Lovers Key State Park

 Today I visited Lovers Key State Park as part of a field trip.  I was utterly amazed at how large the park actually was.  I have driven past the sign many times, but this was my first actual trip into the park.  Upon my arrival I decided to do the self-guided estuary tour and beach walk.  The walk was so relaxing.  Everything in nature seemed to be in perfect harmony.  I stopped and watched the water drift by on a bridge for a few minutes and listened to the sounds of nature.  This was definitely a relaxing experience.  It was nice to just stop and enjoy the moment without thinking about what I had to do for the rest of the day.

Lovers Key has been shaped by many of the earth’s elements.  For example, Florida’s hot climate allows there to be an abundant number of fires in the area.  These fires are good because they clear out the underbrush, which allows the number of plants competing for resources to be diminished.  Water is a main contributor at Lovers Key.  The water sustains life for the entire ecosystem.  The fish and marine life live in the water, while the surrounding plants use it as a life source (and people also enjoy it too).  Weather has played an important role in Lovers Key.  In 1998 and 2004, a series of storms eroded large sections of the south beach.  A re-nourishment project put in place by park officials in 2004 added sand and vegetation to the shoreline to help rebuild the natural beach (Florida State Parks).  The topography of Lovers Key has an influence of what types of species and plants will inhabit the area.  The park’s elevation ranges from mean sea level to about five feet above sea level.  On Black Island, dredge and fill activities have displaced the original mangroves in the area (White, 2005).  The sea level determines the type of plants which grow in the area, which then determines the species that will inhabit it.   

Water quality is an extremely important element in Lovers Key.  Water quality and clarity is maintained by mangroves.  Mangroves thrive in a salty environment because they can take fresh water from salt water.  There are three species of mangroves found in Florida; red, black, and white.  The red mangrove is found closest to the water and has arching roots.  Black mangroves grow upland from the red mangroves and white mangroves usually occupy higher elevations compared to the other two (Florida State Parks, 2011).  These mangroves provide different habitats for fish and wildlife, assist in stabilizing the shoreline with their roots, and protect uplands from storm winds, waves, and flood (Florida State Parks, 2011).  Mangroves are protected by the state from being removed or pruned.  Estuaries are another important part of Lovers Key.  An estuary is a place where fresh water mixes with saltwater.  Estuaries are influenced by tides, seasons, weather conditions, and time of day.  Estuaries are home to many plants and animals that like to live partly in freshwater and partly in sea water.  Some of these plants and fish include horseshoe crab, osprey, manatee, scallops, shrimp, and salmon  (United States Environmental Protection Agency , 2011).         

While walking along the trails at Lovers Key, I saw many tree species.  Some of these included the Gumbo Limbo, Jamaica Dogwood, Strangler Figs, and Sabal Palm; which thrive in the maritime hammock.  I also spotted many red, white, black mangroves.  I also saw some non-woody plants including the Sea Oxeye, Sea Purslane, Railroad Vine, Coastal Sandspur, and Beach Panic Grass.  Each of these plants play a role in sustaining the wildlife or the sea itself in the area.  Lovers Key is one of the best birding sites in Southwest Florida.  Some birds common to this area are the Turkey Vulture, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, Brown Pelican, and Bald Eagle.  

I think one unique characteristic of Lovers Key has to do with its history, and how it became a state park.  During the 1900s, Lovers Key was only accessible by boat.  It was said that only lovers traveled to the island as a romantic get-a-way from other tourists.  A road was built to the island in 1965 (Florida State Parks, 2007).  Black Island got its name supposedly from the pirate Black Augustus who escaped from authorities and lived on the island for the remainder of his life (Florida State Parks, 2007).  In the 1960s to the 1970s, four barrier islands were planned to be built.  Preparation for these islands damaged the land.  In 1983, the state took ownership of the islands and in 1996 they merged with Carl E. Johnson Park (Florida State Parks, 2007).  Today the park is known as Lovers Key Carl E. Johnson State Park.

