Final Impressions

My final impressions of Colloquium are that I am glad I took this course because I feel I have gained much knowledge about Florida's environment and natural world. I have learned about sustainability and conservation for improving my surroundings not only for our society, but also for future generations to come. Before taking this class, I had no idea what carbon footprint or ecological litreracy meant. I now understand how to calculate my own footprint and have become more ecologically literate after taking this course.

The only change I would make to this course was the online group work, specifically the Wiki project. I thought it was difficult to organize a project virtually as a group and work on the same website at different times with different discussion post locations. I would keep the same reading assignments but probably decrease the requirements of the discussion posts because 4 posts and then an additional 4-6 replies is a lot of discussion for only a few short readings.

I really enjoyed using this blogspot for my journal entries because it was not only convenient, but easy to use and navigate through. I'd rather use this site than hand-write a journal and attempting to draw nature pictures like some other Colloquium classes are required to do. I liked David Orr's readings because I was able to relate to what he was saying about the environment, sustainability, ecological literacy, etc. However, I disliked the Louv and Dewey readings because of the level of intelligence they wrote in. I felt it was hard to understand the impressive words they used to describe their feelings about environmental education and the other various topics that I was not so interested in.

Since I am still unfamiliar with the state of Florida, I do not have many suggestions for activities, however, I feel that field trips should be directed to more popular areas of FL not limited to just SW FL. For example, if visiting a national park or zoo was an option, I would prefer to go on a field trip there than an indoor museum.

All in all, I enjoyed taking Colloquium this summer and would have probably enjoyed it even more if I had the advantage of taking it in class. I feel I have learned a great deal of environmental knowledge that I will take with me on my journey. I also realized that I have become more environementally aware and I increasingly stop to question nature's various wonders.

Sources: http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~joerg/colloquium/colloquium.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/sBp-NTb0hI8HQz6n1hMBV67BIjs-4J07g-gxLLVY6KL4mWwBX9IAo5OQCXnQqFbKcXCL-brHwQDuXEaxExVRXL3XSWlY7c4o/000dropi.jpg.jpg

Sense of Place Interview

For this journal entry, I interview my Great Aunt Joeanne who lives on the other side of Florida. She is retired and widowed.

Q: What do you think sustainability is?
A: "I believe sustainability means to preserve or keep something maintained for later (future) use."

Q: What's your philosophy on sustainability?
A: "As for our environment, I try to improve sustainability by recycling, using my car only when needed, and using fluourescent light bulbs for less energy use."

Q: What is your ecological perspective?
A: "Since I have been aging I see a steady decrease in society's improvement towards a healthier world. Whenever I go out, everyone is always in a rush. People demand things from stores and purchase such unnecessar material goods it's a shame and such a waste of money. I watch the news on a daily basis and you would not believe how little newsreporters include our environmental issues. There needs to be less talk about the new cast for the Twilight saga, and more heap about hurricane season and how to prepare."

Q: Do you consider West Palm Beach your sense of place?
A: "I would actually consider the Bronx my sense of place beings as I grew up there and met my husband there. I relate to my hometown more than anything and get homesick every now and then even though its been such a long time."

Q: How do you think your upbringing differed from mine?
A: "That's an easy one because there was less technology. When I was a kid we walked everywhere we went-school, church, the movies, to our small houses. We grew up outdoors and in our surroundings and that made us very street smart and aware. We used to play outside from dawn to dusk and our families were fine with that, knowing where we were and what we were doing."

Q: After telling you about my Colloquium class, what is your perspective on what I have been taught/learning about this summer?
A: "I am glad your school is making students take a course about the environment. It excites me that you are becoming aware of your new environment. More elementary school should incorporate environmental science as a subject instead of just earth or social science."


Sources:http://www.landmarkeducationnews.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/sustain-environment.gif


Video on the elderly engaging in their environment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRoJu6vIU8M

Below is the link to an article by Kate Brooke titled, "Two degrees of Celsius Separation." It describes The Elders group, which includes eminent global leaders, created by Nelson Mandela to emphasize and teach to their grandchildren "that the world must act now to prevent climate catastrophe in the future."

http://trueslant.com/katebrooks/

Field Trip #5 Downtown Fort Myers

The last fieldtrip was an interesting one since I have never visited downtown Fort Myers or it's surroundings. I was suprised by how close every historic landmark was to each other and mostly within walking distance. I first started my tour at Centennial Park and enjoyed a nice walk around the park in the sunshine afternoon. I located the "Uncommon Friends" fountain that included Edison, Ford, and Firestone. All 3 were Fathers of the American Industial 20th Century.

