Entry 2: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Field Trip

On Wednesday, January 23rd, the FGCU Colloquium class took a field trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples to explore the different ecosystems nearby. The major habitats scattered throughout the area are the pine uplands, cypress dome, oak hammock, and wet prairies. Pictured below is the transition from the pine uplands (right) to the wet prairies (center) to the cypress dome (left).

The long boardwalk, made of the same wood as the FGCU boardwalks, wanders through the differing ecosystems. It was built to jut every which way to avoid harming existing trees. In one spot, a tree is growing through a hole right in the middle of the boardwalk (pictured on left).











Toward the end of the trip we visited what was called the "living machine". It's a water filtration system that models nature. It takes the waste and water that is flushed down the toilet in the adjacent restroom and transfers it to an 10,000 gallon underground tank. From there, it goes to a series of five smaller tanks. It slowly flows from there into the soil where plants further the filtration process. The water goes back into the toilet with a ninety percent recovery rate. 

The sanctuary focuses on conservation of its environment. Conservation is defined as the prevention of loss, injury, waste, or decay. Another similar focus of Corkscrew is stewardship, which is defined as the responsible overseeing of something worth preserving. The Corkscrew area is a vital part of South Florida's ecosystem as it serves as an important connection to wildlife and the natural flow of water throughout the state. Particularly, the Audubon Society wanted to preventing plume hunting and logging in the area as poachers, wanting the expensive plumes of birds in the Corkscrew swamp, were making the population of wading birds dwindle dramatically. 

Also, bulldozing the area and building up may have a positive effect on the local economy, but the ecosystem would severely suffer. The wildlife that call the area home would lose any shelter, and the last of the oldest virgin bald cypress forest (pictured above) would be demolished without a second thought. The Audubon Society prevented this successfully with the help of multiple organizations gathered the support to purchase this area in order to conserve this ecosystem. This is an example of civic engagement: groups of like minded people coming together to protect something worth preserving, like Corkscrew. Non-profit organizations such as the Audubon Society and its supporting organizations have the power to conserve any environment they find fundamental and important to the global environment. If the government has any place in this mission, it is to pass legislation that protects important ecosystems and to fund projects and organizations with focus on stewardship.

Entry 1: Expectations and Sustainability

     Upon speaking to my senior roommate who took Honors Colloquium in Fall of 2011 with a different professor, I learned that the class would be "a piece of cake". Since I'm taking the class with a different professor, I hoped it would be the same scenario, but I was disappointed to discover on the first day of class that I wouldn't have it so easily. Since this is the honors version of the class, the expectations are higher. That paired with my out-of-practice writing skills as a math major makes me unsure if the class will be an easy A. However, I am excited to learn more about the area I live in and my role in the environment. 

     The first day of class we discussed what we thought specific words meant. These words to me seemed like sort of buzz words for the course, or maybe an overview of what we will be going over in upcoming weeks. "Sustainability" was the first word thrown out. It seems synonymous with being renewable; something is sustainable when it is not harmful to the environment when used long term. Also discussed was "sense of place" which is to know your place in a system. Something I had never heard of before is the word "eco-literacy", which we are asked to define  Upon doing some research I found that it meant a awareness of Earth as our life support system, as if earth is a machine that keeps life going. Eco-literacy includes knowing the principles of organization of ecosystems. 

     We are asked to relate sustainability to our chosen field of study. As that is mathematics, I have some difficulty seeing how this relates to anything I could learn about sustainability. There are always differential equations that one could write about emissions from a certain factory and the rate of change of the pollution in the atmosphere, but that only points out the problem and how quickly it's spreading. As a mathematician, I can only provide data on sustainability  but it is not within my field to actually take some sort of action (which is not to say I won't, it's only highly improbable for a mathematician to do so).

     Though I can identify unsustainable behaviors of mine, it is not a fun process. No one likes to think about any harm they're doing to the environment on a daily basis, but the first step to solving a problem is to make sure it's known. Although I'm constantly refilling my reusable water bottle, occasional I can be seen buying a bottle of water from the vending machine when I've forgotten mine. I fall asleep watching "Mythbusters" many nights; this leads to the televisions being on all night (which I don't mind because I don't like complete darkness or silence.) I live on campus, which means I can easily walk to class every morning, but on many occasion I have taken the shuttle because I'm tired or it's raining or just too darn hot! 

     I'm looking forward to all I can learn in this class, but seeing as it isn't a math class, I'm not sure it can be too much fun.