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.
No comments:
Post a Comment