Final Reflections on Colloquium

Journal #20: July 27, 2010

Topic: Final Impressions of Colloquium

Whenever you talk to someone who has taken Colloquium, all you ever hear about is all of the boring papers and how the textbooks and lectures are trying to force you to be an environmental hippie.  But after taking this class, I really don’t know why everyone is complaining so much.  To be honest, I can't imagine a student not taking this class.

There’s a lot of work…especially when you take it in six weeks over the summer.  But it wasn’t extremely hard work.  And everything that we learned had a purpose.  We were taught about so many different aspects of the environment and sustainability, and I never felt like I was being forced to believe something that went against my values.  Sure, the videos encouraged people to make small changes in their lifestyle that would be better for the environment, but I never left class thinking, “if I don’t give up my car and my electronics then I’m a bad person.”  Each video and field trip left me wanting to know more, and they all left me thinking about how I can make more sustainable choices every day. 

At the beginning I thought that less projects, less papers, and less journal entries would make this class better.  But after taking the class, I wouldn’t change a thing.  Each journal entry, project, and paper opened my eyes to a different aspect of environmental sustainability, and because of all these things I got to explore so many new ideas.  I hope that future students can come into this class with an open mind because you really can get a lot out of it.

I would love to see Colloquium courses spread beyond FGCU because I think all students should have the opportunity to take this amazing course and learn more about the environment.

FGCU Campus Field Trip

Journal #19: July 26, 2010

Topic: Reflections on FGCU Field Trip

This field trip was extremely eye opening for me, and it’s without a doubt the closest I’ve been to nature.  I used to spend a lot of time outside when I was younger and lived in New Jersey, but since moving to Florida I’ve spent most of my time inside.  I learned a lot about our campus and gained a better appreciation for everything environmental FGCU has to offer.

When we entered the nature trail, I was extremely nervous about what was ahead.  But as we started walking, I actually started to enjoy myself (despite the fact that I was on the lookout for snakes).  We saw some areas that were torn up by the wild hogs on campus, which are a non-native species in Florida.  We also saw some Melaleuca Trees, which are also not native to Florida.  We learned that they are extremely aggressive and when you try to cut them down, they spread their seeds everywhere.  As we continued our walk down the trail, the path became more wet and muddy.  Soon we were trudging through deep mud which eventually turned into a water trail.

Before long, I was up to my knees in water.  Even though the water looked dark and muddy, our tour guides let us know that the water was extremely clean and only looked gross because of the dark mud.  I made my way through the trail nearly falling a couple of times.  Between my shoes being old and continually getting stuck in the mud, the rubber soles of my shoes completely came off!!

After what seemed like forever, we finally exited the wet trail and walked over to where the hammock usually is.  The student naturalists said that walking through the wet trails can be extremely relaxing, and even though I laughed at first, I’m starting to think that they’re right.  I’m actually looking forward to doing another one of these wet trail walks in the fall.

FGCU Campus Garden

Journal #18: July 22, 2010

Topic: FGCU Campus Garden

During the Spring 2010 Student Government elections, the UNITE party had a platform item which talked about building a campus garden.  This idea came from the SG Director of Environmental Initiatives Tyler Offerman.  The campus garden is finally in the works, and I’m excited to see how it adds to the sustainability of our campus.

The FGCU campus garden will be a food-production garden and it will help students understand the amount of preparation and work that goes into growing your own food.  Today’s society detaches us from where our food comes from and the work that goes into getting it onto our plates.  This will be a hands-on project that all students can participate in.  Students will have the opportunity to get in the garden and plant seeds, harvest crops, and design beds.  This garden will provide locally-grown, organic foods to our campus.  Some things that will be grown are fruit trees, perennials, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and other native vegetation.

The garden will be completely student funded by Activity & Service Dollars and it will be student ran as well (meaning students can get service learning hours).  

HIV/AIDS Movie: A Closer Walk

Journal #17: July 21, 2010

Topic: A Closer Walk

I really enjoyed watching “A Closer Walk.”  One of my uncles died from complications of AIDS back in 1992, so watching this video really hit home to me.  I never really had the opportunity to know my uncle since I was only three when he died, but I’ve heard his story many times.  It’s a sad yet uplifting story, and no journal entry could do his story justice. 

Every eight seconds someone dies of HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of over 25 million people.  South Africa has the highest population of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.  South Africa’s first reported cause of HIV/AIDS was back in 1982, and the most rapid increase in South Africa’s HIV/AIDS prevalence took place between 1993 and 2000. 

