#10. The Lorax

I watched Dr. Seuss' The Lorax the other day with a little girl that I was babysitting. I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss books so I knew that the story had to do with conserving resources and taking after our planet; it wasn't like I wasn't expecting that. However, the movie brought up some issues that seem really ridiculous and perfect for a children's cartoon movie that actually, our planet is really dealing with right now.
For example, in the movie a greedy business man decides that he's going to bottle oxygen and sell it for a profit. At first the idea is thought to be crazy because oxygen already belongs to everyone. It's a natural right and it's free. But the business man suggests that more people will buy the bottled oxygen as the factories manufacturing the product release pollutants into the air and create smog. If the people of Thneedsville want clean air, eventually their only choice will be to purchase the bottled air and the company will make millions.



It sounds like something that could never happen in real life. Surely no one would ever let that happen... Right? But... wait, perhaps that is exactly what the movie is trying to point out. Some of the things we're doing to our world right now don't make any sense. They are absolutely preposterous but we're not even stopping to think how wrong they are. In some cases, maybe we're even the ones concerned about the profit and forgetting everything else. Take into consideration water bottles. Water used to be a free and natural right to every human being. It still is.. but for how much longer can this continue? Water bottling companies are drilling for water in people's backyards and recreational areas. Then they are SELLING it back to the people. They are depleting our aquifer and slowly making us rely on purchasing their products. It's scary when you think about it for a while. Maybe Dr. Seuss' The Lorax isn't just a silly story for children after all.
The movie also touches on conserving natural resources, overconsumption, overdevelopment, and many other subjects which we've discussed in Colloquium with Hoekenga. I encourage you all to watch this short introduction to the movie and just take in the irony of it all. I hope that it will motivate you to watch the movie from start to end and think about the issues impacting our own world currently, as well as what efforts you can make to help.

#9. 10 Memorable Moments from Colloquium w/ Hoekenga

1. When the Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer told us that- before he began invasive species removal and studies on the SWFL python population- he studied ballet in New York City. Never saw that one coming. It made me appreciate the complexity of human beings and it proved how unreliable first impressions are.
2. Learning as much from a man named Charlie Brown, born and raised in Immokalee, FL on the same street that he lives now, as I did from the guides at each of our field trips. Immokalee has one of the country's highest percentages of poverty yet this man knew more than people who had spent tons of time and money learning the information their careers required. It made me realize that knowledge is everywhere but only those who really WANT to learn and appreciate the process realize that.
3. When Virginia and Daniel got separated by our tour guide on the Rookery Bay Boat Tour. Spending time with nature makes you feel like a kid again. You act so silly because you're full of curiosity and enthusiasm. It's hard to punish that. Well, actually our tour guide didn't think so.
4. Habitat Restoration at the Naples Preserve. The opportunity allowed for bonding in two different ways. Through discussion of and interaction with the environment we all share. Also, through complaining about the physical labor we had to do.
5. Snacking on all of the edible leaves our friend Vic at Echo taught us about. And Maggie wondering out loud how she could be sure she boiled the leaves of the cyanide-covered plant long enough to avoid poisoning herself.
6. Searching the tub of things our net dragged out of the water while on the Rookery Bay Boat Tour in the early morning. Other than the flounders and sea pork, I didn't know a single species we pulled up into the boat. It made me think about how human beings are just one among trillions of species located in the world. We SHARE the world with these plants and animals, but sometimes we don't see it like that. Sometimes the decisions we vote on as Collier County citizens, Americans, or even just people of the world affect organisms which we aren't aware exist. It's becoming more and more important to me to familiarize myself with my planet, but especially my home town.
7. Watching a whole lake full of mating snakes at Freedom Park off Golden Gate Parkway. I don't think any of us expected to spend our morning like that.
8. When the woman from Rookery Bay brought in two large python hides and told us about what her husband has to do to tan them. Then she announced a Python Hunting Contest that the Florida Wildlife Commission was supervising... Now why don't they put that in our travel brochures for the tourists!? Ha!
9. Thinking that our paper was due by 9:00 am on Wednesday rather than by midnight. I pulled the first all nighter of my undergraduate career, submitted the paper at 7:50 am, and was in Ft Myers at the Lee County Waste to Energy Facility by 9:30 am, which is located a little over an hour from my home in Naples. And I still managed to make an A! I was proud of myself for that one.
10. The whole class hanging out around the lettuce lakes at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. None of us were in a hurry. We just took our time watching the baby alligators and wading birds, enjoying our morning out in the preserve. I have never dreaded going back to campus and sitting in the classroom as badly as I did after that morning outside.

