AGRICULTIURE FIELD EXPERIENCE

 In this week’s field trip experience, we traveled deep into the ECHO facility and our local campus to learn more about environmental sustainability from an agricultural standpoint. ECHO's purpose is to promote sustainable farming techniques, nutritional plants, and appropriate technologies.

Here at FGCU we have a variety of agricultural sustainability components that reflect those used at ECHO. 

In class readings we often address the connection between the human impact and natural wildlife. A balance is indeed important to maintaining a sustainable ecosystem. Annually, ECHO Florida and our Regional Impact Centers host a variety of learning opportunities. Each event gathers hundreds of missionaries, students, and practitioners together to share experiences, stories, and ideas with people who are passionate about equipping families with lasting hunger 

 solutions.  

 Another example is FGCU’s Food Forest on campus. It is a permaculture inspired garden. As we have learned in class readings, Permaculture is the concept of mimicking the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems rather than using the resource-intensive practices seen in industrialized agriculture.

Food Forest seeks to elevate the environmental sustainability of the institution through providing organic fruits and vegetables to the campus and southwest Florida communities. Ultimately, through engaging the hands, hearts, and minds of students, alumni, staff, faculty, and community members, the Food Forest will offer a space for the cultivation of lifelong learning and for a commitment to sustainable food and living practices. 

An important concept from the readings is the duty and privilege we as individuals have to contribute to our environment in growing, processing, transporting, storing, cooking and disposing of the food we eat. ECHO makes part of its mission to nurturing the principles of participatory engagement, building foundational understandings of plants, practices, and appropriate technologies, recognizing options and opportunities in community development, and gaining practical experience.

FGCU makes sure to do it’s part by providing healthy and sustainable  forms of nutrients for students living on campus. For example, the campus dining experience includes vegan and vegetarian options to persuade students to eat healthier and give back to our local  ecosystem.

This was such an awesome virtual experience, I can not wait to take a physical visit to ECHO at some point.

Urban Experience

 Urban Experience: Babcock Ranch

For this weeks field trip our class engaged in a virtual tour of the Babcock Ranch. The Babcock ranch is a sustainable city constructed on state road 31 in Southwest Florida. The urban infrastructure is designed to create an eco-friendly, safe, and functioning environment for all whom inhabit the area. 
 In Sustainability, Principles and Practice, we have discussed the concept of natural capital. Humans have already overshot Earth’s carrying capacity and are living by depleting its natural capital and overfilling its waste sinks. Natural capital consists of the resources and services provided by ecosystems. Renewable resources can support human activities indefinitely as long as we do not use them more rapidly than they can regenerate

 

The Babcock Ranch engaged in this concept when developing this estate which is home to native wildlife and agriculture by providing many resources for sustainability in the process. For example, there are water aquifers, solar panels, educational institutions, health facilities, and job opportunities within its 18,000-acre living facility.

  

 

In class readings, we have discussed the topics of ecosystem conservation and restoration being an important focus of sustainability work. Conserving or restoring ecosystem health involves three broad fields of endeavor: Conservation refers to protecting biodiversity; it is about minimizing damage. Restoration is about repairing damage, returning the condition of an ecosystem to a state of health. Reconciliation involves acknowledging that humans are part of the natural world and finding ways to live together, weaving into the fabric of the biosphere the activities of its most visible and ubiquitous species, Homo sapiens.   

Babcock Ranch provides its community with the opportunity to participate in something bigger than the individual experience. This promotes civic engagement between the population, the environment, the ecosystem, and prosperity. This can be exemplified through job opportunities, recreational activities, educational prospects, and more!  

A conclusion we have come to in our class readings is that within the modern era of growing human population, urban development, habitat destruction, and changing climate, we need to find ways to integrate ourselves with the rest of the biosphere, to fuse the bits and pieces together into a larger, coherent living whole. The use of solar panels, flat road infrastructure, the founders square is the MVP of the Babcock Ranch design.   

Social sustainability is important because there is no sense in creating a perfect living space in which the citizens must travel away from to experience life. Whether that experience is monetary, educational, or recreational. In the state of global warming that we all currently inhabit, social sustainability is essential to the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions, recycling of natural elements, and more!

Marine Experience

THE MARINE EXPERIENCE

              In this week’s virtual field trip experience, we traveled into Florida estuaries, ecosystem, and open ocean  environments to learn more about the connection between them. Also, we learned that there is a direct relationship between local economy and our environment 

 

In class readings we often discuss the human species impact on the rest of the globe. While scientific advancements are useful to developing survival tactics on this planet, some methods are harmful to the natural cycles and patterns of our planet.  In Sustainability Principles and Practice we discovered that the more readily a contaminant is transported and the more resistant it is to being transformed, the greater its pollution potential. The greatest health risks come from contaminants that are highly mobile, highly persistent, and highly toxic. This is said regarding products and chemicals used for construction, technological advancement, and environmental manipulation, such as man-made dams. During the field trip we learned that storm water runoff carrying loads of sediment, nutrients, and chemical pollutants can cause significant damage to estuaries and the organisms that live within them, in areas like southern Florida.  