While I knew that HIV/AIDS was a huge problem in African countries, I had no idea that it was such a huge problem in countries like Ukraine and India.  In Ukraine, most HIV/AIDS cases occur from the sharing of needles during drug use.  Organizations in Ukraine are participating in “needle exchange programs” where they give out sterile needles and syringes to drug users.  They’re doing this so that each IDU (injecting drug user) can have their own needle and won't have to share with another IDU.

I think it’s amazing and inspiring that so many organizations, like Grassroots Soccer, are trying to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.  I can only hope that years and years from now, no family will ever have to go through what my family did when my uncle’s life was cut short from AIDS.

Grassroot Soccer Logo:

HIV/AIDS Awareness Ribbon:

Bono for the Join Red Campaign:

Field Trip #4 - FMB & Matanzas Pass Preserve

Journal #16: July 19, 2010

Topic: Reflections on Fort Myers Beach Cottage and Matanzas Pass Preserve

When I think of Fort Myers Beach, I think of the Lani Kai, parasailing, jet skis, gift shops, and a giant tourist trap.  Never once have I thought of a cottage and a preserve.  This field trip really opened my eyes to the things that Fort Myers Beach really has to offer!

I loved learning about the history of Fort Myers Beach from someone who grew up here in the 1930s.  I loved hearing about the first school and how they loved to stay after because their teacher would drive them home.  She told us about how the University of Miami got their mascot from the 1926 hurricane.  She taught us about how this hurricane, along with several others, destroyed part of the island and how she fears that future hurricanes could do the same.

After visiting the Cottage we took a walk through the boardwalks of Matanzas Pass Preserve.  It was such a relaxing walk, and I had the opportunity to see red, black, and white mangroves!!  I also got to see crabs along the sides of the boardwalk.  My favorite part is when we got to stop and stare at Estero Bay.  It was such a beautiful day and there was a nice breeze to go along with it.  Unfortunately the water was so murky that you couldn’t see much.  Now whenever I think of Fort Myers Beach, I’ll think of sea grape jelly, Matanzas Pass Preserve, and a sweet old lady in a cottage telling us about growing up on Fort Myers Beach.

Fort Myers Beach Cottage:

View of Estero Bay:

Red Mangroves (left) and Black Mangroves (right):

Do you suffer from affluenza?

Journal #15: July 15, 2010

Topic: Affluenza

The movie we watched in class defined affluenza as being the epidemic of stress, overwork, and waste caused by a dogged pursuit of the American Dream.  It also defined affluenza as an unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

As Americans, we always believe that if we had twice as much money as we do now that we’d be happier.  When we’re sad, we use “retail therapy” to make us feel better.  We believe that the fanciest cars and the biggest houses are what makes us happy, but this video shows that the people who have and use the least are often the happiest.

Modest lifestyles are becoming more and more popular, and the families in this movie live their lives with low levels of consumption.  They reduce their waste by only using what they need, and they live by the motto “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  By living a more frugal lifestyle, we use less.  But living this lifestyle isn’t easy.  It means giving up the luxuries in life and rationing what you choose to use.

I’ve learned ways that I can produce less waste and lower my consumption levels, but I don’t think I could live a lifestyle like the people in this video.

FGCU & Sustainability

Journal #14: July 14, 2010

Topic: Impressions of the Campus

I am extremely proud to consider myself a student at Florida Gulf Coast University.  One of the six main pillars of FGCU is environmental sustainability, and I truly believe they do an amazing job at promoting that and making FGCU as “green” as possible.

Our campus is full of trash cans, recycling bins, and even trash compactors.  These trash compactors use solar power to compact our trash into smaller pieces.  During the Spring 2010 semester, FGCU participated in Recylemania which is a national competition that sees which school can recycle the most.  We did extremely well considering this was our first year.

Another environmental initiative in place at FGCU is “Eagles Love Tap Water.”  The Physical Plant added spickets to all water fountains so students could easily fill up water bottles, and Student Government bought over 2,000 aluminum water bottles with the “Eagles Love Tap Water” logo.  As a Student Government representative, I’ve seen how much these bottles are used, and we plan on buying even more for the upcoming school year.

All buildings after Lutgert Hall must be considered LEED certified.  LEED certification is a verification that the building or community was designed and built using environmentally sustainable strategies that improve performance all across the board.  Buildings must have energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, and more.  Student Government recently bought benches to be placed by the bus loop, and even those benches are considered to be LEED certified.

I could go on and on about the things FGCU is doing to be an environmentally friendly campus, but these are just a few things that we are doing to live up to our mission of being a greener campus.