Journal #12 Final Impressions

I absolutely loved this class and everything about it. I had a lot of fun on all of the field studies getting to see the environment and experience our natural ecosystems. This class has made a huge change on the way I look at life. I am such a better person when it comes to saving energy and doing things eco-friendly. I do wish we got to do some hands on things with wildlife, that would have been fun. To be completely honest, I didn't like any of the reading. The readings were boring and very repetitive. A lot of what was being said in the Colloquium reader could have been put in better words then it was, when your trying to get a point across you need to make it dumb proof. The readings were difficult and very hard to grasp.



Images from:

http://universitychic.com/files/GoGreen.jpg

http://www.cgipromotions.com/images/GoGreen.png

Journal #11 Corkscrew

I know I might have said the little old lady's cabin was the best place we went in Colloquium but that was before we traveled to Corkscrew. Corkscrew was just too incredible for words. It was as if we took a walk back into time and saw Florida as it was found years ago. We saw all types of animals and plants. We encountered large alligators, large birds, and other creatures. At Corkscrew we also saw the land untouched as it were many years ago, the difference in landscape from human infected lands is amazing. It really makes you think how we humans are a pest on the earth, like viruses in us humans. I am really saddened that I did not bring my camera along to capture the true beauty of Corkscrew. I am for sure going to go back and embrace the gorgeous scenery, and in hopes to see lots of wildlife.

Journal #10 Urban Fort Myers

In class the other day we ventured to downtown Fort Myers. We walked through the city and told the history of buildings and other structures. To be honest I was not really all that impressed with downtown Fort Myers. There really wasn't anything special about downtown besides a few things. I thought the fountain was really cool and had some history behind it. Also the idea that the dock area building used to be an actual fort during a war was cool. The building wan't all historic looking though and more modernized. I forgot exactly what the other building was now but it was one of the first post offices. Other than those few things downtown was not that impressive. The most interesting and historic piece that we saw was probably the federal post office because it looked really old and the art work was stunning. A picture of this building is located on the top of this post. It is shown at night where they light up the art sculpture known as "Caloosahatchee Manuscripts." If I were to have redesigned Fort Myers I am not sure to what I would do to change it. I would have kept the historic areas more intact and not changed them. One thing That bothered me a little was that everywhere I turned my head there was a law office, you might as well have named the city Fort Law.


I got my pictures from:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/68/41/43/edison-and-friends-fountain.jpg

http://americancityandcounty.com/weeklysnapshot/Eloise_Pennington_art.jpg

Journal #7 Estero Bay Historic Cottage and Matanzas Pass Preserve

This was by far the best off campus trip we have gone on this semester. We walked into a little cottage that was so small it barely fit our whole class inside. A nice little old lady came to greet us with cookies, lemonade, and some of her home made sea grape jelly. The lady was very nice and a great public speaker, she truly loved talking about what the island used to be like. This field trip was an eye opener to what humans have done to the environment. She talked about how different the island was back when she was growing up. The lady said the water was crystal clear and they all lived in little cottages. There used be very few people that lived on the island now it is completely over taken buy businesses and peoples large houses. I loved walking on the board walk, actually seeing the natural environment of Florida. Halfway through the walk we came to a little area where you could view the bay. The view from this area was stunning but looking down at the water makes you upset because it is now a dark murky green color.



Conservation 20/20 is a program with the goal to purchase land and restore it back to its natural state. They basically buy properties and remove invasive species off the land and bring it back to how it was once found untouched by humans. This is not the first time I heard of the program when I took the course Environmental Bio-SW Florida. Yes I have visited many others while at FGCU. I have already been to Corkscrew so this will be my second time going there when we go. I don't know of any other programs by memory but I am sure there are other programs out there. I think it is great that we spend tax dollars on land preservation and we should be doing a whole lot more than we are right now.



Images from:

http://www.bobandisabelle.com/images/8645-3A_Estero_NS.jpg

http://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=305