Next, I made my way towards the Fort Myers Yacht Basin and for the first time saw the Caloosahatchee River. I was astonished at how many yachts and boats were on the piers.

I visited the First National Bank that was built in the early 1900's. It was interesting to learn that this bank was around during the Great Depression and like most other banks during that time, closed for a "bank holiday." It's architecture and structure on the outside was similar to the Old Lee County Courthouse.

Lastly, I drove by the Southwest Florida Historical Museum. I peeked inside since the museum was closed and saw a lot of neat artifacts and historical content. I could see Mummy displays and outside there was a banner to see King Tut. I feel like this museum did not relate to Colloquium as much because it was more historical than environmental. During this field experience, I learned that downtown Fort Myers has a lot of interesting history I was glad to learn about. I was unaware it had so many historic places and buildings. I don't think I could possibly redesign the urban area better because everything is within walking distance and the downtown layout is easy to master. I would encourage more community engagement by advertising more local events and try to create less attraction to the numerous bars there are. I feel like if they posted catchy flyers about downtown's history, people would become engaged and want to learn more about their town's past and how it impacted society then and today.

http://www.downtownfortmyers.com/Attractions/

Field Trip #4 ECHO

http://www.echonet.org/content/historynet.org/content/history

ECHO, which stands for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, was one of my favorite field trips. I found it both captivating and motivational to learn about more eco-friendly ways to grow crops. The farm grows plants entirely from recycled materials. Not only does this farm encourage sustainability for citizens, but it also provides farmers with additional information on eco-friendly ways to produce and consume crops. Mostly, farmers from less forunate areas take part in learning about the farm and areas for their own improvement. It is a resourceful and beneficial farm to have for agricultural knowledge or training.

Growing up in New York, my mother planted several flower and plant gardens around my house. I used to help her spread mulch on the garden and learned its not only for decorative purposes, but helps prevent weeds from growing and enriches the soil. I also learned how to grow a flower like most elementary schoolers in a styrofoam cup with soil. However, my grandfather was in charge of keeping the grounds at the famous restaurant called Tavern on the Green, located at Central Park. I feel my mother passed down his environmental knowledge to me. I could definitely grow my own food either by gardening or taking skills I learned from ECHO and using them productively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeFWUcKqM5o <-Video on ECHO

Source:http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/manhattan/centralpark/tavern/index.htm(^also includes more scenic pictures of Tavern on the Green's landscape)

Field Trip #3 Historic Cottage/Preserve

The field trip to Estero Bay Historic Cottage and Mantanzas Pass Preserve was enjoyable and educational. I was able to learn about the Estuarine environment and its characteristics as well as well as the different species of Mangroves that thrive in that location.

Mantanzas website: http://www.leeparks.org/facility-info/facility-details.cfm?Project_Num=0202

In 1995, a group of concerned citizens noticed that the rate of development in Lee County had increased substainally and time was running short in order to preserve the underveloped natural areas. This group took it upon themselves to take this cause to the local government and began lobbying for a county-based land acquisition program in order to protect these natural areas. Hence, how the Conservation 20/20 Program was established.

Their main goals, as listed on their website, are to:

- Protect and preserve natural wildlife habitat

-Protect and preserve water quality and supply

- Protect developed lands from flooding
- Provide resource-based recreation

It was my first time learning about this group of environmentally concerned citizens and I give them much credit for their hard efforts and work.

Since I had not been to any other Preserves besides this one, I decided to earn my volunteer hours here for the course requirement. I thought Mantanzas Pass Preserve was an interesting place I wouldn't ordinarily visit and wanted to learn more about the area and it's surroundings. It is located right on Fort Myers beach and I was able to learn a lot of history regarding this particular Preserve and the people who help keep it up and running.

Source: http://www.conservation2020.org/background.html

Field Trip #2 Corkscrew Swamp

Ghost Orchid Photo

Corkscrew swamp sanctuary was one of my favorite field trips. I first started my tour at the Blair Audubon Center and Living Machine. It was interesting to learn about a machine that mimics world's natural processes using water, sunlight, bacteria, plants and animals. I enjoyed the long boardwalk throughout nature and liked that there were maps that included tons of information and displayed how Florida's natural world is changing over time. I especially liked walking throughout the Pine Flatwoods since I did not know that is what most of Florida once looked like. My favorite experience was witnessing a Ghost Orchid which now has 8 to 10 buds on it. The Ghost Orchid is an endangered species and removing or relocating it is illegal. Because Corkscrew swamp is part of the Audubon Society, it is a must more established tourist site than others. I would definitely visit this area again in the future.

Source: http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Wildlife/GhostOrchid.html