#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.