Florida Fieldtrip 2022

NASA`s vehicle assembly building NASA`s Kennedy Space Centre   Along the early drive in we see pelicans.   NASA`s Kennedy Space Centre is home to more than just pelicans though. It is actu ally a national wildlife refuge located on Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge .     The Florida s crub jay resides in the reserve along with the protected bald eagle.   While manatees enjoy the 220 square miles of salt water estuaries that are a haven for seabirds.     On the tour of the center by coach I spotted the largest American alligator of the whole trip hauling itself out of the water onto the bank opposite the road . The alligators around the center sometimes bask on the shuttle land way and so need to be removed. Gopher tortoises can also be found on the reserve.     Organisms are often found within the kill range of rockets. The sound wave alone can kill from a launch. NASA to tackle this have a team to remove wildlife from the danger zone.       Walk around Archbold     T

 1/11/22 Visiting Florida Gulf Coast University Stretching over 807 acres F lorida G ulf C oast U niversity is compiled of 347 acres of wetlands 23 of which have been created.       The University seems to have grown around these swamp areas with built-in canals for water flow under roads and carparks. If this was not enough, the organization even monitor the alligators on campus , which they track with collars and identify reasons of any deaths.       Water quality an d levels are also consistently measured     Invasive species such as melaleuca and brazillian pepper are removed by the grounds department while native species are planted. On top of this, trees are added to the tree orphanage. This is a system that replants native flora that needed to be removed to make way for buildings.     A t FGCU we met Edwin Everham , who affirmed that when building the University, sustainability was their first priority .      Everham took us around one of the lecture blocks. It was tall, sp