Final Impressions

University Colloquium was a great experience and I really enjoyed the field trips that we went on! I liked most of the group assignments that we had such as the powerpoint presentations on each individual chapter, the poster boards on the Earth Charter, and the group work from our textbook. I disliked the first two readings (Dewey & Louv). They were dry and hard to read and understand. They were hard to relate to and therefore, boring. I suggest a field trip to Six Mile Cypress Slough! I attended that field trip when taking Environmental Biology of Southwest Florida and it was the best field trip that I have been on to date!

Field Trip #5: Urban Fort Myers and Southwest Florida Historical Museum

This field trip seemed very short. I felt rushed and I was unable to hear the facts that our professor was sharing with us because there were groups of students having side conversations around me. I was very surprised that downtown Fort Myers was very beautiful! I thought it was going to be very dirty and run down. I was pleasantly surprised.

Food Intake / Packaging

FOOD / CALORIES
7:30am Breakfast: Orange Juice (12oz) / 137
Waffles (2) / 180
Butter (2T) / 100
Syrup (>1/4C) / 180

9:00am Diet Cherry Coke (12oz) / 0

12:30pm Lunch: Chicken Pot Pie (1) / 370
Diet Cherry Coke (12oz) / 0

2:00pm Snack: Banana (1) / 72
2% Cheese (3 slices) / 135
Water (20oz) / 0

7:00pm Dinner: Chicken Nuggets (6) / 215 Ketchup (4T) / 60
Corn (1C) / 180
Diet Cherry Coke (12oz) / 0

10:00pm Water (20oz) / 0

7:30am Breakfast: Orange Juice (12oz) / 137
Waffles (2) / 180
Butter (2T) / 100
Syrup (>1/4C) / 180

TOTAL CALORIC INTAKE: 2226 Calories

All of the food that I consumed in this 24 hour period was prepackaged or purchased at a grocery store. I get my food from the grocery store. I don't think sustainably when I shop. I buy items packaged in plastic and cardboard (which can be recycled), I buy produce based on price not the location it was grown (how far it had to travel to get to my store), and I usually buy canned or frozen veggies because they last longer.

I usually carry a water bottle, textbooks, notebooks, pens/pencils, my iPod, and my cell phone daily. I currently use disposable plastic water bottles (that can be recycled). I am transitioning into using a reusable water bottle, however, I am finishing my current supply of water bottles before I begin using a reusable bottle daily. My textbooks were used when I bought them, so there were no inserts or plastic packaging. My notebooks were bought in a six pack that was packaged in shrink-wrap plastic. My pens and pencils were packaged in plastic with cardboard inserts. My iPod came in a hard plastic shell with paper inserts (instructions). My cell phone came in a cardboard box with paper inserts (instructions).

At this point in time, I don't live sustainably. I should be buying locally grown produce, items that are packaged in sustainable materials, I should be recycling, and I should be paying MORE attention to my impact on the planet.

Calculate Your Ecological Footprint

After answering truthfully on the website (http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/), I was surprised to see that if everyone on Earth lived like me, we would need 3.5 Earths to sustain all the people on the planet. My highest impact was in the category of the food that I consume, followed by the waste my house generates and my public and personal transportation. My smallest impact is my apartment building and my use of goods and services. I have no electrical impact (according to the website).

I would love to recycle, however, my apartment complex doesn't have the opportunity to recycle anything. I know that there are other opportunities elsewhere, but the convenience of having a recycling center close-by outweighs the cost of driving to a center. My roommates do not want to recycle or feel the same way that I do about the convenience factor which makes it difficult to begin recycling. I am surprised by my results and I am willing to make changes. I would like to buy more locally and organic. I will do the research to find grocery stores to help me change.

Sense of Place Interview

I interviewed my grandmother and asked her what her view on sustainability is. Her response was, "I think everyone is getting out of hand with all of the 'green' talk! The Earth will be fine if we don't spend millions of dollars on 'greener' cleaning supplies and buy things that are made of recycled materials."

My grandmother grew up on a farm in Iowa. She had to wake up early and gather eggs from the chickens for breakfast. She had to feed the farm animals and help with the household chores. She moved off the farm and into a city when she was a teenager.

After sharing with my grandmother the things that we are learning in Colloquium, we discussed sustainability and recycling and our ecological footprints. She still believes that "the Earth wilol be fine", but I know she learned a few new things from me!

