Debrief

Found this class to be much harder than I thought, but in the end it was worth it.  The hardest part of this class was working the service learning into my schedule.  Even though it is summer my program still consists of four class plus our clinical rotations, so adding more was a challenge.  In the end I loved my service learning site and hope to go back when I am not as busy.  I found the information we learned in class to be useful and I am definitely more aware of how things work around me.  The class was always interesting and the way of doing and learning things was different every time.  I like this because it kept me interested in the activities and did not get boring by always doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time, every week.  Some teacher do not understand that even though the information being taught is different, if the way of learning about it is not then it still gets boring.  I had never done a blog before and was a little skeptical about it at first but I actually enjoyed it.  It was nice to be able to post pictures in the blog because sometimes words can only say so much while a picture says it all perfectly.  I have always been interested in learning new ways on how to save energy and making the earth a little greener so this information was extremely helpful.  Overall I enjoyed the class.

Shywolf Sanctuary

I did my service learning at Shywolf Sanctuary.  I had a great time working there and plan on going back whenever I can.  I learned a lot by being there.  Not only did I learn safety and cleanliness about them but I learned a lot about how wolves interact.  I was surprised at how similar their personalities are to ours, except for one small difference, they do not care what we as humans think of them.  Some can be shy at first, but once they warm up to you they are very friendly and playful.  Others are playful from the very beginning, and some just do not like certain people.  I was amazing the amount of wolves they had there.  The sanctuary is in someone’s back yard, and it is not just wolves, they have, panthers, bobcats, rabbits, foxes, and prairie dogs as well.  Most of these animals have been abused, and others were just “cool pets” that eventually got old.  Something I learned that really stuck with me is that they are not like dogs.  While some are part dog and part wolf, it is easy to tell the difference between which side is more dominant personality wise, not just be looks.  Some of the wolves look intimidating but are the sweetest things once you start playing with them.  It was so important to build relationships with the animals because they really can sense how you feel.  It is amazing to me that someone would take in all of these animals in their backyard.  I know I could never be able to manage that, and I respect them greatly.

Ding Darling

I cannot imagine having to build a road by myself now, but to build one way back when without any real technology blows my mind.  The road that you take through the trail was built by one man and it took him about four years, two to go one way and two to come back.  Right at the beginning the tour guide pointed out the millions of little crabs that were sitting up by the mangroves.  I saw all sorts of the little creatures, crabs, plenty of fish, birds, and even where a turtle lived.  I had never been to Sanibel so I was amazed at how beautiful and reserved it was.  Our tour guide was great; she gave us lots of information and related a lot of things to other states because most of the people on the tour with us were from out of state.  She would stop whenever we had a question and made sure everyone had a chance to see everything she pointed out.  I found it interesting about the birds that would set up their nests at the tops of the trees.  They do this because they need a three hundred and sixty degree view of their surroundings.  I did find it kind of strange that there are so many residential houses close by.  At certain points toward the end I could see into people’s back yards.  I do not know how pleasant that would be if that was my house, and I think it actually drew people away from the tour because I heard others on the tour talking about the houses as well.

Downtown Ft. Myers

I had no idea there was so much history in downtown Ft. Myers.  You see it in the way the buildings were built and structured. I learned long ago that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had lives here long ago but I never knew that Ft. Myers had been established way before that.  The videos were very informational and it is cool to see how the area you live in came about.  I think doing the scavenger hunt is a great idea for getting to know that area.  I liked how the questions were informational but also had some fun ones as well.  I probably learned the most from this field trip just because I had a lot of fun doing it.  When I first went over the scavenger hunt I remember thinking Yoda?  As we walked up and down the streets it was funny to see how many people knew we were doing a scavenger hunt for an FGCU class without saying anything to them.  I really liked the painting at the Olympic building.  I had heard about it on the news when it had first opened up so it was nice to be able to see it.  Toward the end I  was getting frustrated because I only had one left and I could not find it anywhere, but as I went to get something to drink from a store it was right there, and I just laughed.  I think it was really cool that they used shells as concrete for the sidewalk.  

