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| (Photo: Riley) |
1. FGCU Campus and Sense of Place - Where is your favorite place in campus? What makes this place attractive to you? How does this help in your understanding and significance of Sense of Place?
Now I have two favorite places on campus. The first is the parking garage by the bus loop because on days when I'm leaving class and the sun is getting ready to set, I like to drive all the way to the top and watch the sunset. This way I can see the sun setting just below the line of trees and there are minimal interferences with the skyline. I am usually alone in this and it gives me a second to take a deep breath, compose myself and take in the beautiful campus. Not many places have sunsets as amazing as we do, and I'm lucky if I get out of classes in time to catch one.
My new favorite place on campus would be the cypress dome we just visited! I honestly can't stop ranting and raving about how much fun I have and how flabbergasted I am to find out that a place like that is right on FGCU's campus. Other places might have sunsets, but I have never heard of any place like the cypress dome associated with another school, must less on campus itself. I wish more people knew about it, but I also like the mystery that surrounds it up until Colloquium. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting to get blown away by my new favorite spot on campus.
2. Learning from the Nature Trail - Discuss creatively what you learned from the Campus Nature trail Walk. Separate your answers into what you learned about each of the three main sections of the nature trail. What was most interesting to you? What did you know already? What new knowledge did you get?
Uplands: The uplands, also called the pine flatwoods are easily recognized because of their dense vegetation on the ground. If you would look up to the sky, you could see the blue through the sparse tree branches. That's how you know it's an upland. In the uplands, lightning strikes are common and are good for the surroundings because it clears out the invasive species and is a natural process. The majority of the fire happens at the lower levels because that is where all the 'fuel' for the fire is, however if a higher limb catches fire, that presents a real issue and it can quickly get out of control.
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(Photo: http://www.fnps.org/assets/images/habitats/mesicflatwoods1.jpg) |
Ecotone: The ecotone is the transition between the uplands and the wetlands. The ecotone is where the vegetation begins to get denser at the top and the soil starts to get more moist. In our area, just a few inches can dramatically shift the habitat from uplands to ecotone to wetlands. The ecotone is also prone to fires from lightening strikes, although not as often as the uplands. The last fire in the ecotone near Sovi was in 2004 and some of the effects can still be seen. Since a fire in that area would be a threat to surrounding academic buildings and dorms, the vegetation is artificially controlled by very expensive machines. However, many of the trees have adapted to survive these fires by building up a protective layer on the outside. That way the fire will burn the outter layers of a tree trunk and not damage the core of the tree. This is interesting because it's like nature's natural fire defense.
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| (Photo: http://floridahikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Pineland-Ecotone-690x490.jpg) |
Wetlands: The wetlands were by far the coolest part. I wasn't expecting the water to actually get waist deep and much less have as much fun as I did with my classmates. As the water got higher and higher, we had more and more fun splashing around and having a grand ole time picking up different plant matter and tripping over hidden branches. Once we got to the cypress dome where the big cypress trees majestically dominated the landscape, it was breathtaking. I will definitely be back to see FGCU's best kept secret. One really cool thing I learned is that at the drier points in the year when this area is not used as a drainage system for runoff from FGCU, the water level is nearly nonexistent in the cypress dome. To go from waist deep water to nothing is mind boggling. I also found the cypress tree oil naturally secreted from the trees to be neat to look at. Megan and I had a fun time wading around in the water finding little circles of cypress oil to break up and look at the cool colors of it.
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| (Photo: http://pmfranklin.com/Portfolios/Landscape%20Portfolio/images/Cypress-Swamp-on-Cattle-Ranch%2C-near-Providence%2C-Florida%2C-USA.jpg) |
3. Nature Trail and FGCU focus on Environmental Sustainability - What did you learn about environmental sustainability from the walk? How does the nature trail reflect on how FGCU regards for the environment? Does this connect with any of the readings so far? Please include and explain your photos.
I learned that there is probably no other campus in the world that has the unique system that FGCU does. We utilize the land and vegetation around us to act as a natural drainage system for all of the campus run off. The tour guide said that following Irma, the front entrance of the school was underwater for maybe a day, and then 24 hours later, the water all ended up in the cypress dome and the surrounding areas. What an awesome way to learn from the nature that surrounds us and coincide with some of the natural processes. Not bulldozing this and creating an artificial system shows how much FGCU cares and values its surrounding environment---it's what makes us unique.
