Reading #16- The Earth Charter

I would definitely sign in support of the Earth Charter. I don’t think we as individuals on planet Earth do enough to conserve it, and the Earth Charter is sort of a “non binding” contract that does just that. I feel that if people were to sign in support of the Earth Charter, if they even just followed half of the duties that the charter suggests to follow our planet would be in much better shape than it is.

At first I was a little unsure because there was one principle in particular that I was not sure was “valid”. One principle guarantees potable water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation. Well, we all know that no one person can guarantee all of that to a person. Not even a large group of people could guarantee that to a person; there are organizations trying to make that guarantee for people and it just isn’t plausible. But I read on to where it said that this principle would only be plausible if the national and international resources were available. That statement put my mind at ease.

Overall, I like and support what the Earth Charter is trying to do. It is trying to create a more sound, conservative, sustainable environment for those who live on the planet now, those who will live on the planet in the future, and the variety of plant and animal species that help make our planet what it is.

Reading #15 - The Land Ethic

At first when thinking about the term land ethic, I thought of a person being ethical to the land. Maybe not cutting down as many trees, conserving a few more resources, or something simple like that. But as I began to read further into Leopold’s article, I realized that land ethic is much more than that. Leopold describes the basic idea of land ethic, as being "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." To elaborate on this, for an individual to have land ethic, that person must care more about the land (referred to as the biotic community throughout the article), than just preserving it a little bit. People need to be more dedicated to preserving our environment, in a more ethical way.

Within the reading there was one line that stood out to me more than the rest. “…we still slip two steps backward for each forward stride”. To me, this is one of the truest statements throughout the entire article. I thought about this statement in comparison to my life and the lives of people that I know. For example, when I moved to FGCU as a freshman, I was gung ho about recycling, because the school made it so easy. There were recycling centers everywhere, so of course I would recycle. (That was my forward stride). This summer, when I moved into an apartment with different people, in a different area of the state at a different school where recycling centers were not offered, I have barely recycled at all. It is not that I have no intentions to do so, it is just that it is not as easily accessible to me, so it makes it harder for me to want to do it. (My two steps back). When I return to FGCU in the fall, I am positive that I will begin recycling again (thus starting the cycle over again). I know that I am not the only person who lives this way. I also know that this isn’t how I should be living, but I am living and learning!

Personal Journal #3- The Wonders and Realities of the World

Earlier this morning I went to my statistics class, and relieved some stress. I figured what a better time to experience the wonders and realities of the world than when I am relaxed and relieved. Out of nowhere, the sky opened up, releasing rain and little bits of hail, yes HAIL onto my car. I sat in my car in front of my apartment, not wanting to get out. (Because really, who would want hail to nail them on the head). So I sat there, frustrated for a bit. The hail passed and I went inside. 

A couple hours later, the sun started to come out, so I went back outside to try yet again to experience the wonders and realities of the world. Well, mother nature didn't want that to happen. As soon as I find a comfy spot to sit in (with my cat sitting with me), the apartment complex's landscaping crew showed up and asked me to move, because they were going to be chopping down trees and large branches and didn't want me to get hit with any of them...so again, I had to put my relaxation time to a halt.

What I thought to be my final attempt at sitting in peace and dryness didn't turn out so well. I decided that sitting on my back porch would just have to do for this reflection. WELL. The neighbors didn't want me to do that.... apparently someone next door to me stole money from a friend, and that friend was now at their door, with the cops, screaming and threatening my neighbor. The cop told me to go inside until the situation was under control.

It was then that I realized, not only did I experience a ton of wonders and realities in nature today from the rain, hail, thunder and wind from the storm, and the trees being cut back so they could flourish better than they had been, but i experience the reality of craziness with neighbors. 

I finally got to sit outside, just as the sun was going down, and the neighbors had quieted. I snapped a couple of pictures to sum up my day.

(Above and Below) These are some of  the branches that were cut down from the landscaping crew. 

You can kind of see that the pavement was still a bit wet from the afternoon thunderstorms...as well as the amount of leaves and little flowers that were blown out of the woods from the storm earlier today.

This is my cat who kept me company today while I was trying to experience the wonders and realities of the world, when in reality my whole day was full of wonders and I just didn't notice it.