Works Cited

Florida State Parks (n.d.). Florida State Parks Anniversary 1935-2010. Retrieved May 29, 2011, from Florida State Parks: http://www.floridastateparks.org/history/parkhistory.cfm?parkid=135&CFID=31449561&CFTOKEN=97817556#resource

Florida State Parks. (2011). A self-guided Estuary tour and beach walk [Brochure]

Florida State Parks. (2007, September 5). Lovers Key Carl E. Johnson State Park [Brochure]

United States Environmental Protection Agency . (2011, May 28). About Estuaries. Retrieved May 29, 2011, from Exploring Estuaries: http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/estuaries/index.cfm

White, B. (2005, December 9). Lovers Key State Park Unit Management Plan. Retrieved May 29, 2011, from Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/planning/parkplans/LoversKeyStatePark.pdf

Fort Myers Beach

Today I went to Fort Myers Beach and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  While sitting in my chair, I decided to draw my interpretation of the beautiful scene in front of me.

The Story of Stuff

     Today I watched an extremely interesting video that I can honestly say has changed my way of thinking about our government and the environment.  I would encourage everyone to watch the video, The Story of Stuff.  I can openly say that before Colloquium, I had not done much research on the production or consumption of products.  This video simply gave the facts.  It showed how our world is using its resources and where they go after we throw them out.  Stuff goes through a linear system of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal, known as the materials economy.  The problem with this system is that it is linear, and running a linear system on a finite planet means we will someday run out of resources to use.   

  

     The first step in the story of stuff is extraction.  Extraction is when we take resources out of the Earth.  These resources include oil, trees, fish etc.  We basically trash the planet to get what we need.  Since the US does not want to destroy its own land, we do this over in third world countries.  A staggering statistic is that the United States is only 5% of the world’s population, but is using 30% of the world’s resources.  This again, is not a good thing when we have a finite amount of resources to use. 

     

     The second step in the story of stuff is production.  We take resources and add chemicals to them.  This makes them toxic.   If we are adding toxins to our own products, then we have toxins going in and toxins coming out.  This is extremely sad to think about.  We are actually polluting and injuring our own species by the production of stuff.  For example, human breast milk is at the top of the food chain with the highest number of toxins in it.  Yes, I know when I heard that statistic I was speechless too, so let us move on.

     Next we have distribution and this is where stores sell products at cheap prices so consumers will buy them.  Stores can do this because they externalize the price of products.  

     Consumption is the fourth step in the story of stuff.  Our country has become a nation of consumers and this is the heart of the system.  As long as we keep consuming products more and more the whole process will keep occurring.  In North America, after 6 months of consumption, only 1% of products bought are still in use.  This is not the peoples fault; the system has been designed this way.  The government has actually designed products to fail in order to ramp up our economy.  Two of the main strategies to get people to keep buying are planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence.  Planned obsolescence means that the product will actually fail so you have to buy a new one.   An example of this is ever-changing new and improved computers and cell phones.  Perceived obsolescence convinces us to throw away stuff that is perfectly useful.  An ideal example of this is fashion.  Fashion changes so quickly that people could literally buy shoes one month that are out of style the next month.  These strategies put in place by the government are actually feeding consumption and the overall materials economy. 

     The last step in the story of stuff is disposal.  Products are disposed in landfills.  Some products are first incinerated, which increases the amount of toxins in them.

     This video stresses the idea that the materials economy cycle needs to be continuous.  We need to find a new way of producing and using stuff that will not hurt our environment.  I really believe this video was useful in helping me understand what is truly going on with this kind of “stuff” around the world.  This blog is just some of the highlights and statistics that really impacted me.  I strongly recommend everyone to watch this video and draw their own conclusions! 

Watch The Story of Stuff

The Boy and the Starfish

I remember hearing this story when I was younger and wanted to share it with everyone.

The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset.  As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water.  Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, "I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen.  "But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can't possibly make a difference."  The boy smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "I made a huge difference to that one!"

 ~Author Unknown~

     I found this short story to be very endearing and inspiring.  I think it is sometimes hard to see how the little things we do every day can really make an impact on the environment and others.  Sometimes we need a simple quote or motivating story to remind us that every little bit we do can help others.  My favorite part about this story is how the little boy refuses to listen to the older man who basically tells him that his actions are useless.  The boy has faith and believes so strongly in what he is doing that he just keeps smiling and throwing the starfish back into the ocean.  I hope this story brightened your day, as it did mine!