#8. Naples Preserve

Just a couple weeks ago, the class visited the Naples Preserve and worked on habitat restoration. Who would have known that was the environmentally scientific way of saying "hard physical labor!?" We spent hours raking out pine needles from a segment of the Pine Flatwoods, trimming Saw Palmettos and excavating trees. We weren't told much about why were doing this so the experience was all together miserable. Some students broke out after wandering into poison ivy, or were severely limited for the next week because they were so sore. Our professor even cut open her arm and poked herself in the eye while working hard on digging out an invasive Australian tree.
Today we returned to the preserve after spending all morning at Freedom Park. After such an enjoyable morning, none of us were quite ready to head back. In fact, many of us had left our sweat and tears there and never planned on going back for them again. We were reassured that there would be no labor this time so, after a little hesitation, we did go back. What choice did we have really? We're all here looking for an A.
The experience turned out to be equally as enjoyable as our morning at Freedom Park, surprisingly. Immediately upon getting out on the boardwalk, it became evident that the gopher tortoises were becoming more active. Our guide jumped right off the board walk and snatched up the first tortoise she saw. It was a hatchling from 2010. We learned how to identify its number based on its markings then we took its diameter and weight, attempted to sex it, and set it free again. As we walked around and observed the work we had done, we caught sight of three or four other gopher tortoises all enjoying their habitat.

#7. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Take a look at the picture located at the right hand side of this blog and you'll find me surrounded by two of the things I love most in life: Justin, my fiance, and Florida's wildlife. This picture was taken in December 2012 for our Save The Dates. We are standing on the board walk of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the same 13,000 acre preserve I had the opportunity to explore with my Colloquium class this semester.

Justin and I are both native Floridians so we've spent all our lives growing familiar with the state's undomesticated areas- history, wild animals, vegetation. While he spent the majority of his childhood exploring Florida's wetlands in his father's airboat, gigging frogs and catching gators, I grew up in the pine flatwoods where I learned to drive fourwheelers, shoot guns and track animals. Because of these experiences, we are very much alike in that we love being outdoors, but also very different in that he loves the water and I value hiking trails and such. After getting engaged, we thought that Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary would be a really great location to have our Save The Date pictures taken and our engagement announced because both habitats exist there.



It was really great to revisit the area with my Colloquium class and learn more about it this semester! I learned that the 13,000 acres were purchased by the Audubon Society in the early 1900's because so many birds were being poached for their plumes. Wearing a hat adorned with a plume was an indicator of great wealth at the time. The preserve also is home to the largest strand of old growth bald cypresses in the world. Some of the trees date back farther than 500 years ago. It is the only cypress forest which has never been logged; because of that, you'll find a wide variety of plants and animals which have flourished as well.

During my trip with the class, I spotted many different species of birds, alligators, water moccasins, several species of spiders, tree frogs, pond apples, orchids, bromeliads, ferns, lichens, etc. I know a lot about these plants and animals from my own experience with them, as does Justin. I've tasted the bitterness of a pond apple. He's been chased home by a water moccasin. He's used some of the plants for home remedies such as the Native Americans learned how to. (Justin's family is part Seminole. Their ancestors are some of those who hid in the Everglades when the Government was trying to force them onto a reservation out West.) Hearing the Sanctuary's volunteers explain the environment to us by drawing in fact and science was a new experience. It allowed me to take my own experiences and those unconnected pieces of information I had and understand WHY they are true. Afterwards, I felt like I had learned a little more about myself just by knowing where I come from.

#6. Lee County Waste to Energy Facility

I drive past the Collier County Landfill every Wednesday on my way to class at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. It's tucked out of view right off Collier Blvd, across the street from Golden Gate High School. I have never wondered what goes on there. I have never wondered what they are doing with our trash or the impact their methods are having on our community, much less our Earth. At least not until visiting the Lee County Waste to Energy Facility this past month.

