Go Corkscrew Yourself!

Our last field trip was to the Corkscrew Sanctuary and visitor’s center. The site was created in order to conserve the cypress trees which were being cut down for lumber in the 1950’s. The ecosystems present in this preserve are pine flatwoods, wet prairie, Pond cypress, Bald cypress, and marsh. Some areas are systematically burned every 5 years or so and some of the trees still showed the black remains of the last burn. All of the land that is now the preserve was either donated or purchased for the purpose of preservation so it shows that one or two people can make a difference as none of it would be possible without them.  The first area we visited was a greenhouse type structure that was called a “living machine”. The bathrooms provide nutrients for the plants and it is basically a tiny self-sustaining ecosystem that even cleanses water. From what we were told “living machines” represent the growing scientific research of ecological engineering. It makes you wonder if we could somehow do something like this on a much larger scale to help filter waste into plants.

For the rest of our tour through the preserve we noticed many different types of birds, insects, plants, fish, and even alligators. The preserve is a very well known spot for bird watching enthusiasts and our tour guide told us to be quiet because they can get quite angry if we disturb their “watching”. Egrets are also conserved here as they were once sought after for the making of women’s hats. The autobahn society was founded in order to protect these birds. 

We were told about some particular plants called “Alligator Flags” as they sway back and forth as Alligators move through them. We did see a couple alligators about halfway through our 2.25 mile hike and we even saw one that was feeding on what looked to be a large fish. It was really cool to see some of this stuff up close as I really haven’t seen too many gators in Florida despite the popular belief that they are hanging out everywhere. A very interesting trip and barely any mosquitos so I was happy.

Almond Joy

We were instructed to bring one food item to class which was either very sustainable or very unsustainable. My choice was to bring organic almonds. I went to Mother Earth natural food store in Fort Myers and filled up a bag of their organic whole almonds. Compared to almonds in most stores, they were not pre-packaged so just in that alone they already struck me as more sustainable. Many products are grown and then shipped somewhere else for preserving and packaging and then they are shipped to a grocery store so this is a huge plus.

Second, the fact that organic farming uses very little harmful pesticides and other products that harm the earth is another plus. This can sometimes reduce yields for some foods, but in the case of the almond, I have read that it is very minimal. Nearly all of the almonds we eat in the United States come from California and as such, there is significant food miles associated with buying almonds in Florida. I have read about some areas of the panhandle which have the climate to grow them but I could not find any in this area that were Florida grown. The up side is that it is not a food item that we ship from other countries, and therefore food miles are less than many other foods. Also, everything is done in California, like washing, loading, and shipping so only one trip is needed. One interesting tid-bit is that almond trees normally required mass organized pollination by bees. This required massive amounts of bees to be shipped in to pollinate the trees in California which is incredibly unsustainable and cannot be good for honey bee conservation efforts. Almond growers bred a new variety of almond that was self-pollinating but with much lower yields and thus unusable. Later a hybrid between the two varieties was developed in order to increase yields and retain the self-pollination trait of the newer variety. Many almond growers have been switching to this new variety but I was unable to find out the method used for the ones I purchased.

Field Trip to Mosquito Pass

As a field trip, our class visited the Estero Island Cottage and we walked through Matanzas Pass. We first went to the cottage to listen to one of the curators of the cottage who was an older lady whose name escapes me at the moment. She talked to us about the various ways the land, people, wildlife, and conservation efforts have change over her lifespan and even a bit of history before that. The cottage itself was built in 1921 and was almost demolished by a hurricane in the 1940’s. It was then move and made into the Estero Island Historical Societies headquarters.

One interesting bit of information was when she talked about the tomb of Cyrus Tweed, who started his “New Jerusalem” in the Fort Myers Beach area in the late 1800’s. He died in 1908 and his followers put him in a bathtub while waiting for him to rise from the dead. They were finally forced to bury him in a tomb which was later carried out to sea by a storm and moved as a result. “Koresh” was the Hebrew name for Cyrus and that is where the Koreshan Historical site was founded on US 41 and Corkscrew Road. Some other topics included the history of the people, fish and wildlife such as the mullet and the Caloosa Indian tribes that inhabited that area.

After her presentation we walked the Matanzas Preserve Pass with Dr. Durham. In his usual style he picked up various plants for us to taste such as the Mangrove Leaf which just tasted salty. We stopped to look at various wildlife, insects, and an area along the water but the mosquitoes were eating me alive so I was trying to move as fast as possible. If anyone takes this tour, I would advise wearing pants and bringing bug spray because it is a conservation area and it does not allow planes to spray for mosquitos there. All in all not a bad trip and it was interesting for someone who is not a local to get a history lesson.

