What are the major elements of "sustainable" farming? How are ecological principles woven into this framework? Do you buy organic or "naturally" labeled foods? Why or why not? Do you feel connected or disconnected to the current food system? If there were space on campus, would you be interested in growing your own vegetables (or, if the thought of vegetables makes you wince, fruit instead)?

Sri Lanka Tea Fields

The major elements of “sustainable” farming are organic pesticides, they are local meaning they fall within 100 miles, uses natural fertilizers, are small, and are environmentally friendly.

Ecological principles are woven into this framework by way that sustainable farming uses small amounts of land and using natural substances.

I do not regularly buy organic labeled foods and to be honest always veered away from them because I didn’t know much about these types of products. Though I did once buy an organic ingredient for a recipe because that was the only one I could find. I grew up purchasing naturally labeled foods so that’s pretty much why I don’t buy organic foods. I like sticking to items that are familiar to me because I have tried knew things then ended up having an allergic reaction from it. I feel I am connected in some ways and disconnected in others to the current food system. I feel I know some about the food system but not enough to confidently say I feel I am completely connected to it. There are yet quite a bit of issues I do not know or understand. The more I learn the more I feel I can lean more towards feeling connected. For instance, I thought organic products were not good even though I knew nothing about them. I leaned that organic products are actually better for the environment because they reduce toxins that other products increase in the environment.

I like the of food forest on campus and I think it is a splendid way for students to contribute to helping the environment. Although I do not live on campus I still like the idea of being able to grow your own vegetables and fruits. I wish I lived closer to campus because I would love to help out with food forest more than just for the service hours required for this course.

In your estimation, what is the most pressing global environmental issue facing us today? Why? If a wealthy benefactor like the Rockefeller Foundation gave you $100 billion to address a global problem, how would you allocate the funds? Would you dedicate 100% to the most pressing issue, or partition the money among many different issues?

In my estimation the most pressing global environmental issue facing us today is the rapid increase in population. I think every aspect of the on-going problems in this world leads us back to population. All the water, food, environmental, disease, money etc. issues have a population explanation. The more the world is populated the demand for the essentials of life increase and health factors, especially for underdeveloped countries become scarce. To meet the demands of the people, factories must work harder and for longer periods of time, uses of transportation increases, next thing you know we are having double or more trouble with pollution. In some places maybe there is space for an extra 25,000 people, but in other countries such an increase will definitely put sanitation at risk.

We barely have enough resources to provide for those here now and have waste and sanitation issues; increasing population is just deepening us in a dark hole. If a wealthy benefactor like the Rockefeller Foundation gave me $100 billion to address a global problem I would allocate all funds to dealing with the population issue so to lessen bigger issues from worsening or developing. I would not know where to begin illustrating in great detail how this would work but I think that dealing with this issue would help us to better the other issues growing around us.

Reflective entry on Corkscrew field trip. What are the distinct ecosystems that you saw on the trip? What “ecosystem services” do they provide? Think about the living machine. What are conservation and stewardship? What is the role of private non-profits in these two endeavors? How can like-minded people affect change? How/why does civic engagement factor into this? What was the motivation to preserve this particular acreage? What is the proper role of government, if any? From an ecological perspective, why not just bulldoze and build condos?

Prairies, Alligator Flags, Airplants, Cypress

The trip to Corkscrew was great and a lot of fun. I think it’s a nice area to just come and relax and learn a bit about a neat part of Florida. The distinct ecosystems I saw on the trip were the pine flatwoods, prairies, and cypress (which was my favorite because it was the coolest; the other two were so hot). The pine flatwoods were quite interesting; one side was full and flourishing while the other pretty much seemed as if it was seeing its last days. It looked dry and dead. The ecosystem services the pines provided was home to many different animals. Then there is also this concept of burning parts of the pine which happens occasionally to help the pines grow. The ecosystem services the prairies provide are pretty much home and food to many animals. The ecosystem services the cypress provides are nice cool shelters for many animals as we saw two baby alligators, many birds and insects.