Reference

Russell, C. (2004, February 3). The Boy and the Starfish. Retrieved May 24, 

       2011, from Dream Emporium: http://dreamemporium.com/starfish.html

My Ecological Footprint

     Today I took a quiz online called “Your Ecological Footprint”.  The quiz asks you a series of questions about your lifestyle.  At the end of the quiz, it estimates how your daily activities are affecting planet Earth.  After completing the quiz, I was a little nervous to see my results.  I am not by any means a litter bug, but I definitely know I could do a better part in sustaining the environment.  My ecological footprint stated that if everyone lived like I did, we would need 4.2 Planet Earths to provide enough resources.  Also, to support my lifestyle, it takes 18.5 global acres of the Earth’s productive area.  I found these statistics to be shocking.   It really made me think what I need to be doing to help save our planet.

 

     The quiz gives simple options of what you can personally do to improve your ecological footprint.  I found this section of the website to be really inventive.  Most people know that they should recycle more, turn off the water and lights when they leave a room, or carpool more often, but the suggestions this site gave were very creative.  For example, I am someone who loves to eat meat.  It is not that I do not like fish, but given the choice I would usually pick a steak over salmon.  The website does a “what if” scenario based off your ecological footprint results.  For me, it noted, “What if you pledged to reduce the amount of animal products you eat by half?”  If every American did this, we would use 645 million fewer global acres, an area that could cover 484 million football fields.  I believe that seeing a statistic like this really makes you think about what you are doing each day.  It also suggested that I start buying products made from recycled materials and plan a local vacation instead of traveling miles away.  I especially liked this website because of the virtual interactivity, honest results, and the unique suggestions.  I would recommend everyone take this quiz and honestly answer the questions, because the results and suggestions could positively affect our planet if they are put into action. 

FIND OUT YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT HERE!

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

         I visited Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on Sunday, May 15, 2011.  Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary consists of a 2.25 mile boardwalk trail weaving through Corkscrew’s diverse habitats, native birds, and local wildlife.  This preserve has the largest strand of old growth Bald Cypress trees in North America (Buchheister, 1957).  As I walked across the boardwalk, I noticed five different habitats including pond cypress, lettuce lakes, central marsh, bald cypress, wet prairie, and pine flatwood.        

The plants of the Pine Flatwood habitat were very interesting to me.  Plants growing in this environment need to be able to quickly recover after a fire.  Some of these plants are the slash pine, sabal pine, saw palmetto, and yellow-eyed grass (Audubon Corkscrew Swamp).  For example, slash pines have thick bark and high needles that are resistant to fire damage.  They can also tolerate seasonal flooding in the summer and fall.   The sabal pine has berries that ripen in the spring and provide nourishment for nearby animals.  The saw palmetto is the most commonly found plant in the pine flatwoods (Audubon Corkscrew Swamp).  Myrtle wax can grow very easily.  This can become a problem when younger, smaller plants are not receiving the sun they need to grow and thrive.  Controlled fires can be used to make a more hospitable environment for these other plants.  The yellow-eyed grass serves as a source of food for the wild turkey in the environment (Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, 2011).  It is fascinating to see how each plant is specifically designed to survive or sustain life for another species. 



Air Plant

Some of the most interesting plants I saw were in the Cypress Forest/swamp.  The swamp in this area will develop when the conditions are right. These plants included the bald cypress, strangler fig, air plants, water lettuce, and lichens.  The bald cypress has a large, thick trunk to withstand the elements of nature, which seems to be a good adaptation since some trees are up to 500 years old.  The strangler fig copes with the environment by creating relationships with other stronger trees so that it can thrive in this environment. Their roots can be seen growing up or down the host tree.   Because there is so much water found in these types of habitats, air plants have evolved.  The constant water conditions have forced flowering plants to find alternative locations and build their foundations from other host organisms.  Water lettuce has thrived because of the almost constant water conditions in the environment.  It provides habitable environments for other animals including small fish and crayfish (Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, 2011).  Lichens are found in almost any dense forest area and create a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae.         



Wet Prairies



Another interesting habitat I would like to talk about is the wet prairies.  The wet prairie thrives from a combination of fire, poor soil, and flooding (Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, 2011).  Some plants in this habitat include the sand cordgrass, St. Johns-wort, buttonbush, blue flag iris, and water dropwort.  The sand cordgrass is very plentiful in this area.  It is mostly used to facilitate fire through the prairie which allows space for other grasses to thrive and grow in its place.  St Johns-wort, buttonbush, blue flag iris, and the water dropwort all bloom in the summer or spring and produce flowers and vegetation that nourish the nearby insects and animals.     

