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Journal 1

Hello! My name is Nicolina Trimarche and I am a communications major with a concentration in Public Relations and Nonprofit at Florida Gulf Coast University. This semester is my final semester at the university and to say I am excited is an understatement. I have been hearing about the colloquium course at FGCU since the second I walked onto campus ad knew that, since it is a mandatory course, I was eventually going to be taking it. The is a handful of things that I have heard about the course and one of those is that we will be doing a lot on nature and the environment around us. Another concept of the course that I have heard a lot about is the field trips, which I am pretty excited about. I don’t have many expectations for this course, I tend to keep a pretty open mind but, if I had to picked something that I am expecting to get from this course it is a better idea as to why this course is required for all students at the FGCU because this is something that I never really understood. By having this knowledge I will be able to connect more with the university that I have attended for the past four years of my life. Since this course is mandatory, it is evident that there is something major to be taught from it to all of the students that I will be able to utilize for years to come. I am not exactly sure what that knowledge is going to be but, like I said, I like to keep an open mind. I am excited to experience places that I have never seen before, like the nature trails at FGCU. Although I pass by them almost every day that I am on campus I have never actually walked in them. My college major is communications and I believe that concepts that I learn from this class throughout this semester will allow me to grow in ways that I never would have thought possible. My sense of place can be described as anywhere where I feel the most myself, which isn’t necessarily one place but many. These places that I am speaking of are filled with beautiful scenery and good people, this is when i am my happiest. I am the type of person that loves to learn and grow so I am excited for this class and all that I will learn!

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Journal 2

The nature walk that we went on was an amazing experience. There was so many things about the school that I learned that I NEVER knew. One of the most interesting things that I found out about our school is that the Seidler building is a certifies leader of energy and environmental design. Which means that it is a certified U.S. Green Building.

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I think the coolest part of this was that 70% of the debris caused while building this hall was ale to be recycled completely! Imagine i every building, at every university could do the same? The difference that it would make would be unbelievable. This building alone speaks volumes about FGCU’s mission to improve and focus on the environment. Something new that I learned about the FGCU campus and their efforts to focus on the environment is that all of the plants and trees on campus are native to Florida and that all of the ponds on campus are man-made.

Although all of the ponds that can be found on FGCU campus are created by man, their design is completely natural for the wildlife to live in. The ponds and wetlands that are on campus also play a huge role in keeping the campus safe from flooding when Florida is experiencing storm surges. Most of the boardwalks that we have on campus are made by a material called Ippa. Ippa is a natural type of wood that is resistant to things like fire and insects.

In the image below are the chiller plants that can be found on FGCU campus. These chiller plants produce tons of AC to our school and, since our school has expanded, so have the amount of chiller plants. While we were at this part of the tour, another fact that I learned about was what a water shed is and what it does. A water shed is a place that collects water and SHEDS it into a bigger body of water. Our bodies of water on FGCU campus does this! Water sheds, like the ones we have on campus, offer filtration and recharges aquifers; underground pockets of water.

One of the first parts of the Campus Nature Trail Walk indicated that we are in fire season! The tree, shown in the picture below, was struck by lightning a caught on fire. But, on campus, we do mechanical burning instead of prescribed burning since it is a safer alternative for students These burnings are done in order to care for the environment. These are all locates in The Pine Flatwoods.

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Pioneers and Florida natives, when they first came here, would settle in places called The Oak Hammocks. The chose these places because of the shelter and natural cool canopies that the oak trees coming together create. One of the plants that are found in The Oak Hammocks is the Cesar Weed. This is an invasive plant that can be commonly seen through this part of the nature trail. People also tend to call these Sheriff’s Badges because of their shape and their ability to stick!

The next part of the trail consisted of the Cypress Dome. This area is filled with Cypress Trees which have a root system that stretches for miles. Although we were reaching deep water which wasn’t my favorite part of the walk, I think seeing this area was my favorite. Something that fascinated me about this part of the walk was the fact that, since their roots stretch for miles, it creates the “dome” shape!

To be honest, there was really nothing that I knew prior to the nature trail! It was pretty much new information, and I am very glad I got to experience it.

For as long as I can remember, since I came to school here as a freshman, my favorite place on campus has been Starbucks. I love to sit there and do homework and just relax. The smell of coffee, the subtle noise of people chatting behind the low music playing in my ears by my headphones, it is comfortable to me. The way that Starbucks makes me feel and why it is my favorite place on campus makes me think that although my sense of place is typically quiet it gives the people the space to not only do work but meet and chat, the best of both worlds.

According to my results, my personal Earth Overshoot Day is March 23rd and if everyone lived like me, we would need 4.4 Earths. Just by this information I have received, I know I need to start changing my happens and adjusting the way that I impact the Earth.

Based on my areas of consumption, the two areas that I need to focus the most on are mobility and food. I have never done a test that shows my ecological footprint, and although my results weren’t the best I know where I need to start t make improvements in order to reduce my carbon footprint that I leave. I think that the biggest thing now that will push me to make these changes is my overall experience during the Campus Nature Walk, I had such a great time and it has really shown me that I need to start making an impact to this beautiful Earth just like FGCU does.

GO GREEN!!!!!!!!