Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium

With Kathryn, I did my service learning hours (and more) at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium - and we loved it!  Not only did we leave there eager to go back, but wanting to tell others about it and bring them along with us every time we visited.  What I really enjoyed about the Planetarium, which I feel really made all of the difference, was the employee's and volunteer's eagerness for us to volunteer, learn, and give them a hand.  They would also love to show off their skills to us, whether it be in snake-handling, animal-feeding, or fact-sharing.  They were also always happy to see us, and always had something for us to do (which is hard to come across when volunteering somewhere).  We prepared food for numerous animals; fed opossums; met a skunk; saw an albino raccoon for the first time; almost gotten my arm eaten off by an enormous pig named Elvis (right after the snake-handler guy Steve talked me into a picture with the pig shown above and to the right); watched children chase baby pigs until they could catch one; threw fish into the mouths of impatient pelicans; surrounded our ankles with ducks, chickens, and roosters; cleared an area out for turtles; handled huge, dead rats to feed to enormous alligators; stood just feet away from a rattlesnake; marveled at birds of prey; and were apart of the mini tours that occur around the time when the animals would be fed... and those were just the types of things we did I could come up with off the top of my head!  It wasn't until an hour or so after we got there on our first visit that I had realized that I had been there before, when I was around 13 or so.  I remember enjoying it, but not being able to experience the things we did during our service learning hours.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and I plan on going back yet again.  Although I probably wouldn't have gone there unless it weren't for IDS 3920, I am glad I did.  I felt like a kid again and I enjoyed getting dirty with the animals.  I highly recommend this place for service learning, and I just hope that a requirement doesn't force my next visit there... 

Downtown Fort

The word “downtown” evokes words in my mind such as: party, bars, shopping, clusterf*ck of people, dirty, pollution, and others… I really couldn’t say for sure how their stature in communities have changed over time, because not only has the idea of downtown always been the same to me but I have not spent much time there.  I am not sure how they’ve changed, if at all, and if they are anything like I know them as.  Fort Myers is experiencing something of a renaissance in their downtown area because it evokes, presents, and tries to hold a lot of the history of Fort Myers within its downtown area.  The most prominent architectural feature that really stood out to me was of the mural a ways past Starbucks that had pictures of the (who I believe to be) the Calusa Indians, images of the civil war, incoming ships onto a beach front, and possibly other things that I cannot envision and recall at the moment.  It was, however, magnificent and represented quite a few different historical events and peoples.  They are designed to rekindle the “pedestrian spirit” by being displayed in modern-looking murals through images that are probably not as graphic or true to history as they display.  They are displayed in a more positive manner and through mediums that will attract people’s attention.  Other “nods” to history I observed, which I thought was kind of odd, were the multiple palm trees displayed in a courtyard where each tree had a plaque that gave the scientific and non-scientific name of the palm tree.  It was odd to me, though, because I see palm trees all the time.  If I were a tourist I probably would have appreciated that a lot more.  The economy of Ft. Myers has evolved from past to present as any other city would, with construction.  In relation to sustainability, a small bit of nature and some history are probably the only things that downtown Fort Myers and the rest of the city has attempted to sustain. 

"Is That Sustainable?"

The major elements of “sustainable” farming include things such as how the land is utilized and tilled; the types of  pesticides being used, if any; how the crops are watered and tended to; and how they are packaged and where they are shipped – among other things.  As for me, no, I do not buy organic or “naturally” labeled foods.  A lot of it has to do with my lack of money; if I had more money I probably would try and do the “right” and “sustainable” thing because I do when I can, however, it is the fact of not exactly knowing how “sustainable” the products are that would hinder me from purchasing them.  I am not exactly sure how many people in the United States and developing world could feel opposite of me, but I feel very disconnected from the current food system.  Of course I do not see or really know where my food is coming from, but a lot of what I eat isn’t exactly ‘real’ anyway.  I feel disconnected because I am not exactly eating real, natural, or decent food.  This disconnection from food that I (and I am sure many others) feel is a major and integral part of the “Third Frontier” phenomenon.  Part of the “Third Frontier” is characterized as having a disconnection to the current food system and lack of knowledge on where and what food comes from and essentially is.  If I had the space, support, time, friends to do it with, and could eat them afterwards, I would definitely like to grow my own vegetables and/or fruits on campus.  The reason why I don’t, however, is because I lack one or more of those things to carry it out with.

Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass (**where our bus broke down)

My overall opinion of the Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass was a good and lasting one.  In fact, my boyfriend and I have been planning on going to see the sunrise at Matanzas Pass, where the tour guide assured us a good view.  I felt that the Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass was a great display of the “old” Fort Myers Beach, and did its best to educate and somewhat conserve what little bit of history and nature it had left of the former beach.  The woman who talked to us about the beach and the cottage was not only a lovely woman, but very knowledgeable and caring towards Fort Myers.  The sight at the very end of Matanzas Pass was my favorite, where we were able to see a great view of the ocean and wildlife across a long stretch of land and weren’t constricted by bushes and a small boardwalk.  The enhanced, local quality of life around the Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass include the many shops and restaurants that surround it, the many hotels, homes, and resorts that bring in tourists and revenue, and the numerous people that come to enjoy those very things by boat in the many canals that have been constructed over the past fifty years and more.  It has and hasn’t included the quality of life, however, in multiple ways.  And as for the environment and the beaches themselves, the quality has not been enhanced.  My hometown has changed drastically over the years, mainly into a dump.  It is not so much the town it is now that brings me a sense of community, but the memories I get when I try and look at the crummy town that was my home many years ago.  If a developer offered me 300% the market value of my childhood home to develop into condos, I have no idea if I would take it or not.  I am not exactly sure if I’d necessarily want to change my old home (even if it is a dump now) with my own actions, however, condos would probably look much nicer there and do much more good in the neighborhood.  If the county approached me about purchasing the land under the 20/20 program, again, I am not exactly sure what I would do.  Since that will never happen, I guess for the sake of this blog I will respond that for both scenarios I would turn down the offers and leave everything (to rot) as it is…