Parking Ticket ):

The parking ticket I received from UNF when I was trying to complete my Agricultural Field Trip):

Field Trip: Agricultural Field Trip - UNF Butterfly Garden / VERB (Herb Garden with Vegetables) Garden, Jacksonville, FL

Even though there was not as many herbs and vegetables as I hoped there would be, I still think I got a pretty good idea as to how agriculture effects the Jacksonville area. For the most part, the area was mainly a butterfly garden, which don’t get me wrong, was really awesome, but was not so much “agricultural”. I learned different types of plants that attracted butterflies, and different plants that may deter the butterflies away. I also saw a couple of plants that were (supposed) to be growing peppers, and tomatoes. Overall, I enjoyed my agricultural experience, but I really wish it would have been more agricultural, and more of what I was expecting.

Although it is hard to see, there really are a few squash on there! 

The tomato plant barely had any tomatoes, but at least there were a couple!!

Field Trip: Freshwater Environment - UNF Nature Preserve, Jacksonville, FL

Even though there was still a good amount of smoke in the air from all of the fires in the area, I had a really fun time walking around on the trails and wading in the lake. I loved seeing the osprey in the tree; it seemed that it was posing for a picture for us. Another friend of mine besides Melissa came along too and was a little more educated on the environment, and he informed me of a lot of different things about the preserve that I would not have known, had he not come with us. I really enjoyed just walking around, breathing the fresh air, and making jokes with my friends all while experiencing what nature has to offer.

This was such a cool thing on the trail! It was like a giant sand box, that you could (hopefully) catch a glimpse of some animals prints if one happened to walk through there!

Raccoon Prints in the Tracking Box! This was super cool to see.

Field Trip: (Saltwater) Marine Environment - Jacksonville Beach, Jacksonville, FL

Besides the heavy smoke while at Jacksonville Beach, I really enjoyed experiencing the environment. I had a lot of fun watching the waves crash on the shore. I really got a chance to look at and appreciate the sand dunes, which is something that I never really take the time to look at. I was really upset that I didn’t get to see any jellyfish or turtles while I was there (because usually I see at least one of each almost every time I go), but I really think the smoke played a part in preventing me from seeing any wildlife. Overall, I really enjoyed the saltwater marine environment. 

(Above) This is an outdoor amphitheater that is owned by the city and is located right along the beach.

(Above) In this picture, you can kind of see the amount of smoke there was in the air...you can't even see the water because it is so smokey. 

(Above) This is the Jacksonville Pier; Melissa and I were unable to go onto the pier because they were doing renovations and it was temporarily closed.

Species Identification

Today, Melissa and I went on our Freshwater Field Trip Along the way, we found many different species that we have identified for the species identification portion of the course.

(Above) We found this pine cone, laying underneath a pine tree. You can also see  the pine needles located all around the cone.

(Above) Before we entered the freshwater lake, there were some minnows swimming around next to our feet.

(Above) These cat tails were located within the freshwater lake. It was really cool to see them up close!

(Above)  These were some time of small animal eggs (maybe for a certain insect?). Melissa and I could not figure out which animal they belonged to, but my best guess would be a snail or something of the sort.

(Above)  We found this snail right on the side of the freshwater lake.

(Above) This sunfish (or blue gill) was located in about 6-7 inches of water, about two feet into the lake.

(Above)  We found red lilies along one of the nature trails that was next to the lake.

(Above)  Also on the nature trail, Melissa and I stumbled upon a prickly-pear cactus.

(Above)  In the lake, we found a TON of lily pads, as well as a white lily. There were not many of the lilies in the water, just the lily pads.

(Above)  We were at the UNF Nature Preserve, and in one of the trees that was hanging over the lake, we saw an osprey. The osprey is UNF's mascot, and it was really cool to see it in it's natural environment.

(Above) There was a red-eared slider turtle swimming around in the lake. We were standing on a bridge and he actually heard us coming, and swam right up to the bridge!

(Above)  We are not really sure what type of fungus this is, but we are definitely sure it was some type of fungus or an old mushroom.

(Above)  We found poison ivy. Thank god it was a little ways off the trail, because I didn't notice it at first, and I would have hated to have rubbed up against it!

(Above)  We found sunshine mimosa right outside of the butterfly garden that Melissa and I went to.

(Above) Also outside the butterfly garden, we found coral honeysuckle. 

(Above)  We also found coontie. This is the same type of plant that was mentioned in the novel A Land Remembered.

(Above) This is just a better picture of the coontie from a different angle.