Our Oyster Island

I have my own oyster island! Sounds awesome, doesn`t it? That is what I thought when I first heard the opportunity to partner with the Vester Marine and Environmental Science Research Station and be part of a project to build an oyster island for mangroves. FGCU`s colloquium class required each student to do ten hours of service-learning regarding the mission of the class, which are sustainability, environmental literacy and sense of place. 

I was in a team with four of my classmates and our project was to collect oyster shell donations from local restaurants then take the shells to the Vester Field Station to the island. Hurricane Wilma destroyed the island in 2005 and it is now our mission to rebuild it. It caught my attention at the very first day of class and it has been very interesting ever since. We have received donations from Fish Company Restaurant, Uptown Larry`s, Pinchers Crab Shack and Blue Pointe. We really appreciate their cooperation!

Look how much oysters we got!

Along with our project we participated at the Riverfest event in Bonita Springs where we had a table to represent our project and educate the community about it. Many people seemed interested and fascinated by the information we gave them on the benefits of oysters. Oysters are natural water filters as one oyster can filter about two gallons of water per hour. Since oysters filter the water, sunlight gets through it easier, helping plant growth. They provide habitat for juvenile fish, invertebrates as well as substrate for sessile organisms. They also provide a place to live and food for sea animals like mollusks, crabs, sponges, fish and birds.

Individually we also started collecting and rooting mangroves at home. We are probably going plant them in the nursery or on the island next time we go out there.

On these pictures you can see a before and after picture of the island. I know there is not a big difference but where you can see the lighter oyster shells; those are the ones we added to it. The rebuilding of the island started with the Eagle scouts and now FGCU Eagles are continuing. Bob Wasno, our supervisor, had a great idea: how cool would that be, if the island would have an eagle shape?! I am sure we would all like that very much!

Before

After

By this project we did not only educate our community, family and friends about the project but we learned a lot too. I learned so much about oysters I did not event know before. Now I know how important they are in our ecosystem and recycling them represents sustainability. Sometimes we do not even know that so many things we throw away can be recycled in many ways. I never thought that oyster shells could be beneficial to anything.
Hopefully we can continue and see the growing of the island and a decade or two later we can proudly show it to our children. Needless to say, we all had a great time with this project. The picture speaks to itself: we had fun. Oh and once we were "Garden Angels" and now we are "Oyster Angels"

Downtown Fort Myers And Its Beauty

Last class, last trip, but don`t worry, not the last post! We went to Downtown Fort Myers for our last colloquium class. We learnt a little history, walked around then saw a wonderful view from the top of a building.

We visited the SWFL Museum of History, which offered us a variety of pictures and objects from as long as 13,000 years ago. One of the most interesting things for me was the little model of the size of Florida then and now. Did you know that, 13,000 years ago Florida was twice the size as it is right now? Global sea levels increased due to higher temperatures melting polar ice caps. Florida`s waters were also dwelled by enormous sea animals, dinosaurs, which we could see on pictures. It was fascinating to see the huge animals used to live around here. There were dinosaurs not only in water but on land too. This big one was displayed in the museum and looked pretty legitimate.

Thousands of years later Indians inhabited the peninsula. The exhibit showed us lifestyle of the Calusa Indians, who were builders and transformed the landscape of Southwest Florida by building hundreds of shell mounds, altering the waterways and constructing canal highways that connected the coasts. You could also learn about the Seminole Indians, their three wars and how they lived back in the day. There are a couple more modern interesting items displayed as well, such as the iron lung they used with polio patients. The polio virus paralyzed muscle groups in the chest so patients had a hard time breathing or they could even die. Below you can see how it worked, but basically the point was to keep the patients alive and keep their lungs active and working.

After the museum we walked a little more in Downtown and walked by a very interesting palm tree park. It was really cool! Look at the picture below. We were told that most palm tree species on Earth are planted there. It was so beautiful.

Check out this view!

We were on top of Fort Myers. What a great way to end a semester. 

Hiking On FGCU`s Campus

Our next hiking experience was a little bit messier than all the other ones as we were hiking on FGCU`s campus. Did you know that all the lakes were man made? They are and there was a specific reason to it. Lakes are natural drainage, so water from rain can go to the lake. An interesting fact I found was that during the site preparation for the construction of Academic Building 3, they broke into the cap rock allowing groundwater to flow to the surface. In order to prevent flooding, this groundwater was pumped into one of the lakes on campus. FGCU`s campus ecosystem is also part of a watershed that eventually spills into Estero Bay.

The first part of the trip when were walking on the main campus was nice and clean, but then we headed towards South Village. We did not take the shuttle, neither did we walk on the sidewalk, but went right in the swamp. The ground got wetter and wetter and deeper and deeper as we were approaching our final destination. Not to mention the splashing that sounded by every step we took. There is no doubt it was something new for some of us. The water and that my shoes got all wet was not really bothering me, I just rather kept my eyes open and barely blinked to watch for any surprising creature in the water. We all know and it is not a secret that alligators are present on campus so it would not have been unusual to meet one. The picture below was taken by one of my friends on campus by the library. Needless to say, she freaked out. I would have loved to see a gator this close to me. As long as it is not bigger than this was.

On the hike we did meet, though, birds and obviously mosquitos.

About an hour and a half and dirty and wet shoes later we all made it to civilization again. It might sound like I am complaining a lot, but I had a great time and it was fun hiking on campus. Just think about it; how many university students around the country can experience the same thing on their campus? Not much, right?

I am proud to be attending a college that supports environment and sustainability in such a serious way.

An Intereseting Journey To ECHO

Super tall Bamboo, Miracle fruit, big chunks of bananas, water clarification with Moringa Seeds, oh and of course, the goats. These were some examples that caught our attention when we visited ECHO (Educational Concerns For Hunger Organization) in North Fort Myers, FL. It was one of those humid and hot days in Florida, so when our guide told us that it would be short we were all very happy. However, we did not know that “short” meant over two hours. It was absolutely worth it, though, as it was really fascinating.

