Journal Entry #15 - Field Trip on FGCU Campus Trail

                                                                                                                                      March 31, 2011

Florida Gulf Coast University Campus Trail

Today our environmentalist, Erica, was able to take our class on a beautiful tour of the campus trail. 

       I was somewhat interested on going on the FGCU Campus Trail but I was not overly excited. I thought it would be interesting to learn about different trees, plants, and animals. But I learned so much more than that. I learned that we have a lot of Echo friendly tecniques with the water system below the board walk, how they freeze the pipes to provide air conditioning to the school, and how their are campus clean-ups where students can help clear the trails of the walkway.

       I liked how great it felt to go around and pick up the trash around the campus. It is ridiculous to see the amount of garbage that college students produce and leave on the grounds of the campus. I think if everyone that attends FGCU had the opportunity to learn about the environment and go on a campus trail they would have a better appreciation for the world and hopefully get a new perspective. The trail is also a great place to just take a walk and absorb the nature. I would definitely reccommend taking a moment of hectic college life to go on the campus trail.

Personal Journal Entry #14

                                                                                                                                      March 31, 2011

       Environmental Education

       I am a pre-professional teacher, and I believe that hands-on activities are how children learn best. I was thinking as I was taking a walk that today teachers to do express the importance of environmental education (EE). Environmental education is a learning process that increases people's knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action.

       EE focuses on:

• Awareness and sensitivity about the environment and environmental challenges
• Knowledge and understanding about the environment and environmental challenges
• Attitude concern for the environment and help to maintain environmental quality
• Skills to mitigate the environmental problems
• Participation for exercising existing knowledge and environmental related programs

       At the elementary school level, environmental education can take the form of science enrichment curriculum, natural history field trips, community service projects, and participation in outdoor science schools. EE policies assist schools and organizations in developing and improving environmental education programs that provide citizens with an in-depth understanding of the environment. School related EE policies focus on three main components: curricula, green facilities, and training.

       Schools can integrate environmental education into their curricula with sufficient funding from EE policies. This approach – known as using the “environment as an integrating context” for learning – inserts environmental education into the core subjects and thus environmental education does not take time away from other important subjects, such as art, gym, or music. In addition to funding environmental curricula in the classroom, environmental education policies allot the financial resources for hands-on, outdoor learning. These activities and lessons help address and mitigate "nature deficit disorder", as well as encourage healthier lifestyles.

       Green schools, or green facility promotion, are another main component of environmental education policies. Greening school facilities cost, on average, a little less than 2 percent more than creating a traditional school, but payback from these energy efficient buildings occur within only a few years. Environmental education policies help reduce the relatively small burden of the initial start-up costs for green schools. Green school policies also provide grants for modernization, renovation, or repair of older school facilities. Additionally, healthy food options are also a central aspect of green schools. These policies specifically focus on bringing freshly prepared food, made from high-quality, locally grown ingredients into schools.

Personal Journal Entry #13 - The Four Challenges to Sustainability by David Orr

                                                                                                                                 March 31, 2011

GR #9: The Four Challenges to Sustainability by David Orr

David Orr explores the theme of sustainability in his paper the “Four Challenges of Sustainability.”  The article begins with a short look at the origins of the ‘concept of sustainability’ something he believes did not enter public notice until after the threat of nuclear war emerged in the 1950’s.   Initially, he draws his readers into a rather bleak look at some of the things he believes we can no longer sustain.    He identifies militarization as one issue while emphasizing his belief that sooner or later it will lead to ‘Armageddon.’  Furthermore, he identifies world poverty, a growing population, unrestrained development, a divided world, an ever increasingly complex world that is overwhelming our capacity to manage, and a world that is spiritually impoverished as all being possible sources for an end of the world scenario.

Orr believes that there are some potential barriers to reaching a sustainable world.   Social factors could prevent change as complex human systems become impossible to manage and people will fail to understand how to live in large numbers in a fragile world.    Political ineptitude could also interfere with man reaching a sustainable future as there is a lack of leadership or leadership is corrupted.   And finally, Orr believes we may fail because of a ‘spiritual emptiness’ which undermines man’s desire to work towards a sustainable future.  

 

Orr asserts that the challenge of sustainability will be a driving force in bringing mankind together to deal with the one issue that should be uppermost in all men’s thinking – building a sustainable world.  He believes the great discovery of the 21^st century will be the fact that man will finally discover “our interconnectedness and implicatedness in the web of life.”    Indigenous populations will undoubtedly point out that it is not a new belief at all.    Orr sees man’s transition to sustainability as having four main challenges:

1.    Create more “models, metaphors, and measures to describe the human enterprise relative to the biosphere.”

2.    “The transition to sustainability will require a marked improvement and creativitiy in the arts of citizenship and governance.”