Field Trip # 2: Estero Bay Historic Cottage & Mantazas Pass Preserve

We began this field trip at the Estero Bay Historic Cottage listening to the history of Sanibel Island and Estero Bay. I was very interested in the facts and stories of the past. The cottage we were sitting in was almost 100 years old. After listening to the history of the area we were in, our class took a guided tour of Mantanzas Pass Preserve. The mosquitos were bothersome and I'm sure it would have been worse if I had lived back when people were colonizing Sanibel. I enjoyed the walk on the boardwalk, we were able to see the different ecosystems while walking. I thought that this field trip was interesting and I liked the large covered area on the boardwalk over the water. It seemed very peaceful!

Conservation 20/20 is a project that the citizens of Lee County established because they learned that only 10% of the land in Lee County was set aside for conservation. Compared to other south Florida counties' 40%-85%. The Board of County Commissioners appointed three members of the lobbying citizens to oversee the decisions and selections of land for future use. This group of people became the Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC). Their main objectives were to protect and preserve natural wildlife habitat and water quality and supply, as well as protect developed lands from flooding and provide resource-based recreation.

This is the first time that I have heard of this program. It is a very interesting concept. Besides Mantanzas Pass, I have been to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. I don't think that I will visit any other preserve in this program unless another course requires it. I agree that tax dollars should be used for land preservation.

Future of Food

After watching the film Future of Food, I researched my favorite snack, Cheetos. I visited the FritoLay website to search for some answers about Cheetos. It was very hard to find any answers about where they are manufactured, where the ingredients are grown, if they are made with any genetically modified ingredients, and how far they had to travel to get to my grocery store.

I decided to contact the company through email and ask them about my unanswered questions. A customer service representative contacted me within 24 hours. She stated that since the FritoLay company is so extensive, she would not be able to tell me exactly where my ingredients came from. However, she said they were grown in the United States and were shipped to my location from either Georgia or North Carolina. On the topic of genetically modified ingredients, the representative said she was unable to speak in that topic but she advised me to check out the "Our Planet" section on their main website.

(The label above lists the ingredients and the nutritional values.)

Ingredients: Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Monoitrate, Riboflavin, and Frolic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, or sunflower oil), Whey, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes). Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Nonfat Milk), Artificial Flavor, Monosodium Glutmate, Lactic Acid, Artificial Colors (Including Yellow 6), and Citric Acid. Contains Milk Ingredients.
http://fritolay.com/our-snacks/cheetos-crunchy-cheese.html

After watching the Future of Food DVD in class, I began
thinking more about my food and where it comes from. I started buying my produce from the local farmer's market instead of the grocery store. I have payed more attention to the nutrition labels and ingredients in the pre-packaged food that I buy. I didn't know that 75% of the world's farmers depend on their saved seeds. The pesticide company, Monsanto launched a full-blown lawsuit on a farmer for "illegally" obtaining their (Monsanto) seed. I thought that lawsuit was ridiculous and the worst part is that Monsanto won. There were numerous occasions that this exact thing happened to many other farmers.

I think that consumers should be aware of what is in their food! I believe that we have the right to know what is in our food and be given the choice to eat it. We should also be informed of alternatives so that those who want to change what they eat, can.

This film was useful in my learning because before I watched this DVD, I had no idea that there were genetically modified foods, the government had such control over the farmers, or that there were government cover-ups and farmers were paid to keep their mouths shut.

Sense of Place - My Neighborhood

While walking around my neighborhood, I noticed many environmental features, species, and wildlife. There are sabal palm trees, saw palmettos, lizards, tree frogs, butterflies, and more! There is a medium sized lake with fish and other wildlife. I am explaining the apartment complex that I currently live in. It does not offer a recycling area on site yet, so I have to take my recyclables to Publix Supermarket for now.

There is a grassy area that overlooks the entire lake that is close enough to trees for shade when it's hot out but there is usually a slight breeze blowing in the area. This is where I have a feeling of Sense of Place. I like to sit on the grass with my dog and relax. I can just let my mind wander and I feel very comfortable there.

Surrounding my apartment complex is lush wilderness. There are trees everywhere; pine mostly, but some palm trees too.

Field Trip #2: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

The second field trip that our class attended was to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary located in Naples, Florida. The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was founded by the Audubon society who realized the importance of preserving the land. It is the only area in Florida that has not changed dramatically since people began colonizing Florida. The government at that time built man-made waterways throughout south Florida to remove the excess water in preparation of future civilizations. This dramatically affected Florida and we are currently working to reverse the damage and improve the future.