ECHO

I really enjoyed this field trip to ECHO.  I have been there two times prior to this trip but they were when I was younger so it was nice to see what things had changed and what had stayed the same.  I did not remember the area where the bamboo is.  I did not know that you could cut a piece of bamboo off and then put it in the ground and it would continue to grow.  I also did not know that sunflowers could grow to be as tall as they were.  At the end of our tour they had a little platter out for us to all try.  It was definitely not your typical platter; it was full of leaves, fruit, and cactus.  I must say I had never eaten cactus before but it is extremely good.  I would love to be able to grow my own plants and vegetables, and there they give you ideas of quick and easy ways to do just that.  I loved the little hut that is a replica of a school house in a third world country.  This helps to bring to life what it is like to live in a third world country.   I really like and appreciate what ECHO has been doing. Not only do they grow different plants and vegetables but they actually train people to go overseas and help out.  World hunger is something that really tugs at me so seeing people and an organization trying to prevent that is great.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

I have the pleasure of living out in the estates, right by Corkscrew Sanctuary but I had never been there until this class.  It was interesting to see how different things are there even though they are only a few miles apart.  It was interesting to walk throughout the swamp and see how different things were.  At some parts of the walk the sun was shining through all the trees, everything looked dry and brittle, and it was HOT.  But then at other parts throughout the walk the trees were taller, it was more swamp like and a lot cooler.  The best part for me was being able to see the alligators at the end.  We also saw baby alligators with their mom.  There were a lot of them and according the workers there and some others I have talked to seeing the babies is a rare thing.  It was kind of a peaceful walk; all you really heard was nature because everyone tried to stay quite so we could see as much as possible.  I went with a group of people but I noticed that I was always a little bit behind them.  Something about walking through nature is just relaxing to me.  When you get to end of one of the pathways there is a look out that is really pretty.  It is like a huge open field with what looked like prairie grass and different little flowers.  I was amazed at how big some of the trees got when walking through it.  Some of them would curl around each other and just kept going.  Also there were different types of flowers when the land got lower and there was not as much sun.  It was much more colorful and was really pretty.  Also on our walk through the swamp we saw three black racer snakes.  One was trying to go up one the huge trees and the other two were just slithering around in the grass.  I seen plenty of snakes living out here, I even had a rattle snake at my front door one time, but I have never seen a group of snakes interacting before.  It was really interest to see the differences from my backyard to there.  It just goes to show how close things seem to be but yet how different they really are.  Unfortunately I did not get to see very main animals besides the alligators and the deer.  I just saw a lot of lizards and bugs.  When reading the information in the directions about the wood stork I thought we would see them as well, but again I did not see anything.  We did see a hawk, but I do not what kind it was, but it was really big.  Going onto the field trip I was thinking that the possibility of seeing deer was really good but we never saw any, although I did see one crossing my street on my way home, which I found to be rather ironic.  

Field Trip Pictures

Corkscrew Sanctuary, Downtown Ft. Myers, ECHO, Ding Darling

Endgame

I really liked that this excerpt dealt with our home environment.  While most of the things we have studied and learned about throughout this semester have been things we can relate to and apply to our lives and surroundings, this is really about where we are right now.  It was cool to see that there are people within our community willing to step up when it comes to conservation of the everglades and surrounding wetlands.  Also I have grown up in Naples my whole life and never heard of this happening, but do remember the whole Elian story so it was interesting to hear about some of our cities history and know that I have been here for some of the important decisions for its future.  I have always found it unfortunate and sometimes disgusting at the fact that race and politics have such an impact on the decisions we make, not only in our environmental issues but even everyday decisions as well.   I find it true when they say that the key to getting the law passed was unity in Florida.  I find this to be true in everything you do because if you do not have everyone on board with a decision, things will eventually begin to crumble.  Everyone needs to be able to compromise and try to find the best way to do things together.  This is one thing I have learned from this class that is not strictly environmental, for anything to be successful you must have compromise.

Love it or Lose it

I really liked the point made in this excerpt about how we who live in today’s society do not or cannot integrate ourselves into nature as those that lived in centuries past.  I believe this to be very true.  With all the technology and different gadgets we have today it is almost impossible to get away from it all.  Even if we do manage to get away from it other people view us as weird, or we ourselves feel as if a part of us is missing.  I found it interesting to see that we as humans must choose between biophobia and biophilia.  I have never thought about it like that but because we are smart enough and capable of understanding the consequences of each it seems to fit well.  In today’s society we see all these types of shows about OCD’s and some of us see it on a regular basis or be consumed by one ourselves.  These types of compulsions can be serious and the people with them if taken to an extreme must seek professional help; we need to understand that these types of things are not okay or normal.  While I do not think I have seen anyone who has a severe biophobia, I do see people becoming less interested in nature and more interested in how to get rid of it; especially here in South West Florida.  I found it educational to be able to relate this excerpt to common and interesting things that are “popular” to say the least in today’s world. 

