Day 6: Florida Gulf Coast University

 1/11/22

Visiting Florida Gulf Coast University

Stretching over 807 acres Florida Gulf Coast University 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 and 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. 

 

At 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, spacious and very light with many windows.  

 

Swamp Walk 

 

FGCU runs a compulsory semester-long module for all students covering environmental issues and sustainability. As a part of this the University’s occupants, teachers included, all have to undergo the swamp walk we did. 

 

As Everham chokingly expressed to our fieldtrip group, people will not protect what they do not know and fear. It is a connection to the environment that pushes a person to care about it. I believe that we all felt that connection during the walk. 

 

Being in the water and towered over by cypress trees does have a powerful effect. The day for me felt as if the whole purpose was to feel this connection and so to attempt to understand how the theory of conservation works. 

 

Along the walk we laid traps in the water which within minutes had caught many tiny fish in its rectangle bucket. Poison ivy was also pointed out to us.  

 

Everham at one point caught a cuban tree frog by hand and identified it with the use of the colour of its bones through its skin. 

 

Bass Pro Shop 

 

In the afternoon we went into Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. Which displayed the fervor for hunting and fishing in the area. An employee of the shop talked about how, if one fished a large enough great hammerhead shark, you were allowed to take it and kill it. Hammerhead sharks are listed as endangered by the IUCN. 

 

Of course, this is an extreme example that may not be applicable to many people. But even so, in a way the mind for hunting is still connecting and receiving contact with the natural world which can ultimately lead to conservation. 

Link to website from first picture:

https://www.flseagrant.org/event/seminar-on-florida-sea-grant-research-and-student-funding-opportunities/

useful links:

https://www.fgcu.edu/