Journal 10 - invasive species

When walking into nature, there are several of different species of wildlife. Ranging from animals, to plants, and little insects. It is hard to believe that all these animals belong in that same ecosystem. Yet, after taking colloquium I found that there are so many species that live in our area, that do not belong. The most infamous is the Burmese Python. The Burmese Python found it’s way over to Florida after escaping several of holding cells during a massive hurricane. They then made their way into the wild and took over. It is three times the length of Florida’s native and biggest known snake. The Burmese Python is not dangerous to humans, yet they will turn around and eat an alligator. Imagine walking up to a lake or through the woods and seeing a fifteen-foot snake, then walking down to the nearest lake and seeing that same snake eating an alligator. A snake eating a creature than millions of people fear, absolutely amazing! There are also several of invasive species that take over Florida. The beautiful Royal Palm tree that thousands of people have decorating their yard. They are as well invasive. They are native to the regions of Cuba and the tropics. They made their way over here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They are beautiful, yet are not supposed to be dwelling around in Florida. There is also the Tiger Mosquito that made its way over here during the Vietnam War. This mosquito is an amazing species, and very dangerous. They are a very big mosquito and have the strips of a tiger. They will bite you and they carry a very dangerous disease, the dange fever. It is also coming up into summer and it is wet season. Be sure to be on the look out for the Tiger Mosquito because it is the one invasive species that you do not want to come into contact with!

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Journal 9 - Reflections of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Upon our arrival to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I was excited to experience what I had in store. I have heard plenty of great things about this field trip from fellow classmates that have previously taken colloquium. They told me that there are so many animals that I will see that I have never seen before, wish was very true. When we began to walk to the boardwalk, I immediately spotted a bird I have never seen before. There it was soaring in the sky, a red-shouldered hawk. This bird was so big, flying in confidence, looking for prey. The sight was amazing, and the binoculars made the experience like the bird was flying right in my face. As we made our way through the boardwalk, traveling through different ecosystems. I became amazed when our group entered the swamp area. I have never been so close to such a large alligator in my life. The sight of watching it trying to feed itself was a once and a lifetime experience. It was creeping, slowly, and patiently in order to eat the swimming fish around it. Also, waiting for an ignorant bird to get to close, so it would have a filling meal. Once we left the amazing alligator sighting, we than ran into a kite, floating itself around also looking for a meal for the morning. The birds are corkscrew sanctuary were absolutely breath taking. I have been out in the wilderness millions of times. It took just one fieldtrip to see a handful of birds that I have never seen in my life. I also heard an amazing story about the life cycle and food chain that has taken place there before. Apparently, a German family witnessed a deer get attacked by a Florida Panther. It is amazing to know that on the same land that I walked, 1 of 100 of the dying species of Florida Panther ate on that same land. I will be paying several visits back to the Corkscrew Sanctuary in the future.

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Journal 8 - List of Consumer Goods

April 13th 2011

Wake up in the morning and make breakfast. Breakfast consist of eggs in which is package that is a Styrofoam substance. This packaging must be made out of several of different chemicals that are needs to produce this. I believe it would be a smarter way to use recycled materials in order to hold the eggs. I also had a single serving package of oatmeal and cottage cheese. The oatmeal package was made of paper. This paper was most likely used from a tree that was cut down, and not recycled paper. The cottage cheese container was made of plastic. I know plastic can also be recycled and it actually said on the label that the container was made from recycled products. This is a great step in order to make our environment that much more eco-friendly. On the way out the door to class, I grabbed a 20oz-bottled water that was made of plastic. Plastic water bottles take up most of the dumps all around the world. Therefore, plastic water bottles I believe need to be depleted. The convenience factor is why most people use it, and it why I use it as well. If they were not to sell bottled water, I would drink water out of the faucet. For lunch I had McDonalds. I have two cheeseburgers and a soda. The two cheeseburgers were wrapped in a paper material that by most will get thrown out and not recycled. The soda cup is made out of paper material that can easily be recycled. Yet, like most product packaging, people will throw them right into the trash and not recycle. I also had a protein bar later on in the day. The protein bar package was made of a plastic-like film. This film seemed that it could be very harmful if burned, which most trash is burned. At night for dinner I had chicken and veggies that both came out of a plastic freezer bag. The plastic freezer bags also usually get thrown in the trash and are not reused or recycled.
All in all, just through going by my every day routine, there is so much that I throw away and do not even realize. I need to become more self-conscious with toss things that can be recycled into the recycling bin, rather than the garbage. Every time I do this exercise I am able to learn from myself and able to grow in a more eco-friendly direction.

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