 

The Land Ethic

The main idea I got from reading this excerpt is similar to one we saw in the beginning of the semester.  This idea is that society and nature work together in life, not separately.  We may be different but we live together and share the earth.  We need to think of ourselves as a community; working together and respecting one another.  I really like the idea this excerpt presented about using ethics.  I have never thought to look at ethic from an ecologic perspective when you do it does make sense because we do have a relationship between ourselves and the plants, land, and oceans.  We are a team and we as humans are just one part of it and in order for a team to succeed it needs to work together.   The points made about how even though we are conserving areas through the government are something I find a little too eccentric.  Yes I believe we need to live in harmony with nature and protect our planet but we do need to have room to live.  By letting the government have control over the refuges and other properties it helps to create a safe haven for the wildlife and also gives us our space.  I believe that we need to have love, respect, and admiration for our land just as this excerpt stays to make sure that everyone is in working together to make this planet successful.  I found this excerpt to be the most interesting one so far.

60 minutes

Nothing bothers me more than not being able to say what I feel and it seems like James Hansen of NASA institute of climate is in that very same situation.  Not being able to freely communicate with others and informing us on what is going on in the world is extremely shady and unfair to us.  We all know that global warming has become an issue within our society but the actual facts about it are sometimes edited to the point that an issue that needs to be addressed is not because there is not much emphasis put on it.  We as a country have a right to know what is going on with the climate.  The fact that someone under both President Clinton and President Bush was unable to get the Our Changing Planet report threw congress without an extreme number of edits in unfortunate.  It seem to me from this video that any politician whether democrat or republican seem to only acknowledge the idea of global warming.  We know that ice sheaths are melt, that the burning fossil fuels impacts global warming, and that 2005 was the warmest year reported.  We are aware that things are happening but shown how to resolve it.  If action is not taken soon scientist  believe our world will not be able to keep the earth from warming below one degree Celsius and that we will hit and surpass the tipping points have become so very aware of within the past few assignments.  If scientists have ideas or new information about global warming and its effects I feel as though we as a country are entitled to know about them when discovered, not when a president deems it needed.

Global Dimming

Global dimming is the reduction of sunlight shining directly on the earth.  This is due to the air pollution and green house gases in the clouds that reflect the sunlight back into space, not letting it enter.  We would think that because the temperature of the earth is getting hotter studies would show this as well but through this video we found that temperature was not as much of a factor as actual sunlight is.  There are two effects going on within the world, the cooling effect and the heating effect.  The heating effect is something we have heard of much more than the cooling effect.  This heating effect deals with the amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gases that are being release into the earth’s atmosphere.  Studies have shown that the cooing effect has had a dropping off in that the earth is not cooling itself down as much as it has in the previous decades and centuries.  With this decrease and the increase of green house gasses we are looking at a "double wammy" as one scientist put it.  The most disastrous aspect of this continued increase is the potential for frozen methane gasses from the bottom of the ocean to be release.  They become destabilized by the warming of the planet are eight times stronger than carbon dioxide.  Some scientist believed that the heating of the earth by 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit will become a reality by the end of the century, while others now believe this could happen by midcentury because of our increased emissions of green house gases. Without the decrease in these emissions our path to disaster is inevitable.  

As The World Burns...

From this article the main idea I concluded too was that there was not enough involvement from the person who was promising all the change, President Obama.  I love when the article says “Obama had served the dessert before the children even promised to eat their spinach,” because that is exactly what had happened.  Obama pretty much gave away everything the “three amigos” were negotiating with.  If president Obama had been more involved in what was going on than the bill may have come together faster and with more support, but instead it seemed to be falling apart right in front of them.  I feel that if the issues of health- care reform and climate change were being dealt with at different times than this unfortunate circumstance would not have occurred.  Towards the end of the article I feel it best put as this “Obama grew timid and gave up, leaving the dysfunctional Senate to figure out the issue on its own.” 

Being able to work together with people of opposite political views is hard and we saw the heat that all three participants took because of that, especially Graham.   It is a shame that with so much support by both green companies and those that were the biggest polluters, and democrats and republicans that the bill did not pass then.  This just goes to show how important communication and honesty really are.  If you want to get something accomplished you need to be open and honest about everything you are doing, something that did not happen in this article.  

