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.
No comments:
Post a Comment