The science behind the waste to energy facility is difficult to explain. It involves extensive knowledge of chemicals and environmental studies. The common girl explanation of the process would be this: Trash and recyclables are sorted by machines, and then again by Lee County Waste employees. They are responsible for grabbing things off the conveyor belt which the machine missed. These items are thrown into the proper chute and the process continues for them just the same as it would for the materials still on the conveyor belt. Recyclable materials are collected then sold and shipped to all around the country. Items which cannot be recycled are burned to create energy, like a power plant. At this point, the smoke that results from burning the non recyclable items is part of another long process in which the pollutants are removed and the end product is merely steam. The facility was named one of the most efficient waste management sites in the world.

On the other hand, the Collier County Landfill buries their trash in the Earth. Citizens of the county can expect the executives of Collier County Waste Management to start looking for another site in the next 10 years as they are projected to run out of land if they continue on the past they're on. Collier County Waste Management is also responsible for high amounts of menthane being released into the atmosphere. Furthermore, they are not providing a service to the community like Lee County Waste to Energy Facility is doing. The Lee County facility is providing electricity to nearly 30,000 homes.

After learning this information on my last class field trip, I made it a point to take a drive past the Collier County landfill. Now that I was looking, I noticed how conveniently the landfill was hidden from the main road. Out of sight, out of mind... At least that's what the Collier County Waste Management executives are hoping. It really upsets me it can take so long to stir up change, especially when our world is on the line. As temperatures continue to rise and species loss is a threat we're having to acknowledge, I believe that the Collier County Landfill should be making every effort to purchase the newest technology and begin following Lee County's lead to reduce their impact. I understand that it's quite an investment up front but Lee County has shown how efficient the process is. There are no excuses and now that I'm aware, I will not be turning my head as I drive past the Collier County landfill like the executives hope that so many people will.

#5. Aware, not scared.

I have noticed that, since beginning this course, I am becoming more aware of my habits. I am less likely to leave the faucet running while brushing my teeth, to take showers just for the sake of stress relief like I used to do, and to leave lights on if no one is in the room. I am more likely to carpool when given the chance, wash my fruits and vegetables before eating them, and recycle. I cringe now when I see those lakes near shopping centers with diapers floating on the top. My heart even sinks a little when I see areas of land plowed down, hundreds of trees waiting in piles to be pushed through the wood chopper.
This never used to be me. To be quite honest, I didn't believe in global warming. I thought recycling was beneficial, but probably not absolutely necessary. I never understood the importance in washing vegetables when they came from the supermarket. I never turned off lights behind me as I left a room. I simply didn't think about it, I suppose. I believed all environmentalists to be advocates of scaring people into action. I believed that they all supported sacrificing your way of life to conserve resources. No way would I be doing that!
At first I even believed that would be the aim of this course. However, as I continue to attend class now and complete assignments, I'm realizing that this course was intended to promote the exact type of change that I'm experiencing. It's not meant to scare you into action. It's meant to make you more aware of the little things you can do to help by acquainting you with your surroundings. Those little changes can translate to big changes nationally (and even globally) if only everyone will get on board.

#4. Rookery Bay Boat Tour

On February 28, 2013, I had the opportunity to take one of Rookery Bay's boat tours with my Colloquium class. We left from Shell Island Road near Marco Island and traveled through the estuary to Key Wadin beach, taking water quality samples, identifying species, and testing salinity along the way.
I have had very few opportunties to take a boat ride in my life. Honestly, I believe that I could count my experiences on a boat on one hand. During this tour with my classmates, I realized that that is probably the reason I don't consider myself a true Florida beach girl. I have heard many of my friends say "You can shake the sand from your shoes but it will never leave your soul." I don't typically feel that way. Of course I love running the beach as the sun comes up or walking the pier as it sets, but not so much that I doubt I could live anywhere else. In fact, I have been eager to move away since I turned thirteen. Well... I HAD been eager to move away.
Being out on the water changes my opinion of my home entirely. The world becomes such a different place when you lose sight of the shore. I'm out there so infrequently, however, that between boat trips, I forget that. I forget the way it feels to watch dolphins jumping through the otherwise still water, wading birds catching fish between the roots of the mangroves, or ospreys nesting atop the posted "Wake Zone" signs. I forget the wonder in pulling a fish up into the boat and trying to guess what it is, the feel of the breeze on my face and... yes, even the feel of sand between my toes. I had grown up away from the beach, in the pine flat woods of Florida. It's a whole different feel out there, so this boat tour of Rookery Bay meant a lot to me because it helped me to reconnect with another part of my home state's environment. In fact, by the time I returned home, I was ready to paint that sappy "sand" quote on a canvas for my bedroom. When the thought first crossed my mind I couldn't help but laugh, but it also made me proud- proud to call Southwest Florida my home.