 

While virtually observing, we realized that climate change poses several threats to coastal communities, primarily through sea level rise. Rising seas have already begun flooding some coastal areas, particularly during times of extreme high tides. As we learned in Sustainability Principles and Practice, environmental preservation methods will vary based on different climates and landmarks. It is not an easy subject to tackle in one conversation. However, sitting idly and continuing to use our sources on the global scale that we do, is not an option. 

 

The land and water that is home to our natural wildlife must be preserved if we are to stand a chance at saving our planet. For instance, the local Eastern oyster serves the important role of filtering sediments from the water. This is an essential component for the life cycle of marine life. As we discovered in the Robertson text, the problem is not that Earth is running out of water; the problem is that humans pull it from the hydrologic cycle faster than it can be purified and replaced and that human activities pollute some of the remaining water so that it is not safe to use. If we risk effecting sea levels, we risk the survival of fundamental species like the Eastern Oyster.  

 

The Freshwater Experience

 

Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, also known as CREW; is a private, non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of the water resources and natural communities. The program examines the unique consortium of environmentalists, government agencies, landowners, developers and private citizens who came together in the CREW Land and Water Trust for a common cause: to preserve and protect one of the region's most valuable and important resources, the watershed that refuels the aquifers and provides water to residents of Southwest Florida.   

 Crew provides sanctuary for many species in its healthy wetland. For example, CREW has a perimeter of 60,000 acres, which holds the largest state of old growth cypress in the world!  Some of these are thought to be 700 years old. It is an extremely biodiverse ecosystem with marshes, pine flatwoods, and even oak hammocks. 
 

  

 A safe space for local wildlife, such as black bears, Florida panthers, endangered wood storks, and migratory birds.   My favorite type of bear--SO CHUNKY! 

  

In the class readings, we often learn about sustainability. A huge role of environmental sustainability is water conservation. Water is a renewable resource constantly replenished by the hydrologic cycle. This cycle however takes time and our society on the global scale effects this process more and more with our increasing population.  I love that CREW focuses its efforts on the watershed. Approximately 16 billion gallons of water is stored and recharged annually in this acreage.   That is incredible! It's like having our own local secret treasure. 



   

I admire the concept of environmental education being pushed for adults and children. As we've learned, exposure to nature is essential to preserve our environment, while also being a catalyst for cognitive and behavioral development.  CREW offers daily excursions, and even overnight camping for all ages. 

A wonderful virtual field trip. I learned a lot more about my local environmentalist programs and what we can all do to sustain our freshwater and wildlife. 

Sense of Place: How I Start My Day

 

Silent Meditation

Science often says the most important meal of the day is breakfast. While it is important to eat and get your body revved up for the day, it is equally important to get your mind to the same level. Every morning I get up 3 hours before I start my day. Often, I sit outside in silence. No phones and no distractions-- just my cup of coffee and the outside world.  This often helps me center my mind. In one of the readings in class, Nature Deficit Disorder; we learned the psychological term known as Directed Attention Fatigue. This is a scenario where the human brain is providing to much attention directed at a task. This often leads to irritability, lack of focus, agitation, and impulsive behavior. One of the ways I avoid directed attention fatigue is through silent meditation. 

 

Walking Meditation

Sometimes, even after breakfast and silent meditation, I am still a bit overwhelmed with all the tasks I have tallied up in my head to complete for the day. It is almost impossible to focus and get all of this done with the pressure to perform in the front of my mind. I have a treadmill on my patio. It faces towards my neighbor’s backyard. His garden is beautiful to look at while I walk at a quick pace. Not too fast, that I will wear myself out. But not to slow, that I can be distracted from decompressing. In class, we have a reading about Nature Deficit Disorder, which basically explains that there is a positive correlation between the human brains cognitive function and the nature of its environment. The soft breeze, low owl trills, and slow movements of the trees is captivating and ethereal. It in turn affects the way I feel inside.

Dialogue

Last, but not least, if my body and mind are relaxed, I feel like I can process and complete anything! There is a dialogue between myself and my environment. Sometimes, I give myself advice by reflecting on things I have pushed out of sight and out of mind but have slowly creeped up into anxiety. While a week ago, an issue that felt like it would destroy everything; that same scenario can be viewed now with a clear head and reach a conclusion. I often, realize my emotions and reactions are based on my perspective at the time. In one of the readings, Knowledge Extinction, we learned about Change Blindness. This is the idea that we often modify what we see. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes it is not. This can be a positive or negative phenomenon. In the case of self-reflection and dialogue, it is positive. Being able to see a situation from another point of view with a clear mind and relaxed body, creates dialogue which can solve most issues.