We began our tour in The Living Machine. It is an area of various plants growing near the public restrooms. Our tour guide explained that the facility recycles the waste water from the restrooms to water the plants in the enclosure. It is passed through pipes and held in large tanks with bacteria to break down the water then it is used to water the plants. The water that is left unused, is chlorinated and then un-chlorinated and recycled back to the restrooms to be used in the toilets. I thought that this was very interesting! The money that the facility is saving everyday just from The Living Machine is immense.

Continuing our tour, we walked on the boardwalk through the different environments represented in the sanctuary. We stopped periodically to discuss facts and interesting things about the environments that we walked through. The first area we saw was the pine forest uplands. We stopped and discussed the fire that had been through the area and how we could see
the effects on the remaining trees. (These pictures are of burnt palm trees visible from the boardwalk.)

We saw an area of crushed plants in the marshy area of the swamp which our tour guide explained to us was most likely made by an alligator. The next time we stopped, we were able to see three specific environments. The pine forest uplands, the wetlands, and the cypress forest. (photo on bottom)

We continued our tour and discussed alligator flags/fire flags, lettuce lakes, Florida panthers, spiders, and the interesting facts of the boardwalk. The boardwalk was made of Brazilian wood from the Amazon forest. It would last longer than the cypress trees they could have made it from, but they would be using the tree they were in the process of saving. Also, in building the boardwalk, the trees were taken into account. If a tree was in the way, they built around it instead of cut it down. I thought that this was really interesting. And each year they cut the hole around the tree bigger to allow it to grow naturally.

I really enjoyed this field trip! The weather was decent and the environment we were able to learn about was very interesting. Being able to actually see and touch the environments that we read about and talk about for this course is extremely helpful in creating understanding.

Field Trip #1: Campus Trail

We began our field trip walking through the beautiful FGCU campus. At each stop, I learned something new. I learned that the bodies of water on campus are all connected, I know what the purpose of the solar panels are now, and much more! While walking toward the freshman dorms, it started to rain. I was completely unprepared for the rain, as was the rest of the class, and we all got a little wet before our actual trek through the marshes.

It had been raining almost everyday before our field trip which meant the ground was very moist. As we began walking the trail through the woods, the water level fluctuated from squishy to knee-deep. I was very worried that I was going to slip in the mud on the floor and fall into the water. Because it was later in the evening, the bugs were out; so at the end of the field trip, I had my fair share of bug bites.

I learned that there was a fire on campus about 7 years ago. We also talked about the importance of fires and how dangerous the underbrush can be if it is not taken care of. I also learned the difference between a sabal palm and a saw palmetto. A sabal palm is the palm tree that is all over our campus. A saw palmetto is a small bush with saw-like leaves that grows in groups.

<----- Sabal Palm
Saw Palmetto ----->




I enjoyed this field trip because it taught me a few things that I would have never known. I wish it was a little dryer outside but I can't do anything about the weather. I am looking forward to our other field trips for this class.

Incoming Reflection

When I was told that I would be required to take University Colloquium, my first question was "University WHAT?" I had already taken a course called, Environmental Biology of Southwest Florida, and the two were starting to sound very similar. As the Colloquium course is required to graduate, I decided to be positive and hope I would learn a few new things in the process.

I consider myself mildly experienced when it comes to wilderness. I have explored southwest Florida in ways that include nature hikes (through FGCU campus), marsh walks, and a trip to the slough in stomach deep water. I have also climbed Black Mountain, part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Chain, in North Carolina. Other wilderness regions that I have explored include mountains in Maine and beaches in Canada and Florida.

I enjoy being outdoors when the weather permits. In Florida, it is hard to comfortably enjoy my time outside because of the extremely erratic weather. It is either unbearably hot or there is a torrential downpour, but rarely is there an in-between. When we reach the cooler months, I like to run outside and take my dog for long walks (because it is so much cooler outside).

We will be attending a few field trips during this class. I guess if I have any anxieties or reservations about the class, they would be not knowing what to expect on the field trips. I am not a fan of large bugs or animals crawling up my legs while walking through the swamps or marshes. One of my goals in this course is to get over the uneasiness I have with bugs. Another goal I have for this course is to learn a little more about the environment that I live in. I'd like to be able to identify and name different trees and plants in Florida.

I believe that this class will teach me effective ways to be environmentally friendly, how humans affect the environment and our global community, and it will help me develop "an ecological perspective". I know that after completing this course, I will have the knowledge to help me in my future profession. As a future teacher, I hope to gain as much knowledge as I can while in college to be better prepared for my career. I am looking forward to an enjoyable experience and many adventures with my Colloquium class!