Let me share some basic information on ECHO. It is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization. Its mission is to help those working internationally with the poor be more effective, especially in the area of agriculture. They focus on three aspects: education and training, innovative options and networking. Their programs are well-organized in order to train those considering missionary service or other direct involvement with communities in developing countries. Hunger is a great issue in many places but especially in the developing countries. There are close to one billion people living in hunger around world. Furthermore, a child dies from hunger-related causes in every 12 seconds.

We walked through the majority of ECHO`s campus and saw many interesting methodologies as well as plant species. Some pictures here show what we saw. The bamboos were very tall and I think these were the tallest bamboos I have ever seen. Bamboo is one of the most useful and versatile plants in the world. It can be used for construction, animal fodder, shade and food.

One of the most surprising plants was this little red Miracle Fruit that has the ability to change tastes so that sour food taste sweet. One of my classmates tried it too. He tasted a sour fruit then ate the miracle fruit and had another bite from the sour and he said that it did taste much sweeter.

I am glad we had a good class for this trip because even if it was hot we still had a great time. If you look at the picture, which we called “Garden Angels” I am sure you will understand.

Then we also fed goats, who really appreciated the plants we gave them. So that was fun too.

Finally the last part of the trip our guide introduced us a couple ways of cooking, heating and cleaning water. I found it really interesting how seeds of the Moringa Oleifera tree could purify water. As a matter of fact, since the 1970`s studies have been conducted and found that Moringa seeds were the most effective when it comes to clarifying water with natural materials.

All in all, the ECHO trip was an amusing and entertaining journey and I like it that it was part of our colloquium course as I might have never got the chance to go otherwise. It was not only educational, but a good way for bonding as a class.

You Are What You Eat!

In today`s rushing society often it feels like we just do not have time for basic important things such as eating. Not to mention, if we do take a break to eat, healthy food is the last item on the list. Isn`t it easier to stop by at one of the drive thrus` of any fast food restaurant on the way home than spending an extra hour cooking something when you are already starving? Of course, it is easier but if you consider what that hamburger, french fries and soda do to your body and where the ingredients come from, you realize that the extra hour to cook is definitely worth it. Many people were unaware of what was unhealthy until the day the “Food Inc.” documentary came out. It opens our eyes so we can see that what once we thought might be healthy is rather making us sick. The documentary points out the main goal of the food industry: more, bigger and faster. Companies speed up the growth of fruits and vegetables as well as the growth of animals. There is no surprise there, as the faster they can sell them, the faster the money is coming in. Unfortunately, processed and conventional foods are the ones that are cheaper in the supermarket, which encourages consumers to buy them over organic items. For most people it does not make a difference whether they buy organic or conventional food, however, there is a big difference. Look at these pictures and you can see that the difference is obvious even by how they look. The left item is organic and the right item is non-organic.

“Food Inc.” showed us facts that may change the way we eat our dinner tonight. In 2006 the FDA conducted only 9,164 food safety inspections as opposed to 50,000 in 1972. The power of the FDA has decreased but then who is making sure that the food we have on our plates is healthy? Another interesting thing was that approximately 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, the largest slaughterhouse in the world. I understand that there are 330 million people in the U.S. and an average American eats 200 lbs. meat a year, however, imagine the food they feed those hogs in order to grow so fast and even reproduce before they get killed! The documentary was made in order to uncover the truth these food companies have been hiding so consumers may be more aware of what they eat. Food is supposed to give us energy and keep us healthy. However, we have to eat right. Organic food might cost more than a hamburger but medication for diabetes and other health issues will cost even more. Spending more money on healthy eating is an investment for a long healthy life.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

There are unfortunately less and less places in Florida where you can see natural wildlife living in their own habitat. While, it is getting more common to hear about reports of bears and panthers attacking human lived regions. In November 2011, there was a black bear found wandering around FGCU campus, reported by the abc7. Another article states how incidents of panther attacking livestock have doubled from 2011 to 2012. Why is that? Who is crossing whose borders? We cannot blame this on the animals because we, humans are the ones who have been extending our neighborhood into wildlife habitats. We force many species to move to other still untouched environments, but the sad thing is that there is not much left of those regions. We keep cutting down trees and making roads at places, which used to be homes for hundreds of species of animals, from insects to birds and mammals. However, there are organizations trying to provide safe and sustainable environment for animals. And no, when I am saying that, I am not thinking about zoos! These are places such as Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The protection of the Corkscrew swamp started in the early nineteen hundreds. National Audubon realized the importance and vulnerability of the area and did everything to protect its wildlife. Today it is a commonly visited well-known place for anyone who would like to get away from the busy life of cities and want to spend some time in nature. In addition, it is a great place that shows us what real Florida used to look like. The natural biological systems expand over 14,000 acres at Corkscrew and are maintained through land management practices. Boardwalks allow visitors to be part of an amazing and peaceful environment. When I visited with my colloquium class a few weeks ago, I was filled with peace and balance. There were times when we would all be just quite and listen to the sounds of nature and how the wind moved the leaves around. Here and there we saw alligator eyes shining from the water, not to mention the beautiful bird sounds that led us through our trip. It was so harmonic and idyllic visiting such a wonderful place. Although, it is getting more common that humans are not only visitors of these places but conquerors instead. We just expand and build upon a land that has already been occupied by animals not even thinking what they will do. And eventually it is still humans who feel offended when a black bear or a panther shows up in their backyard. Honestly, animals have all the rights to do that. We force them to reaccommodate but we do not provide them a place to do it so. This video will give you a little insight of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.