Green Machine

Sustainable consumerism is about buying products and services that are more sustainable or “greener”. I think globalization and capitalism play big roles in this as we now have the ability to distribute goods all over the planet and companies are given financial incentive to mass produce products cheaply and quickly. Unfortunately cheap and quick usually does not translate into sustainable and “green”. Products often take many trips to reach your local Target or Wal-Mart as labor, manufacturing, processing, and packaging often are done in separate locations. One way to become more sustainable is to look to buy food from local markets as the food will not have the high “food miles” and extra processing required to preserve the item long enough for it to travel. Unfortunately, the cost is still considerably higher since organic, local products are more labor and time intensive than their counterparts. Personally, I will pay an extra cost for certain items such as fruits and vegetables if they are labeled organic but only to a point. My main concern is the processing as I focus more on the health aspects and food mile factor. After this class I am also very skeptical regarding “natural” as a product claim as it could literally mean anything and doesn’t have a clear set of guidelines associated with it. For most things I do shop at Publix or Target as the smaller shops are not as convenient or cost effective for me. I would say about 25% of my food products come from organic/natural food shops which is still greater than most. The bottled water trend is one that I am guilty of as I don’t always take time to bring a water bottle. Recently, I have learned that FGCU tests their water on a regular basis so I have been filling up at fountains around campus.

ECHO

I personally think ECHO is a great idea to help poor countries help themselves by teaching them about growing and sustaining their own food sources. ECHO is basically a training center for those that do volunteer missionary, or relief work in other countries. The goal is to teach them how to show the people in these countries the basics of farming that are economical and sustainable in the specific environment in which they live. One thing that stood out to me was the area where they showed us different crops grown in all sorts of mediums including empty soda cans. It shows us that no matter where we live, we can grow our own food, even if it is in a densely populated urban area where space is an issue. We talked with interns that were training at the facility, including one who explained how they use urine to add nutrients to the soil. Many animals were also being raised on the demo farm such as rabbits, ducks, tilapia, goats, and many more. Often animals and plants are used in a symbiotic relationship. For example, the ducks were housed over the lake, they were fed from the plants and their feces would then feed the tilapia in the water below. We were shown a plant called “miracle fruit” which produced berries and leaves which you could eat. They actually alter your taste buds changing sour to sweet and vice-versa. The demo farm gets money from donations, guided tours, and the sale of plants, seeds, and many other items to help their efforts. It really was an interesting experience, and seeing the above ground gardens at the farm gave me the idea to set up a small garden in my own back yard for my final project in this class.

Hypothetical Situation

For this post, I will assume the reader is familiar with the hypothetical proposal to plant genetically modified, cold tolerant eucalyptus at FGCU. The eucalyptus tree is found in areas such as Australia and Africa where certain marsupials (namely the Koala) ingest it as their primary food source. It is a very invasive tree which pulls a great deal of water from the ground and therefore has been used in some areas to eliminate swamps. For this reason they have been used around the Malaria Belt, as the elimination of sitting water also eliminates mosquito breeding. In this area we are dependent on our water table to provide us with the water supply we use every day. These trees could spread and suck up our water tables which could be quite disastrous. At FGCU, much of our conservation efforts around campus would be ruined if we eliminate the majority of water from our eco-system. Because they are so invasive they have also taken over many areas (such as areas of California) creating monocultures and drastically reducing natural biodiversity. Another pitfall is that the natural oil produced is highly flammable and we all know about the dangers of wildfires in Florida during the summer. Some positive aspects of this technology are that in some areas these trees can be used now as an economic boost. Eucalyptus is great for producing paper, firewood, disinfectants from their oils, and there is even some research that suggests it would make a good biofuel. From what I have read the risks far outweigh the benefits in this area, although it may make more sense to put some near the panhandle where water is more plentiful. I really do not see any other ways to make it a viable project in this area.

Meeting Your Dinner

I see sustainable farming as the practice of finding the ultimate balance between maximum food output, conservation of the natural resources and land needed for farming, and maximum financial benefit for our farmers. Many methods of this have an ecological focus and the word “organic” has become quite the fad among those seeking implied health benefits, and those with strong moral and political views (vegans etc…). I do purchase a fair amount of organic products but mainly due to the health benefits and the fact that I avoid gluten, egg whites, and most processed foods in my diet. I try to buy fresh vegetables, quinoa, oatmeal, nuts, cereals, and many other products that are organic but meat is so expensive that I can’t afford it. After our lecture in class, I decided as my final project, to start a small organic garden in my back yard for vegetables. It has been a learning experience for me thus far and I can’t wait to see how everything turns out. I also planted an avocado tree, a mango tree, some corn, and some eggplant around the rest of my property. I think there is a disconnect between us and our food. Sometimes I joke with people about putting a cow or some goats on my property so I can have meat and I receive all sorts of horrified responses. The most common is “I don’t want to meet my dinner”. Where do people think their burger came from? Because of technology (Characterized in the 3^rd Frontier readings) we have evolved to the point where we can drive up to Chic-fill-a and magically produce a chicken in a matter of minutes. We have totally lost our connection with nature in this regard. Imagine the anarchy that would ensue if a new law was passed that you must only eat what you can grow or process yourself. Below are some pics of my garden project. (the video wouldn't load)

Pictured: Various herbs on outsides, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, green bell pepper, cajun bell pepper, more to come...