 gallons

Dishwasher: 0 gallons

Laundry: 8 gallons

Lawn: 0 gallons

Outside & pool: 0 gallons

Daily: 115 gallons

Weekly: 805 gallons

Monthly: 3,220 gallons

Yearly: 41,860 gallons

 

I am not sure if this is a good amount for a family of five or not.  I feel I try to do things to conserve water all the time.  I have taught my kids that it is wasteful to leave the water on while brushing their teeth or washing hands, I tell them they should only flush if its gross or after a few times, I use a little bit of water to wet dishes and sponge and wash whole sink before turning on the water low and quickly rinse (even thought I have a dishwasher, I hardy use it), I have energy efficient appliances and we use rain water to water our lawn. 

 

I believe that everyone should use water as wisely and sparingly as possible.  This is hard for a lot of people because like electricity, its so easy to just flip a switch or turn on a faucet.  Having resources this convenient makes it hard to remember that they won't be here forever and we should be careful how we use them and not to waste them.  Maybe because I grew up really poor and we actually had to pay attention to the water and electric bill, maybe it is my age, but I tend to be careful of any type of waste including water and food.  I also try and tech my children to be mindful of waste as well.  I am sure I could do better, we all could, but I feel I do the best I can without being too "primitive."