Journal #4

         Our field trip to Koreshan State Park was a great time! It was awesome to go out and get to canoe for a couple hours. During the canoeing portion of our trip, I saw several animals and species. I saw a great blue haron, white ibis, mullet, and a Cuban anole. I have been canoeing at this park multiple times and the past and never really took the time to appreciate and look at all of these different animals and species, so this was a nice change. Besides the canoeing portion of this trip, we took a little hike followed by a tour with the ranger. I never knew how much history was behind that park, so our tour with the ranger was a total surprise to me. During our tour, the range informed us all about Dr. Koresh’s history and background. This town the colonists called home consisted of 200 people who all were delegated a different job. The Koreshans worked a printing facility, boating facility, a cement shop, and a bakery, from what I can remember. I thought it was so unique how everyone had their own specific responsibility throughout everyday in this community. Another fact that I found crazy was how they believed in the idea that the universe existed with a big hollow sphere. I find it difficult to even wrap my head around that belief! From the lectures that we have had in class, I can relate my experience at Koreshan State Park to those ideas. One idea that I can relate it to would be the preservation of land. During the tour with the ranger, she emphasized the idea that they work to keep the land as similar to how it was back in the day to now. They work to not only keep the houses and buildings the same, but the forest and wildlife area as well. Another idea that I can relate my experience at Koreshan State Park to would be the idea of sense of place. The way that the colonists lived in this community directly represented this idea. They knew everything about it and loved everything about it. Keeping and preserving historic and natural settings like this part is very important and interesting. It is always a good thing to see the way that people lived in the past and to be able to compare and contrast how different it is to now. Having places like this helps people to appreciate everything that we have to enjoy in present day. Overall, my experience at the Koreshan State Park was a great time and I would definitely do it again!

Journal #3

 Before going on this field trip, I never have had the chance to go walk around and explore Downtown Fort Myers. To be honest, I did not expect the layout to be the way it was but it was really nice! As we walked through the area, I noticed how close all of the buildings and stores were together, which was very unique. This made it very easy for people to walk or even bike around the area to go to wherever they wanted to go. Along with this, almost every street was an idea description and layout of a complete street. The streets were laid out with pavers and had cross walks, the sidewalks included lights, benches, garbage cans, and crossing signs, and the exit areas from the side walk to the street included the rigid mats for disabled people. The way that these streets were designed was very sustainable for the environment as well. Having parks such as continental and park of palms help to give off green space and open space. Along with that, having the pavers throughout the streets will help so that water get spread throughout the ground there and having palm trees along the side walk with plants surrounding them will help spread water throughout those areas. When it comes to business throughout this area, there are a wide variety of places to go. There are law offices, courthouses, many restaurants to eat, bars, thrift stores, coffee shops, and even some art stores. One aspect of Downtown Fort Myers that really caught my attention was the art sculptures all along most of the streets. I thought it was a nice touch that this area had. Each of these sculptures enacted something that you can do in that area, which was very unique.

 My experience downtown related a whole lot to our course material and class discussions that we have been having in our lectures. One thing that really stood out to me was how rather than just asphalt throughout the streets and sidewalks, the area of Downtown Fort Myers was designed in a very permeable fashion. Throughout some of the streets and sidewalks there were pavers, allowing water to flow through the surface. Along with this, there were many soil areas surrounded by trees and plants, allowing water to flow through the land surrounding. Downtown Fort Myers is a great area to have surfaces like this, considering how traffic throughout that area is lower than most. Having an area like Downtown Fort Myers would definitely be an area of interest to live for me. It is nice to be in a surrounding where everyone is so active. Cities designs have a huge impact on people’s lives. If we were to compare the area of Downtown Fort Myers to the Estero area, they are completely different. Most places around the Estero area you will need a car to get to when in Downtown Fort Myers, you can almost walk everywhere. Living in one of these areas will directly effect how active on will or could be throughout their everyday lives.

Journal #2

Roger P. Barnaby III

             Before going into the food forest, I expected it to be completely a completely different experience. First of all, I didn’t expect it to be as big as it was. Secondly, I didn’t know how much of a variety of food and plants there were throughout the trail. When it comes to the trail walk, I also had an unexpected experience. The Mulberry Trail is a part of FGCU’s campus that myself and I bet a lot of other students do not know about. Walking through the water area was a cool experience and to be honest, I would do it again! Two fruiting plants that I was very surprised to see in the food forest were avocado and banana trees. I never knew that they grew those fruits in there. Another aspect that I thought was interesting was how the different plants and species were set up. Plants that needed more water were positioned at a lower elevation, while plants that needed less water were positioned at a higher elevation. I thought it was interesting how planned out and critical the set up of the food forest is to keep these plants and species healthy throughout the year. After visiting the food forest, I have a slightly different view on the foods that I eat. Throughout my life, I never really thought into the process and how much work goes into growing certain foods. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, I believe I will have a little more of an appreciation for the efforts that went into growing these foods when I buy or eat them. Preserving places like campus trails and the food forest definitely fit FGCU mission of sustainability. FGCU strives to practice and promote environmental sustainability and by them keeping and maintaining these trails and the food forest completely follows and works towards their goal. I can definitely connect our class field trip to the idea of nature deficit disorder. Throughout today’s generation and society, more and more kids are losing connection to being active and really enjoying and appreciating nature. By FGCU keeping these trails and the food forest, it helps us as students to stay in connection with nature and continue to appreciate it. When I graduate, I want to start a career in the golf business as a Golf Professional. With this kind of profession, it is my job along with the golf course superintendent’s job to have knowledge of different plants and species we have throughout the golf course and how we can effectively water to keep them healthy. This field trip gave me more of an understanding on how these sort of systems work.