Animals of the wet prairie include: egrets, white-tailed deer



Great Egret



Animals of the lettuce lake include: little blue herons, alligator, marsh rabbit

Animals of the central marsh include: raccoon, green anole, cardinal

Animals of the Bald cypress forest include: grey squirrel, pileated woodpecker



Green Anole



American Alligator

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Water is a vital element to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  Since only rain water feeds Corkscrew Swamp, the water level is mostly dependent of the Florida seasons.  The rainy seasons in Florida are summer and fall.  Consequently, this is when the water levels are higher.  During winter and spring, when rain is infrequent, the water level drops.  The natural landscape and flow of water allow the area to retain and detain water when it is needed.  The dry season actually allows new plants to establish themselves in the area.

The present relationship of people to environment in Corkscrew Swamp seems to be beneficial to both, although this was not always the case.  During the 1940s cypress forests in Florida were being destroyed and used for their timber.  At the same time Congress sent engineers to build canals, dikes, and levees to control storm water and control Everglades for agriculture (Buchheister, 1957).  We have seen the damages of our actions from the past years.  Water is now contaminated with chemicals and the natural flow of water is not enough to support the wildlife, especially the wading bird population.  In the 1990s the federal, state, and local government agencies joined forces to restore the natural sheet flow to the ecosystems (Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, 2011). In time the quality of water will be improved for both people and animals in southern Florida.

While walking along the boardwalk I noticed some inventive ways the people of Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association were using to help save the environment.  For example, the entire boardwalk is built of a hardwood that will never need chemicals or any treatment to sustain it.  Another amazing invention at Corkscrew Swamp is the living machine.  The living machine is a natural water restoration system.  It uses natural resources like bacteria and algae to disinfect the water flushed in the bathrooms (Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, 2011).  The water is cleaned thoroughly and returned to the toilets for use again.  As quoted from a Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary tour guide, “The water is said to be more pure than water that comes from municipal water treatment plants.”  I believe this invention truly reflects to idea of sustaining and respecting the environment we live in.   I would not change a thing about Corkscrew Swamp.  I think the whole atmosphere is very serene and relaxing.  It is like you are entering a paradise where you can get a break from the hustle and bustle of the world.  This environment makes you feel like you are miles away from anything stress related. 

I am grateful for my time at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and would recommend a visit to anyone who has not been there before.  My advice is to visit and give yourself time to take in all this place has to offer.

*All pictures were taken complementary of Theresa Boyne.

References

Audubon corkscrew swamp sanctuary.  Retrieved on May 15, 2011 from

                http://corkscrew.audubon.org

Buchheister, C. (1957). The acquisition and development of the corkscrew

swamp sanctuary, 1952-1967. Retrieved from http://corkscrew.audubon.org/Information/Buchheister.html

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center. (2011). Companion field guide [Brochure]




  





  

And so it begins...

5/14/11

Hello everyone!  For my first blog, I wanted to share a little about myself, my thoughts, and my beliefs with whoever takes the time to read this.  I think a good way to start off this blog is to explain what Colloquium means to me and what I expect to get out of this class.  I really have no preconceptions about this class because I just transferred to FGCU last year and honestly have not heard much about it. 

I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio where it snows a lot, rains some, and the sun shines a little.  Ohio is a beautiful place, but it is my personal belief that when you grow up in one town you whole life, you seem to become blind to the scenery around you.  I make this comment because when I first came to Fort Myers, Florida I was in awe of the beauty.  Everything was like a new experience to me.  I have lived here for almost ten months now, and I still get excited when I see the white sandy beaches, tall swaying palm trees, majestic birds, and take a breath of the ocean stained fresh air. 

This is what I expect the colloquium class to be like in a snap shot.  It should be a “break” from the normal classes of reading, studying, and taking tests, and be a time to explore, reflect, and appreciate the environment we live in.  I think colloquium will be a chance to look at economic, social, and ecological issues facing the community and nation.  It will allow students to take a proactive approach in sustaining the environment, which in return sustains us.       

One aspect of this class that I am excited about is the service learning hours we are required to do.  Although I have not yet chosen where or what service I will perform for the community, I am hopeful that it will make a true difference for at least a few people.  My thoughts can best be summarized by Buddhist Philosopher Daisaku Ikeda who said, “It is senseless to blame others or your environment for your miseries. Change begins from the moment you muster the courage to act. When you change, the environment will change. The power to change the world is found nowhere but within our own life.”

Have a good day.

Theresa