Untold Stories of Fort. Myers

I had no idea that Fort Myers was once called Fort Harvey.   Fort Harvey was build because of the Indian uprising and the second and third Seminole wars and then became a northern fort during the wars between the states. I found it really neat that the name Fort Myers was after a man in love.  Captain Myers was engaged to the general’s daughter, and so the fort was build for him.  I never knew that the United states colored troops build Fort Myers or that it was founded so long ago in 1866 from travelers coming from Key west.  The town of Fort Myers was so small back then but even so they had problems just as we do today.  For example they built their first school but then some student burnt it down.  I always thought Lee County was named after some random family that really didn’t mean much so it was interesting to see that it was actually named after Robert E. Lee.  The idea that Hendry and Collier Counties were part of Lee County until the 1920s shows how remote it was back then, but how quickly it grew.  In 1904 railroads became the main way of transportation and made city double.  Even famous people such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford came here to live and vacation and now people come just to visit what they have left.  It is kind of funny to see that Southwest Florida has always been a place for tourist.   It’s sad to see that the segregation of blacks and whites took longer than most other places.  You hear and see things about racial segregation elsewhere but it’s unfortunate to see that it was at one point real in our own city.  Seeing how FGCU is now a part of Fort Myers history is a huge accomplishment for the entire area of Southwest Florida.  These videos helped to understand and have an appreciation of where we live.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is that awful feeling you get when something or someone goes against what you say or believe.  You automatically become defensive in your belief and try to rationalize your idea, most of time without hearing the full idea of the other person.  As human being this is just our natural way of reacting; when someone attacks us we defend ourselves.  Applying this to our environment is something I have never thought of before but definitely will now.  We are somewhat “attacking” the world we live in by polluting it with CO2 and other chemicals and in a sense the environment is defending itself by changing.  Now that is pretty out there, but it is kind of true if you think about it.  A more realistic idea is that people who are much more informed about our world and what is happening to the environment are trying to get our attention but too many times we just ignore them or disregard their argument.  The truth is they are only trying to help us and the environment.  We think that because we are not involved in agriculture and the environment a lot that these ideas do not mean much to us, but they really do.  We live on this earth and that should be reason enough to care about it.  Most people just need to realize that they do make a difference in our world and that we need everyone to be involved in making it a better place to live. 

six degrees warmer...

When we here about global warming we think of icebergs melting, hotter summers, and not as cold winters but normally the thoughts stop there.  The world today is 1 degree hotter than it was decades ago and if this increases it could impact our futures in a devastating way.  I personally have seen the disaster of fires because of the how hot it is and lack of rain.  Even earlier this week it was smoky as I went outside and smoke clouds surrounded a larger part of where I live.  Not too many people realize other contributing factors to why fires have started or why the world is getting warmer.  This video shows us that CO2 emissions are part of the cause.  Besides the obvious consequences of fires we need see how the warming of just one degree has an impact on cattle countries as well.  We could possibly lose cattle farms because they will dry up because of the heat.  Without the cattle farms our economy will suffer and everyone worldwide will feel the effects.  The continuation of this warming will put us in a situation we have been in before.   At 2 degree warmer we could see extremely negative effects with the oceans and forests and some believe this is the tipping point of global warming. At 3 degrees warmer the Arctic will be ice free all summer and snowcaps will disappear. Anything beyond 3 degrees is only a mystery but if we do not act now that mystery could become our reality.   

Diamond Excerpt

Being able to look back at previous civilizations is a privilege for us.  We should not argue about why a certain civilization collapsed or whose fault it may have been but rather we should study what we know about them and apply their success to ourselves and learn from their mistakes.  By doing this we make similar problems that we might come to later easier and will be more prepared.  While our better knowledge of technology and medicines helps to reduce some of the problems earlier civilizations had deal with, we do still have some similarities with them such as globalization and overpopulation such Diamond describes in this excerpt.  We need to use our resources as best we can without becoming completely dependent on them.  They will eventually run out and if we do not plan ahead now we could end up in the same situations as previous civilizations.  These ideas are seen when Diamond talks about his visits to the two farms that are similar yet different at the same time.  We do influence our environment to some extent but sometimes the economy and natural disasters get the best of everyone.  Seeing how these problems had affected the farms Diamond visited brings these ideas to life to because I am sure we can all imagine what would happen if this was local.  We need to be thankful that here in southwest Florida we have been fortunate to have not been hit too hard by the economy and be smart by learning from what has already happened elsewhere and from before.

