Entry #3- Being environmentally aware in my own home

I’ve only lived in my current apartment about 4 months now. The Community from what I’m aware of is made solely of concrete buildings. I have 2 other roommates and I believe we are pretty environmentally efficient when it comes to being careful with the amount of electricity and water we use and also with turning off the air or turning it up when we are out of the house. Since we live in Florida heat isn’t something we really tend to use and if we do it’s very rare. Being in a gated community one amenity we have for free is our water. I think at times that tends to make us less aware of how much we are really consuming and how much we could preserve. The apartment is about 20 minutes to both school and to my job which makes an easy commute and helps me to burn less fuel. Our community is actually one of the few I’ve seen that has a lot of lush landscaping and plants that make it feel like you’re in more of a natural environment.  There are no yards to maintain so the only maintenance done is by the community landscapers. The only animals I’ve really seen are small insects like lizards and ladybugs as well as other animals such as snakes and bunny rabbits. We do have an Olympic size community pool that is also maintained by the community I’m assuming with all the same chemicals that would normally be used to clean a pool such as chlorine.  The only household chemicals we store would be cleaners for the showers or sinks that include bleach in them. We normally just store them under the kitchen sink in a safe place out of reach or harm. I feel that a natural environment is one that naturally forms around you, whereas an unnatural environment is one that you bring both plant and animal species into and try to make it look like its natural. I feel that my community is a little more unnatural because many of the plants and landscaping were brought in to make it feel more natural. I don’t feel like I’m necessarily “of nature” because I feel like I’m more forced into being in nature rather than seeing and experiencing nature around me. I feel like the community is trying to fit into nature and the surroundings. I don’t think it’s wasteful or overuses its materials and wants to help the environment rather than hurt it. Overall I think my community is trying to be one with nature by helping us feel like we are living in a more natural environment with our lush surroundings and plant and animal life.

I don't have too many pictures of me in my house, but here is one of me(right) and one of my friends in my living room.

Entry #2- My connection to nature and first experience with Colloquium

Personally I don’t have a lot of experience outdoors. Growing up I did gymnastics which is an indoor sport and that took up most of my time besides school. I went to an elementary school right near FGCU called Pinewoods Elementary and learned a bit about the environment there because like FGCU it’s built into nature not around it. Growing up we would have panthers at our school and experienced a different outlook on wildlife then you would going to a school in the city. My mom is an avid environmentalist and is always pushing for the family to do something outdoors. Growing up she was always interested in what was going on in the environment and pushed to do things like kayak, hike, or even just go for a picnic at Koreshan. She’s started an environmental club where she teaches at Pinewoods Elementary and even planted a school garden that’s been in the News Press numerous times. She prides herself on making sure her students have a role in the environment everyday they are at school. A lot of me being aware of my surroundings had to do with the positive influence of my parents. Most kids aren’t aware because their parents aren’t aware and they learn from what they do. I don’t have much anxiety about this class besides the fact that I don’t really care for reptiles. An encounter with a snake would be the only thing that could really scare me away! The FGCU campus tour opened my eyes to a lot on campus that I’ve never really noticed before. I never even knew there were campus trails and never really noticed the many different kinds of plants surrounding the school. Usually I just come to campus for class and leave, never really taking into perspective what surrounds me. On the tour with Adam I learned more about the controlled burning and how fires can actually be GOOD for the woods. Natural occurrences are supposed to happen and shouldn’t be stopped because we think they are better. I also think it’s awesome that the bridge passing from the parking garage to the new dorms has an underground tunnel for animals to pass. It’s sad how many animals die every day from being hit by automobiles. It’s not fair to them considering WE are the one’s entering into their natural habitat and then we are the reason for them dying. From the tour I’ve learned to see our campus in a new light and really appreciate it for what it is. In my eyes there is no other campus like FGCU’s in the nation and I’m proud to be a student at an environmentally aware and friendly school. J

This picture overlooks an aerial view of campus showing that much of the land is still conserved and will always be conserved.

This picture to me is crazy. This fire came dangerously close to campus, and the dorms were never evacuated. Luckily it didn't reach FGCU or any of our conservation land.

Entry #1- My thoughts on Colloquium

Nature has never really been my thing. I grew up in a family that is very involved in doing activities outdoors and always caring about the environment. Not that I don’t care about the environment, but nature has never really intrigued me to the point that I wanted to explore it more. In this class I hope to really gain more knowledge of the outdoors and to be more aware of my surroundings. I haven’t really heard a whole lot about colloquium from my peers besides the fact that it's a lot of work. After telling some of my friends that have already took the class about what I’m learning and what the workload is like it seems that I actually have LESS work to do then they did years back. I think colloquium should definitely have us more involved with the environment and doing hands on activities rather then it being more about reading, writing papers, and taking tests. Having it a required course for our school I think is important. Whenever new students and parents approach the school the first thing they look at is the campus surroundings. Being a part of our campus is like being part of nature and being a part of what I think is one of the most environmentally aware Universities in the nation. The only other science class I’ve taken at this University was one that was online. I don’t think it serves quite the same purpose and gives you the same experience. The workload expected doesn’t seem unattainable to me and I’m looking forward to going on field trips and learning as much as I can about our campus and the environment all around me. I found this page on facebook and found it pretty interesting that so many students that come to such an environmentally friendly and aware school have so much hate towards colloquium. The decision to come here is the decision to be aware, and I think it's important. Below is the link.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=280435206581#!/group.php?gid=280435206581&v=wall