The living machine was pretty cool. Yucky at first as the tour guides began to speak about the use of the bathrooms contributing to something great until I fully understood. The living machine purifies the water used at the sanctuary. Conservation is the process of conserving and stewardship is managing something. These two terms best describe the motive of the living machines. They conserve and manage water use while at the same time purifying it. The sanctuary as a whole also exemplifies the concept of conservation and stewardship in that it was built around what was already growing there, it being built there saved this land from being destroyed and someone putting homes up or some type of business, and the fact that the boardwalk is made of Ipe which is a type of reusable wood.

Like-minded people can affect change by nothing more than their actions. Environmentalist and others that fall into that categories and others like it all are affecting change by simply educating others, getting out and getting others involved, discovering new and better ways to receive resources, encouraging the three “R’s” (reduce, reuse, recycle), and just by playing their part in the environment publicly.

Civic engagement factors into this because it is “working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.” In other words liked minded people are coming together and working to make a difference in and for their communities.

The motivation to preserve this particular acreage was to preserve the habitat and the cypress. I think the government’s proper role here is to ensure and monitor the preservation of our lands. Create laws to save our earth and restrict and cap the amount of buildings on certain lands.

From an ecological perspective we should not just bulldoze and build condos because we would be destroying the cypress and many habits that too help us as human beings. Bulldozing would be a terrible idea.

Your musings on the campus trail walk and the selection of this site for the FGCU campus. Is it consistent with the “eco-empowerment” mission of the university? Or is it entirely incompatible? Why or why not? Does your particular background predispose you to a certain viewpoint?

I think the campus trail walk was a fun and exciting experience. I learned many things I did not know about my own school. I think that the selection of this site for the school was a better selection than where Publix and home depot are now but I also think that it was in a way a bad spot. I say a bad spot because it was a great big habitat for many animals even though in the video it only showed that panthers were living here you have to know this was home to more than just them.

Yes, I think that FGCU is consistent with the eco-empowerment mission in that Whitaker Hall was built and designed with watersheds that help with conserving water, and the rocks that surround the building which I never took too much note to other than they were pretty decorations. Moving to the boardwalks which are all made of Ipe which is a great material that lasts a long time. The school also has these huge tanks that freeze at night and cool during the day giving us our air condition which I never knew and found to be pretty awesome. We also have recycle bins all around campus, AB7 and many other buildings have light sensors meaning we are saving energy, and we are using solar panels. So I think FGCU it pretty consistent with the eco-empowerment mission. I’m almost positive the new buildings that are going up now and the ones in the future with be even more eco-friendly than any of us could have imagined.

I do not think that my particular background predisposes me to a certain viewpoint.

What are your expectations for this class? In your own words, what is sustainability? How does sustainability (or ecological sense of place) relate to your chosen field of study? Can you identify any personal behaviors and/or attitudes that are unsustainable? This may not be readily apparent, but try to think outside the box!

My expectations for this class are to learn more about the environment, ways to better it and to obtain a better understanding of how we are destroying it unknowingly by our daily task. In my own words sustainability is the process of conserving and maintaining a balance in our environment so that every aspect of it escalates. Sustainability means choosing alternative ways of doing everyday task to lower the harm we put on the environment. It means to learn to use what we already have while at the same time learning how to use less of it.

            My major is pre-elementary education; being an educator plays a great role and extends a great advantage to inform others of sustainability. Therefore, sustainability relates to my chosen field of study because I can educate children; what better way to spread this information than started with a younger generation, to become more eco-friendly to the environment around them. I could teach them the importance of protecting our world and the dangers that follow if it is not properly attended.

            Personal behaviors and/or attitudes that are unsustainable are deforestation, littering, thinking we cannot help if we are the only one doing something to sustain the environment, not recycling, not caring about the environment, and smoking (contaminates the air and harms the environment because cigarettes sometimes start fires). I guess in so many ways our lifestyles are unsustainable because we have a demand for items that require much manufacture labor resulting in harmful gases and other substances to enter the environment. Actually almost everything we do is unsustainable. We leave lights on in rooms no one is in, leave electronics plugged in when they aren’t in use, drive vehicles which attribute to pollution, and there is constantly someone somewhere building homes or places of business. So if I were to put a percentage on the unsustainable to sustainable personal behaviors and/or attitudes, I would say it would be 80% unsustainable to 20% sustainable for some of us.