Goodall's Excerpt

I feel that Goodall's excerpt is trying to get people motivated in helping to save the environment.  If we all just take a little time and effort to work together we can help to make the earth a little bit better.  That does kind of sound clique but it really is the truth.  If we pollute the earth we should at least take the responsibility for it and help to manage how much damage we are doing.  I really like how she is not afraid to dream big and let people know about it.  I found the Hudson River story interesting because not only do you see how one fish made a huge impact, but then how that impact has been maintained and now the introduction of reefs and shorelines can be implemented. I love seeing how one small thing can inspire another small thing and then how that turns into something extreme and beneficial.  Even if something is gone there are still people out there fight to help save what is left and want to make sure that it does not happen again.  Being outside is healthy for us; there is nothing like a breath of fresh air after being in an office all day or a great run outside after a stressful day.  Making subtle changes in our daily routines such as recycling or car pooling or even riding a bike can make a big impact on helping to reduce pollution and keep our outdoors a little more greener.

Shiva's Excerpt

Reading Shiva's excerpt helped open my eyes to how connected everything and everyone is on the earth.  From the littlest form of bacteria to a lion in the jungle, everything is working in harmony so that the world and everything on it can function properly.  It is interesting to see how much bacteria and protozoa's impact our lives as much as they do.  When most people think of them they often associate them with diseases and sickness, not realizing that certain kinds and in certain amounts are actually beneficial to us and the ecosystems.  I personally have only heard of bacteria and protozoa being beneficial in my anatomy classes from a medical point of view, so it is nice to see how the same conclusion is drawn from an environmental point of view. Vandana Shiva makes a great point in her excerpt on how humans do not appreciate or are not educated in the complexity of the web of life we all live in, they simply think of themselves as being of higher standing; I find this to be very true. 

Biodiversity is what our planet is built around.  The more pollution and chemicals we dump into the earth the more we are going to lose animals, trees, and cause harm to ourselves.  The ecosystems are suppose to work together in unison but if we constantly keep polluting the earth the outcome of failures to do this are inevitable.  Yes accidents happen just as we saw a year ago with the oil spill, and while that hurt the aquatic ecosystems it was felt worldwide in almost every ecosystem worldwide.  This helps to support the idea that the ecosystems work together as a team and if one is polluted or “injured” the whole team feels the pain.

National Geographics

A few years ago I had a friend who did some community service out at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary in Naples.  I remember them telling me how the wolves were not what they expected; that they were just like big dogs who wanted to play and needed to be walked.  Not many of us think of wolfs as dogs at least I know I didn’t.  Ever since then I have been more interested in wolves so seeing this first video was really interesting for me.  The way wolves have impacted Yellowstone national park within just a few years is amazing.  At first I did not see how they would have a positive impact at all.  I would have thought they would cause more devastation because they would be feeding on what was left of the animal population.  I was surprised after watching the video that that was exactly what needed to happen.  Sometimes we forget that everything in nature works and feeds off each other like one big team.  Seeing the correlation of the loss of the last wolf and the lack of vegetation was interesting but I do not thing anyone thought that adding wolves would cause a decrease in elk that would then cause new and rapid vegetation and growth.  It makes a lot of sense looking back on it now, but thinking through the process before hand I did not see that coming.  The second video was also interesting in that the same thing was happening in the seas of Jamaica and between the land and sea in Africa.  This just shows that everything is related, and no matter where you are whether it be a third world or first world country the issues are the same when it comes to nature.

Sense of Place

I pretty much grew up playing outside in the woods or on the beach so nature and its surroundings have played a big part in my life.  When your outside in nature everything is more laid back and you really look at things in a different way.  There is no rush to be anywhere and you can take your time with anything.  I feel that is how I am in both my personality and how I approach my academics.  Now that might sound as if I am just lazy, but I assure you it is not.  I just do not let the little things bother me.  When it comes to studies you have to get it done no matter what so there is no reason to complain about them.  Yes you may not like what you are learning about or the millions of pages you need to read, but in the end if you want a good grade you will do what needs to be done.  The way I see things is that life is too short to worry about everything all the time.  We need to enjoy life and its surroundings because it may not always be here.  I'm not trying to come off as a "tree hugger" but I have seen what fires and hurricanes have done to my own back yard.  The way I view my academics is to get them done on time and to the best of my ability; and if you get them done early enough you can head to the beach! :)