6. Environment in the News - This is an opportunity for you to get caught up on current issues relating to the environment. You are to choose an article or news story that pertains to the environment, provide a short summary, share your thoughts and/or opinions, and provide a citation for your source. Some recommended sources include: the New York Times which is available for free in various location on campus, local papers including the News Press and the Naples Daily News (you may reference their web site for the day’s news and archived articles), and National Public Radio (www.npr.org) which also has on-line versions of their stories.

On Marco Island, they were going to install solar panels on this area of land called Track K, which would offset school electricity bills, saving the School District about $100,000 per year in electricity and saving Marco Island Charter Middle School about half their electric bill or $45,000 each year in electricity. The Project was shot down due to funding. Although this would help improve their carbon foot print, many disliked the idea in the first place because they did not believe that the area should be developed at all. As well, the area also belongs to an American bald Eagle nesting area. Enviromentalist Nancy Richie marked off the area around the tree, about 350 feet in circumference, and no one is allowed to develop there.

I think that they made the right choice, although the decision should not have been based upon funding. If they are going to install solar panels, they should put them on top of buildings, or in an area that has already been developed. There is no need to go destroying the remaining wild life on the island.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/feb/23/energy-commission-turns-out-lights-tract-k-solar-p/

5. Field Trip #2 – ECHO During the course of the class, we will embark on off-campus field experiences. Provide a reflection of your experience for each field trip. This entry is a personal reflection that should capture how you felt, what you enjoyed, what you may not have enjoyed, etc. What are your impressions of ECHO field trip? What is your experience growing plants or gardening? Could you grow any of your own food and many people around the world have to do?

I was surprised to find an organization such as ECHO in Ft Myers Florida. I grew up in this area, and I have never heard of this place, yet they are such a big organization and make such a change in this world. I thought ECHO was awesome. It was so cool to see how they mimicked other ecosystems on their property. It was like visiting a whole other country. I also Liked to see all of the different types of plants that they grew there. Personally I have never had any luck whatsoever growing any type of plant, so i admire what these people do. It must take a lot of hard work and effort to make their whole operation function. If I could learn how to grow plants better, It would be interesting to see what it would be like to grow my own food for once instead of going to the store and buying it. I am sure that I would be able to survive off of it, but I would seriously miss taco bell.

4. Sense of Place - "You can't know who you are until you know where you are." - Wendell Berry. Draw or write about an area where you have a feeling of Sense of Place. Sense of place is understanding the environment around you, your comfort zone, where you feel most at home.





Growing up in the vacation town of Naples Florida, you quickly tired of the local areas of entertainment, and had to often find things to do on your own. I have always felt a sense of place at the beach, but only at night. There is this one spot right at the end of 5th ave. in downtown naples, and no one ever visits it. It is so relaxing just to go out there late at night and lay down to watch the stars and listen to the waves crashing on the beach. This is where I feel most at home in nature. Whenever I go to this spot, I feel completely at ease, and I often find myself here when I am in a bad mood. I understand the local environment because I have always been around coastal areas, and It just seems so natural to me.

Your Neighborhood - Take a walking trip around your neighborhood and draw a map of your area, noting special environmental features, green design, sustainable aspects, species, wildlife etc. Include photos or video clips.





I live in the college community of Coastal village, which is made up by many different apartment buildings. This area seems to have been planned to be very eco friendly. I can see many different designs in the building that promote a better carbon footprint, such as metal roofs, which help conserve electricity for air conditioning costs. As well, the area has integrated itself within the surrounding area, preserving as much of the natural surroundings as possible. Another aspect that is incorporated is that the buildings are very close togeather, and try to occupy as little space as possible to maximize the efficiency of the land, and to preserve the natural surroundings.

1/13 fgcu nature trails

Field Trip #1 - Campus Trail During the course of the class, we will embark on off-campus field experiences. Provide a reflection of your experience for each field trip. This entry is a personal reflection that should capture how you felt, what you enjoyed, what you may not have enjoyed, etc. What are your impressions of the Campus? Compare your impressions before attending colloquium and now.

In our first set of field experiences, we walked the nature trails at FGCU. I honestly never knew these trails existed till this year, and I was excited when I heard that we would be exploring them. Before taking colliquiem, I knew that FGCU was an eco friendly school, but I didnt know that we were to this extent. It was really cool to see how dedicated to keeping nature preserved our school is, as well as the ways we get air conditioning for the school. It was also really cool to see how we created canals so that the natural water flow could still exist. I learned that the landscape design is created to preserve nature, and the buildings are hidden by the nature surrounding the campus

Our school is surrounded mostly by pine flatwoods, as seen in this picture.

Incoming Reflection - What are your initial expectations of Colloquium, feelings? Consider the following: Briefly describe any experience you have with exploring wilderness areas here or in other regions. Describe your relationship with the natural world. Describe any anxieties or reservations you have about this class. What are your personal goals for this class? Describe how this class might be an important component to your education, major or life experiences.

As a student who attends Florida Gulf Coast University, I have to take the required course entitled University Colliquim. In this course, we will study the environment, and how as a campus we function within our ecosystem. As well, we also examine other ecosystems, and how they can effect peoples lives.

Some of the goals for this course include:

• to provide a "sense of place" and an understanding of the unique ecological features of the environment of which you are a part

• to assist in achieving the Florida Gulf Coast University learning goal of developing "an ecological perspective" and in teaching the related outcomes that the student will
  "...know the issues related to economic, social, and ecological sustainability, analyze and evaluate ecological issues locally and globally, participate in projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and environmental issues;"

• to provide experiences to assist in moving toward achieving the eight other FGCU learning goals and their related outcomes.
  to enable a working understanding of sustainability, of environmental education, and of ecological literacy.

As part of this course, we are required to keep an online journal documenting our activity in the class, and things we learned/found interesting.

The only experience that I have with exploring nature in the area is just wandering off aimlessly into the woods with friends and getting lost in nature. Growing up in Florida, all of this wildnerness seems very familiar to me and almost like home. The only Anxities that I have about this class is that I heard it is alot of work, which I am honestly not looking forward to. My personall goal for this class is to learn something, and take it with me on my life journey to make better of this world. I believe that this will help me in the future.