FGCU focuses on a few main points that center around their sustainability message. The first is recycling and the use of the solar compacting trash cans. Not only do these utilize the plentiful sun to their advantage, but they also promote recycling by having the recycling portion right next to the regular trashcan. Even around campus usually, it's hard to find a trash can without a recycling can nearby.
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
FGCU is also focused on their LEED Certified Buildings, particularly Seidler Hall. This is an accreditation given to certain buildings that have passed testing that signals a shift in the sustainable use of land, building and resources to create and environmentally friendly option. While this may not be the best system, it is a start towards building smarter infrastructure.
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
Furthermore, all of our buildings aim to reduce heat island which are caused by the concentration of heat due to the sun's rays in developed areas. All of the roofs are painted green for a reason larger than looking 'ecofriendly', but because they reflect back the sun's rays. The overhands and pavers also help to reduce this increase in temperature and it's obvious when you're walking through campus on a hot summer day.
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
FGCU also promotes the inclusion of natural wildlife to be undisturbed by not feeding or harassing the gators and providing various water areas for wading birds to flourish. Such can be seen by just a quick walk down one of the many boardwalks. Other factors that make FGCU sustainable is the ease for bicyclists to travel around campus and the set ups of many bike repair stations around the areas. Use of solar panels and the fascinating chiller plant also help to make use of our natural surroundings and live sustainably.
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
Calculate your Ecological Footprint -
4. My Ecological Footprint - As you can see from the quiz, many things go into your ecological footprint. Take a look at your specific consumption over 24 hours during a typical day and choose TWO areas to focus on in your discussion. Which two need the most improvement or are areas where you could make changes?
The first thing that comes to mind that could use improving would be my transportation aspect. I like in Cape Coral and spend at least an hour and a half every day in my car just driving to and from school. I would love to improve that but there are just too many factors that frankly make it too difficult. First of all, no one I leave near goes to FGCU and I cannot carpool. Secondly, I can't afford to go out and buy a Tesla or other electric car to cut down on my fossil fuel usage. I can't ask my parents to drive me to school every day and then all of us share a family car because we have different appointments/agendas and doing that while owning a business is just impractical.
The second thing that comes to mind is my consumption of meat. I do my best to eat leaner, whiter meats such as chicken and turkey, but do like to indulge in the occasional filet for special occasions. I either have a deli sandwich or some sort of meat dish for dinner every day. I'm working towards researching obtaining my protein from more plant based sources and will continue this in the future.
My lifestyle and my family's lifestyle is definitely not the greatest, but I like to think that we are better than the average spoiled, suburban household. We do have energy saving technologies in our home, do our best not to waste electricity and are becoming more aware of how much waste we produce. Especially with all this knowledge I now have access to and am spreading to my parents, I am having them second guess some of their personal choices as well. I believe that we will continue to improve our ways towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
5. Connection - How do you connect the field trip with the ecological footprint?
I connected this field trip with the ecological footprint because we just came in here and bulldozed this natural land and threw up an entire institution. Following that came strip malls and housing developments, arenas and attractions--all taking over what was here first. I believe that to be a huge ecological footprint. Furthermore, with all these people here, you have bigger and better roads that need to be built for more cars to drive on that emit more CO2 and require more activity in an area that was once peacefully undisturbed. It kind of breaks my heart when I drive down Ben Hill Griffin and where there were once a bounty of trees on the corner of Ben Hill and Alico is now smoothed over dirt, getting prepared for an extension of Miromar Lakes. It's breathtaking to think that millions of years of natural development was wiped out in a matter of hours. It gets you thinking about the destructive nature of humans and how much we just stomp all over what is bestowed on us to steward. The nature walk is like that last little thread holding on--holding on to what it was before we came and made everything to our liking. Our sustainability efforts are our way of making peace with our destruction and doing the least we can to right our wrongs. The mess is made, and now we have to clean it up and hope that we can do our best.
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| (Photo: Lauren Lukasik) |
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