Energy

Energy?  Too cheap?  If anything, I feel that energy is too expensive.  In order to create or implement things that do not use a lot of energy or diminish the use of energy, the costs are enormous.  Creating a LEED certified building such as Lutgert Hall has a much bigger price tag than Ben Hill Griffin Hall, for example.  As far as conservation being a dirty word, my view is that it’s not.  What could possibly be dirty about conserving?  Well, conservation must be a dirty word because we fail to conserve anything in America or truly believe in anything ‘conservation.’  In regards to alternative energy sources, I am not exactly sure whether I believe in being more of a “free-marketeer” or in the government’s intervention in steering the U.S. away from fossil fuels.  I don’t necessarily believe the government should be the sole proponent behind our movement away from fossil fuels, but I do believe they could take some action in getting society to believe and want to act in accordance with the use of less fossil fuels.  Using less fossil fuels is going to take more than just “free-marketeering” and will need some help and action from the government, however, the desire and force of action should be from the American public.  Although I know it seems difficult and nearly impossible to utilize properly and find real, usable energy from, I feel that if the energy of the ocean could be harnessed it could prove an amazing and great energy source - especially since the majority of our world is the ocean.  Perhaps the tools and ideas on how to do so are not available, but perhaps in the future there will be.  Steps I could take in order to limit my energy footprint could include actions not limited to: trying much harder to carpool; buying bulbs and other items that conserve energy; doing research on energy and how to conserve it at home on my own; recycle; limit my consuming; and do my best as a teacher to promote energy conservation in as many ways as I can (among many other things).

Climate change, shlimate change

In my opinion, I am not exactly entitled to an opinion on climate change.  Not only do I lack the scientific knowledge on the multiple views on the issue, but the fact that there is nowhere near an agreed upon view about climate change and that the theories are all so drastically different makes it difficult to have an opinion or even feel that climate change exists.  The way climate change was so simply put for me, though, makes me learn towards the idea that climate change is a more naturally occurring phenomenon than we think.  Although the idea that perhaps the speed of the Earth may have increased due to humans’ presence here, the initial movement of the Earth (which is what allows climate change to occur in the first place) is under no one’s control but nature’s.  In the media, climate change is portrayed as something that exists due to humans’ actions, is a completely negative occurrence, is happening rapidly and dangerously, and will (probably) be the demise of us.  The fact that the media, which is our main source of information, exaggerates climate change so drastically not only doesn’t cause me to alter my lifestyle but makes me question whether or not it really exists or is even a problem.  In my opinion, whether it is a pressing issue or not, the effects will not be as drastic or influential during my time, my children’s time, or even my grandchildren’s time.  I feel that the projected effects of climate change, if any are accurate, will take much longer than expected to go into effect.   

My ECHOing Thoughts



My visit to ECHO in 2008

 My overall opinion of ECHO was a great one!  I feel that it is a wonderful organization that is truly caring, hard-working, and legitimate in their goal(s).  What really stood out to me was ECHO’s general ingenuity in how they set up and planted their crops.  Not only did they try and use every bit of land that they could, but they worked to maximize their product.  They cleverly placed plants in appropriate places, used natural pesticides, and even used the knowledge they have of other plants to strategically plant them in places where each crop would benefit from the other (while even using the same land).  The examples of crops that were showcased compared to my view of “American” agriculture by the simplicity, resourcefulness, naturalness, and relationship and fulfillment from nature that I view comes from the field of agriculture.  In regards to their work being relevant to the developing world, it can be seen both ways.  ECHO offers their knowledge of farming and works to help enhance and advance other countries’ ways of farming, however, is not exactly preparing them to develop “industrially.”  I am not sure, however, if they want to develop as we have, which I feel ECHO is not attempting to do.  Even if it is not for the remainder of my service learning, I have once before and intend on once more completing service learning hours there.  Not only do I feel that what they are doing is noble, beneficial, respectful, and much needed, but it would be a great opportunity to spend time in nature all the while serving others who do not have the luxuries that we do.

I wanna be a billionaire so fricken bad...

In my opinion, the most pressing global environmental issue facing us today is the wasting of resources, such as food, clothes, finite resources such as oil, etc. from immense consumerism.  I believe this is one of the most pressing issues because of the outrageously exponential amount of waste that results from consumerism.  Not only is the initial waste a problem due to things such as pollution and the fact that those things could go to others, but it has had multiple effects on various other environmental issues and has trickled down to an even worse problem.  If I were given $100 billion by a benefactor like the Rockefeller Foundation, I would allocate the funds in a couple different ways concerning the issue(s) of consumerism and waste.  I would use the money to first help raise awareness of and come up with prevention strategies to try and diminish immense consumerism and waste.  In addition, I would want to create organizations that help use “waste” to give to other countries whom don’t even have anything to waste.  Educating people on the issue and in turn using “wasteful” resources into useful things for others, I feel, would be an appropriate and beneficial way to deal with the results consumerism and waste has had on the (global) environment.  While trying to address, educate, and prevent the source, I would simultaneously be creating organizations that will take the waste and results of consumerism that we have and turn them into something that isn’t waste.  A lot of what is wasted in the first place shouldn’t be, and could be something so profound in the lives of others who don’t have anything to begin with.