#3. ECHO Global Farm and Research Center

Most people laugh when I tell them that I am a farm girl at heart. I suppose you don't suspect to hear that from a twenty year old girl from the Naples, FL area. Naples has been among the country's top 10 richest cities for at least the last decade or two. It's known for it's white, sandy beaches, fine dining and designer malls. Over 75,000 tourists flood there each year to escape the harsh winters of their hometowns and to indulge in the elite atmosphere of the city. I suppose that that is supposed to make me some tan, laid back kind of girl that spends her days off lying on the sandy beaches and the afternoons shopping the racks of Saks Fifth Ave. Quite honestly, that was never my thing. Instead I spent ten years of my childhood raising show swine, goats, chickens, and rabbits within the confines of my backyard. I served as the treasurer and vice president of the Naples Livestock 4H Club where I learned about different breeds of these species, proper anatomical terms, cuts of meat, and showmanship techniques. As I grew older, I learned about sustainability and incorporated these ideas into the things I already knew about raising livestock.

Showing my Hampshire, Hamlet, at the age of thirteen.

A first place ribbon I took home for my Yorkshire Cross, Max, at ten years old.

It has been nearly three years since I turned eighteen years old and became ineligible to participate in Florida 4H, so this past December I decided that my New Years Resolution was to begin gardening. 4H had taught me so much about raising animals for slaughter and meat production. I wanted to spend some time focusing on farming food now. How ironic is it that only three weeks after making this decision, I found myself at ECHO Global Farm and Research Center on a class field trip?!
ECHO, or Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, aims to end world hunger through innovative options, agricultural training, and global networking. Their demonstration farm, located in North Ft Myers, teaches missionaries and other non-goverment workers how to farm affordably and sustainably. The methods that they come up with are later taught in developing countries. The farm also teaches how the integration of animals in farming techniques can be beneficial.
The farm reminded me a lot of my childhood. I love any opportunity to spend time outdoors learning- away from all technology- and I loved the animals, of course. The Nubian goats they had at the farm were exactly like the goats I had raised in my past, Molly and Murphy. It was funny to me that while our tour guide Vic was explaining their role, providing droppings to fertilize the food on the farm, I was remembering that I had raised them for food themselves. I remembered to stay quiet about this. People have a tendency to think you're insensitive when you can talk about the meat of an animal while looking at it alive. The rabbits and ducks also reminded me of my experience in the program. However, while I had been focused merely on showmanship techniques when it came to these two animals, I now learned about the many environmental benefits of raising them.
I appreciated the trip to the farm because it helped me to understand that animals you may be raising for consumption can also be beneficial to your crops while alive. I did not expect to learn even more about livestock on a trip where I had intended to focus solely on gardening, but I'm glad I did. In addition to learning a lot of great crops to get started growing, techniques for growing them and their usefulness, I had learned balance. The experience has left me very eager to begin my garden. I have already begun daydreaming of purchasing farm animals again and using them in a way that will help me to successfully keep alive my agricultural resolution!
I also have started to wonder if mission work lies in my future. It seems that all of the knowledge I have been gathering, as well as my love for traveling, is preparing me for an opportunity such as that.

