Estuary Memories#5

Itwas very neat visiting the estuary at Lover's Key. The last time I visited one was in Jupiter, Florida. My environmental teacher taught the class how to do the "stingray shuffle".This prevents us from getting stung by the stingrays passing by. If you do not stingray shuffle the stingray thinks you are a shark or some type of predator stepping on them. So they will barb you. But when you shuffle they think you are another sting ray passing by.

I love nature. I always have. Just to sit outside and listen to the whispers in the trees or watch the sunset makes my day. My friends tell me they are not fans. They would rather be inside. Me, ha I love the outdoors. I enjoy going on these Colloquium field trips.

Getting the Proper Education #4

After looking over the essay assignment and reading Last Child in the Woods I brainstormed a little about what my education has been like through the years and what worked best for me overall.

Honestly what worked for me mostly was the good teachers. In other words, the teachers who educated my class using hands on experiences when teaching the lesson.

Those hands on experiences definitely helped me, especially when it came time to testing them. I still remember 90% after skimming the notes after an outdoor's field trip.

In Louv (2005), "In 1890, James described two kinds of attention: directed attention and fascination (i.e., involuntary attention)"(p.5).

This excerpt from the reading was exactly what I was looking for. According to the education I have recieved the words directed attention and fascination is the target for what those selected few teachers gave me.

Also in Louv (2005), " During these treks or afterward, subjects reported that just being in nature was more restorative than the physically challenging activities, such as rock climbing, for which such programs are mainly known"(p.5).

This is true to me. I feel that with being outside and learning about the lesson taught it is important to know why we are learning this and how we can use it in our future.

The teachers who most likely did this, achieved their goal of reaching out to the students and actually teaching them something. I think that being inside learning does not at all meet the students 100% learning outcome. Stepping outside of the classroom and actually being taught something in the world we live in, now that is priceless.

Treat others the way you want to be treated #3

This section, The Erosion of Biodiversity, really disturbed me. I am in fact an animal lover and a tree hugger at heart. Reading all the facts in this reading made me angry at the people in this world.

The section is about seeing other life forms as biological andgenetic raw material is fraught with ecological risks. Well yes it is. The question ask's why. There are a MILLION reasons why!

"Human kind does not have a right to push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit and power without concern for their wellbeing"(40). Humans use animals and plants for things.

Meat, milk, fur, antibiotics,entertainment or just for money. I feel bad for all the animals and plants out there who are not appreciated for their beauty and their purpose of living here on earth with us.

Humans destroy them constantly. I was the girl at the county fair each year who tried to save the pigs and cows from going to the slaughter house.

My parents always told me they are mean't for that.But the question I always ask myself is,are they really?

Lover's Key State Park #2

Visiting Lovers Key State park was a phenomenal experience. I have never been there before and it was really neat seeing everything there for my first time. I have visited parks in my past but this one was not like anything I have ever seen before. I went to Lovers Key State Park early in the morning. It was quiet and you can hear the noises of much wildlife.

This park became protected when humans wanted to change much of it. Altering mangrove areas, dredging a canal were some of the actions human’s wanted to perform. The preparations for development would damage the islands. When discussing mangroves and estuaries environments they are perfectly made for each other.

The estuary is made up of a mixture of fresh and salt water also known as “brackish” water. In the estuaries the mangroves serve as a nursery for the oysters, crabs etc. It serves as a home for these organisms. The topography and surface features affect the plant and animal species by which organisms adapt to each area. They are all different. For example on the beach the elevation gets higher. Sea turtles nest on higher ground so the nest is not ruined by the ocean. There are animals that live in moist areas and some live in dry.

Organisms live in the many different environments at Lover’s Key. The water quality in Lovers Key is a vital ingredient to the habitat. I asked a park ranger about it and she said “Water quality is very important. We have people who go out in the field and collect water samples every day. This keeps us informed of bacteria. With terrible water quality, the estuaries have a difficult time living”.

Five tree species I saw were mangroves, red, black and white, bald cypress, dogwood, live oak and red oak. Five non-woody plants were, smooth cordgrass, spanish moss, eel grass, poison ivy and the narrow-leaved cattail. And five animal species I saw were the pelican, roseate spoonbill, florida fighting conch,snook and the black headed gull. There were dragon fly’s too. This park is unique to me because it is called Lover’s Key. Lovers used to come out to this secret beach for a romantic get away.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Trip #1

1) After visiting the corkscrew swamp sanctuary I was amazed of how much wildlife was on the side of a two mile boardwalk. There were many habitats around too. One which I came upon first was the Pine Flatwoods. The Pine Flatwoods is full of palmettos and pine trees. Inside of the Pine Flatwoods I learned about Controlled fires. The fires were able to preserve the natural resources with ash being the fertilizer for the new plants. Some plants in the Pine Flatwoods are, Palmetto, Cabbage palm, slash pine and poison ivy. The Pine flat wood is a very dry area in the sanctuary .The plants adapt well to dry climate.

The next habitat I examined was the hardwood hammock. The hardwood hammock is full of shade and does not let in too much sun light at all. Some plants were, the button bush, ludwigs, pepper vine, elderberry, cypress tree, and tilladsia.

Last habitat was the wetlands. The wetlands is surrounded by water. During the summer the water levels are high. But in the winter they are low. This makes it easier for predators to catch their prey. Cypress trees, pond apple tree, bahoon holly, moon vine and the ghost orchid are just a couple plants in the wetlands.

2) Much wildlife was seen on the field trip. The wildlife I saw when I was passing through the pine flatwoods was spiders, hawk,lizards, and a warbler. I did see some raccoon scat too. In the hardwood hammock I saw a viceroy butterfly pollinating flowers, and a pine warbler. In the wetlands I saw, a blue green tree frog, dragon fly and apple snails and another type of warbler.

3) Water is in fact a very important element. The landscape retain and detain water by having living machines. Living machines is a treatment for wastewater.

4) People are taking care of the corkscrew swamp sanctuary. The boardwalk there is made out of sustainable wood and is named the worlds best boardwalk. There are signs everywhere stating do not feed the wildlife that way the wild animals are not harmed. They also do controlled burns to replenish healthy plants.