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Urban Experience

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Babcock Ranch Planned Community "What are the three components of the triple bottom line of sustainability? People, profit, and planet . Babcock Ranch is a town that has been designed from the beginning to address all three. In some ways, starting a town from scratch makes it easier to do that rather than retrofitting an existing town to be more sustainable" Babcock is a fair example of sustainable community, but with a large professional golf course that had to destroy land, uses excess water in a community that prides itself on water preservation, and the use of pesticides to keep these non-native grasses healthy, they are not exactly sustainable.  No matter how much solar you have, when you have 4,000+ sq ft homes that advertises irrigation it requires a LOT of natural resources to live in these homes. While not actually producing anything toward the community. I did appreciate the smaller homes that had native shrubs, and hoping the mulch is sustainably sourced. Pine need...
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Agriculture

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  Agricultural Field Experience History of Agriculture Society is most familiar with the modern non-sustainable model of industrialized farming aka Big Ag. These are the corporate farms that have gotten so far away from a natural permaculture, and epitomize the clear cutting mentality of farming. "In a sustainable system, farming works in partnership with the environment. The system is driven by the sun and maintained by natural water and nutrient cycling. Crops are rotated, water and nutrients are restored, land is allowed to rest, and animals graze the land. In contrast, industrial farms require large inputs of fossil fuels, water, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Intensive farming leads to environmental impacts, such as air and water pollution, decreased soil fertility, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and erosion." We also must consider the unending use of fossil fuels on corporate farms.  "The goal of agribusiness is not only to grow food crops, but a...
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Marine Experince

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  Wiggins Pass When thinking of Wiggins Pass, most visitors and locals think beach, fishing, and boat launch. Personally, my first thought are the mangroves and observation tower. The beach is just a small part of this persevered barrier island. Florida Hikes shares this with readers; " The Observation Tower Trail at Delnor-Wiggins is a 0.3-mile boardwalk through a tangled coastal tropical forest. Starting near the picnic pavilion, the boardwalk winds its way through these dense woods, leading to an tall tower from which you get a sweeping view of Wiggins Pass and the Gulf of Mexico, with lots of mangroves way down below."  While boasting one of the most beautiful manmade beaches in the state (white sand here is trucked in often), it is a tiny part of what they park actually consists of; mangrove swamp. A whopping 80% of the park is submerged and mangrove. Why are mangroves critical? They are a naturally evolved filter system. One that evolved with the fauna that depends ...
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Freshwater Experience - CREW Virtual Field Trip

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Crew Land and Water Trust https://crewtrust.org/  What is CREW, and why visit? "The CREW Land & Water Trust was established in 1989 as a nonprofit organization to coordinate the land acquisition, land management, and public use of the 60,000-acre Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed." While this may not sound like a place one would want to run out and visit, I can tell you that it is nothing shy of amazing. This watershed is one of the last places left in SWFL that is untouched by overdevelopment. It allows our rainwater to collect, filter, and flow the way nature evolved here. Which is carefully managed by the S. Florida Water Management district. We are at a critical point here in SWFL, as we forget that our freshwater aquifers are not an infinite source. CREW's job is in part to educate not only the next generation on the importance of clean water, but all of us sometimes need a reminder. Tours along the smaller boardwalk trail are available Nov-April.  Along wit...
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Sense of Place

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  Welcome. This blog was created as a class assignment for a University Colloquium class, but I am looking forward to sharing what it is we discover on our field trips. Be it virtual or in person.  I hope that you find as much beauty in the rural settings as I do. I currently live on a Mesic Hammock that we share with apex predators, deer, turkey, amazing insects (including some rapidly disappearing native bees), native flora, and whatever else you can imagine.  The beautiful view is from my lanai before Irma. Post Irma completely revamped the landscape. (photo watermark is my former soap company). While we were disappointed at first, the natural pruning event brought back land orchids I had not seen in a while, and the infrequent Pileated Woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker). I hope others can see the beauty that in the "weeds." In this picture there are Laurel Oaks, Cabbage Palms, Muscadine grape vines, and native grasses growing.  Do you see anything you would chan...
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