Darling

Although brief and short, our trip to Ding Darling Wild Life Refuge didn’t only show how beautiful the state of Florida, but it was truly a reflection on how important it is to keep our environment clean.  

Our Student Naturalist Kai was really enlightening, and had a very broad recognition many of the birds native to Southwest Florida. Although my sight wasn’t very good, and I could only make them out from a distance, it was really interesting to see anhingas, cormorants, herons, ospreys, and spoonbills in their natural habitat. Something else we talked about were the mangroves, which I’ve personally touched up close, and got to say is a pretty tough tree. The roots tangle in a such a complex way that makes it obvious how important mangroves are for our ecosystem, and land during heavy storms.  Without them we’d probably have immense flooding on our coastlines. Aside from that, they help improve water quality by absorbing nutrients from runoff that might cause harmful algae blooms. One of the main problems we’re having in Florida right now is the poor water quality, and the issue that first comes to mind when I think of water pollution is the awful red tide that lasted for over a year in 2017. The effects of that red tide killed hundreds of marine animals. Not only were they affected, but animals that depend on them as food source were affected as well. While we were on the boardwalk, what might have been an anhinga or cormorant, scooped up a fish straight out of the water and flew with it hanging from its beak. A red tide that lasted over a year due to man-made disasters. Pollution from runoff from farms being dumped into our lakes, chemicals polluting our freshwater systems that not only have an effect on fish, but the ecosystem as a whole. This damage to our ecosystem means that it will also affect tourism in Florida. Florida relies on the tourism industry as one of its main economic contributors, and because of the red tide, we haven’t had the same influx of snowbirds. Businesses that rely on them have seen their sales plummet in the last year because of it. K. Brevis also affected people with respiratory problems; breathing conditions were not suitable for many. When we don’t treat our Earth good, there will be effects and Florida is having a first-hand experience with the consequences.  

Something this trip made me reflect on is the fact that I don’t spend enough time in nature, even though I live in an area that has easy access to many bays, wildlife refugees, beaches, and nature trails. At FGCU itself, there are many nature trails that one can explore solo, and I’ve only been on them once, even after living on the FGCU campus for two years. I’ve established a sense of place with a place that is very far away from Fort Myers, but its time I start a genuine connection with the place I’ve called home for the past three years. 

FGCU Food Forest

FOOD FOREST 

The food forest started as a concept between a group of students in 2008, who had the simple idea of incorporating fruit trees/organic garden in Northlake student housing, but then actually transitioned into planting mulberry trees in a small plot of land behind Whitaker. In 2011, the students were actually able to collect funds through FGCU Student Government, and then FGCU administration also granted the students a half acre of land on FGCU property, which is were the food forest is located now. (Food Forest web page) 

The main concept of the food forest was to make sure that it was a self sustainable system. Premaculture and biomimicry were the two main points of design. Premaculture is using all resources to their fullest potential, and not letting anything go to waste. A good example of this is mulching. (Never Ending Food) 

Biomimicry is basically the concept of "lets let nature do its thing," after all, these species have been here for a good 3.8 millions years (Biomimicry, cpp.edu.) Its basically a design that allows nature to work on its own with no human intervention. Its a design that aims to have no use of pesticides or fertilizers. A good example would be the placement of certain species in the food forest. Some plants may be placed on a less elevated, almost toward the bottom of a hill for example, plants that require a lot of water so that when there is a lot of water runoff, these plants are able to receive that water with no problem. A mango tree might be placed on a more elevated surface to protect smaller plants from heavy winds. The design of the forest was designed so that everything works like a puzzle; every plant has its place with a specific purpose. The food forest was divided by cold sensitivity, wind tolerance, water requirements, and soil type.Both of these concepts help in using Earth in a more sustainable manner, and they restore natural ways of using the land that don't affect in a negative manner. 

All species planted at the FGCU Food Forest are species that are able to grow  locally in our Southwest Florida climate. The FGCU FF is essentially trying to shift from products that are being shipped from  miles away, to products that you can get in your own backyard. They have species from many places over the world, such as Central America, South America, the Caribbean islands, Asia, etc. This is especially important because it gives students access to fruits and vegetables they might have never tried before, and it gives student an insight to different cultures. The lychee is a great example of this. I have been eating lychees for almost my whole life; its something that you can find anywhere in Honduras. So to me, lychees aren't anything new. But, many many Americans have no idea what a lychee is, and the FGCU food forest has given students the perfect opportunity to be introduced into delicious exotic fruits. Branching out is good, it feeds the mind and spirit and makes us see things in a different light. 

      The FGCU Forest is accessible to all FGCU students. Students are able to go to the forest itself and plant fruits or vegetables if they wanted to. My freshman year of college, one of the members of the food forest actually allowed me and my friend a small plot of the land so that we could plant whatever we wanted to. They want students to go out there and learn more about how to live a sustainable life, which is the overall mission statement that FGCU aims to achieve. They provides students with an educational tool on how to grow organic fruits and vegetables. One of the statements from one of the members of the FGCU FF was "if people planted their own food, people would respect their food more", which I completely agree with. It also serves as a hands-on experience for students who are interested in environmental sustainability, and its brought so many like-minded people together who are working very hard on a common goal. 

Biomimicry- ://www.cpp.edu/~lacosta/testing9/biomimicry9/42_part_print.html

Never Ending Food - http://www.neverendingfood.org/b-what-is-permaculture/permaculture-guilds/

FGCU Food Forest - http://fgcufoodforest.weebly.com/where.html

Florida Gulf Coast University - https://www2.fgcu.edu/UndergraduateStudies/foodforest.html