#2. The Restorative Environment

Shortly after graduating high school, I packed up a small bag of clothes and set out towards Washington State in search of some independence, and some time alone with my thoughts after a particularly rough time in my life. Washington State was the furthest from home that I could get without a passport. Honestly, that was the only reasoning I had when I chose my destination. After choosing Washington State, I began researching the adventurous things I could do in the area. My plan was to go on an adventure so intimidating (especially for a 17 year old girl who had never traveled further than to the other side of town by herself) that there would never be another opportunity too big for me to take. I had lost out on so many opportunities in the past few years with all of my health battles and I wanted to be sure that by the time another opportunity arose, I wouldn't be too fearful to take it. I wanted my life to be a bold adventure- and this could be the very beginning of that!
I flew into Seattle on a Monday. Overwhelmed already, I searched the massive airport for my driver. I found him an hour later on the other side of the airport holding a sign with my name just like you see in the movies. He drove me to Anacortes, about three hours from the airport. It was during this time that I really began questioning what I had been thinking. Surely I was insane for trying to pull this off... Right? It didn't matter what I thought though because I was already in this far. He kicked me to the curb in front of the Anacortes ferry. I had forty minutes before I boarded the ferry. I used my time to ensure I had everything I'd need: my tide and ebb charts, complete food collection, materials for a homemade stove, tarps, clothes and radio. Then I rented a kayak and began my journey deep into the San Juan Islands where I would spend the next two weeks...
I think the first night was the most intimidating of all. I had already taught myself how to use my oars and tarps to create a makeshift tent, but actually being out there as the sun was setting and realizing I was running out of time, terrified me. I pulled it off in the last few minutes of daylight. I had to adjust to the eight degree water. Even in a wet suit, I didn't know how I was going to do it. At that temperature, being submerged slows down your brain activity. I timed myself as I tried to remember 3+5. It was close to ten minutes before I remembered the answer was 8.I forgot to put my food bag back into the kayak's watertight compartment and woke up to a hungry raccoon attacking an apple near my feet. When I finally got rid of that critter, I laid awake for the rest of the night just listening to the noises of the creatures awake on the island all around me. I burst into tears as the sun rose, realizing that I hadn't slept at all and I still had a week and six days to get through.
That was just the first day though. Things got better and better with every day, and by the very last day, I was so sad to be boarding an airplane headed for Southwest Florida. This had been the first time in my life that I had ever been cut off from civilization and it was the best experience of my life! I was not expecting to feel so humbled while alone with nature. Thoughts of entering college, my job, and my anxieties all disappeared while paddling out every chilly June morning. Instead I could focus only on how amazing it was to spot Orca whales in the distance, to see the seals sunbathing on enormous rocks that would be submerged by noon, to see the snowy caps of the North Cascades from my tiny kayak down in the water, and to remember that I was but one living creature in this massive world. There are really no words to describe the peace that I felt. Just as Louv reports in his research on the Nature-Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment, those individuals who spend more time with nature report more positive emotions and less anger. I was one of those people after my kayaking expedition. I returned home humbled and in awe of the world around me, ready to forget my past so that I could only focus more on finding my place in the beautiful world around me- and of course, sharing it with the ones that I love.

My "tent" made from a tarp, one oar, some rope and six stakes.

The coast of Blakely Island, one of the San Juan Islands.

Orca (Killer) Whales in the San Juan Islands

This video is of a kayaking experience in the San Juan Islands. I did not encounter an Orca Whale quite this close, but it gives you an idea of what I was sharing the water with (and not just one, but hundreds!) and why I was so humbled.

#1. Course Impressions

Before last Wednesday when I arrived at Rookery Bay Estuarine Research Reserve, I had not at all been excited for Colloquium, just another of Florida Gulf Coast University's requirements for graduation. I am an Education major and I really love all of the courses that my degree requires. I didn't want to take time out of my schedule and away from these other courses for a class that I wasn't interested in. Besides, I had heard so many negative things about "that mandatory Colloquium course." Touring the facility, however, has lifted my spirits considerably. It's made me realize that I am actually very excited for the hands-on experiences, service learning opportunities and field trips that this course will offer. In college, it's rare to have these experiences! I also believe that, unlike the university's other required courses, the things I learn in Colloquium will be applicable in my daily life. I am looking forward to our class field trip to ECHO in Ft Myers, Florida as I have been very interested in gardening lately. I'm looking forward to volunteering within the community because I believe there is so much history in Southwest Florida that I still am not familiar with. I'm looking forward to discovering my sense of place and reflecting on why I love the outdoors.
Although there are so many things about the course which I am looking forward to, there are also things to come which I am skeptical of. I love nature and spending time outside but I'm not exactly the type of girl to give up bug spray, meat, or my car. I'm hoping that I will be able to learn how to conserve resources while not being expected to completely give up the life I've become accustomed to. I also find myself hoping that this course is not aimed to "scare us into action." I do not believe that conviction is the best motivation and personally, I do not respond well to fear. I don't want to come to a class every week knowing I'm going to leave feeling panicked or guilty.
I'm hoping that this class can be factual but also inspiring. I'm hoping that rather than abrasive nagging, the course materials and field trips will offer gentle reminders that we need to take action and give ideas for how to do so during this stage of our lives.