Field trip #1-Green Cay Nature Center

During the course of the class, you will embark on self guided field experiences. Each field trip has specific objectives, read through them before embarking on your self-guided trip and comment on what you learned. Provide a reflection of your experience for each field trip. This entry is a personal reflection that should capture how you felt, what you enjoyed, what you may not have enjoyed, etc. What are your impressions of the Campus? Compare your impressions before attending colloquium and now.

Due to the fact that I am taking the class in south east Florida, my field trip was not on a campus, but at Green Cay Nature Center. I will not only reflect on my trip to Green Cay, but I will also compare and contrast it to what I know about FGCU’s nature. Green Cay is over 100 acres of wetland that has a boardwalk allowing the public to walk through to see animals and plants in their habitat. There are numerous animals in there such as snakes, alligators, turtles, birds, frogs, fish, and ducks.
The plants there are used for purification of waste water. Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department has an amazing cycle. It first starts off by having the raw ground water come from wells that are 150 feet underground, the water is then filtered and the odors caused by dissolved gases are then removed. The water is then treated and sent into homes, however the treated waste water is sent to be used on golf courses and into the wetlands. This water is cleaned by wetland plants and restores groundwater levels. Some examples of those plants would be the Fireflag, Arrowhead, Pickerelweed, Arrow Arum, and Spatterdock. There was a large amount of duckweed in the water that I thought was algae, but I soon learned that duckweed discourages the growth of algae by blocking sunlight. It is food for the abundant wildlife and it even cleans the water by absorbing nitrogen and phosphorous.
Not only did this experience allow me to understand nature, basically in my backyard, but also taught me about how to conserve water. An amazing fact I learned is that about 2/3 of the water we use in homes is in the bathrooms, and the majority of that water is flushed down the toilets. Washer machines can use forty or more gallons of water in each load, so filling each load to the top saves water, and there are now water-conserving side loading models that people can buy. Dishwashers use around fifteen gallons of water.
I will admit that I have yet to go on the FGCU campus trail. The school itself has beautiful and exotic animals on campus. There are boars, alligators, snakes, rabbits, raccoons, cats, and birds, just to name a few. FGCU is trying to encourage the community to use refillable water containers and have installed spigots to the water fountains. The water at FGCU is tested several times each month, and is sometimes is better quality of water, than bottled water. There are no CFC-based refrigerants used in educational building air-conditioning and fire suppression systems. The school has one of the largest ice thermal storage plants in the state, which saves money, reducing need for more utilities, and is low in demand for electricity. There are recycling centers throughout campus housing and on campus as well. This gives students easy access to recycling, rather than throwing their recyclables in the garbage. Over fifteen percent of the schools electricity is from a renewable source and every new building on campus is LEED certified.
The two places are extremely different, but have the same goal in mind, to help preserve the natural environment.