3.    The public will need to be educated about sustainability.

4.    Man will need to embrace spirituality and accept that many of our problems can only be fixed by higher forces of “wisdom, love, compassion, understanding, and empathy.”

To keep going the way we are going will do nothing more than kill the planet and ultimately destroy man.   Orr argues that we need to stop denying, leave complacency behind, and get to work preserving life on earth.

Personal Journal Entry #12 - The Earth Charter

                                                                                                                                         March 30, 2011

GR # 8: What is the Earth Charter

o Are the guidelines reasonable?

       "It is imperative that we, the people of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations." It is very reasonable to encourage individuals to help sustain the environment. Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make life adventurous and rewarding and we, the citizens of this planet, should appreciate the world we live in and try to make the world a better place.

o Which of these principles and standards are most applicable to our own lives?

       In my opinion, the first principle of the Earth Charter, Respect and Care for the Community of Life, can be allied to our lives. We need to (1) respect the Earth and life in all its diversity, (2) care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love, (3) build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful, and (4) secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

       I think it is important to have these ideas because we need to recognize we live in a community. That each of us are a part of something bigger than ourselves. Everyone should take it upon themselves to care for the environment in a way that benefits them. Everyone has the ability to make a difference. To take action. To make a change. If we all agreed to do one environmentally positive action then imagine what type of world we would live in...

o Is it true that as a culture we are more interested in having more than being more?

       I think this is an accurate statement. We are in a fast-paced society and we are very consumer driven to want the best of everything. We all, even if we don't admit it, want the best for ourselves. There is always some new technology that is coming out, and we all want to own it. We all want to have the biggest TV, the fastest computer, and the coolest cell phone. But sometimes we do not realize that we can have the best without having the newest technology. Just having the opportunity to go to the store to get our food instead of farming should be something that we think about. We do not realize how blessed we are to be living in a society where we have so much. We should think more of ourselves. We should use our knowledge to give something back to the environment in which we live.

o How might the application or not of the principles and standards suggested in the Earth Charter factor into the State of the World?

       Everything is interrelated. Everything we learn in school, work, and home can be applied to everyday life. The purpose of State of the World is to live in a sustainable world and to open our eyes about the type of world we live in. Passion is a key ingredient to success. And both the Earth Charter and State of the World motivate the reader to feel passionate about something. To feel like you can make a difference in the world and in our own lives.

o Is there any real-life connections between what we have discussed in class and your service-learning project?

       My service learning project is working on a farm in Naples. I learned how to grow my own food, wash it, and package it. I am used to buying food in a store and I never truly thought about all of the work behind growing crops and getting them ready to be sold. Farming allows you to be one with the environment and after class discussions we talk about how to make a difference. I am making a difference in my service learning because I am able to help a farm in need of extra hands. I am able to learn new skills. And I am giving something back. Many things you learn in school can be applied to real life if you take the time to give it some thought and make connections.

Personal Journal Entry #11

                                                                                                                                    March 30 2011

     After taking my dog for a walk, I reflected back on the book A Land Remembered. I remembered how I discovered a completely new meaning for world around me. I also learned quite a bit about the history of how Florida came to be. I think that every Florida resident or anyone interested in reading about the history of land should invest a couple days in reading A Land Remembered.

     I also began to think about how rare it is to see the children in my neighborhood actually play outside. Today people are just "too busy" to actually take a stroll in the park, so to speak. I used to be one of those people. I always thought that is was a huge imposition to actually spend some time outside absorbing nature and the natural sun. But now, after taking University Colloquium, I have discovered something new about myself. I have learned about having a sense of self; knowing who I am in this world. It is important not to take the world for granted because our Earth is precious.

     I think that oftentimes it is part of our human nature to get stressed. I am a very stressful person and I would like to change that. But I think it is somehow pre-wired in our DNA to have such a fast-paced life where you are moving a mile a minute. My problem is I do not give myself any time for leisure activities. But that is the problem. Human beings cannot handle heavy loads of activity. We need to take the time to sleep for a minimum of 8 hours, which few college students actually do, and we need to eat. Sometimes I feel that I become so busy that I forget to have a decent meal or don't have time to waste on sleep. It is important for our bodies and the world to be taken care of. We will fall apart if we do not nurture our bodies. I often feel that I have so much on my plate that I don't have time to care for myself. College has proved to be very time-consuming and vigorous with the amount of work assigned. I am a super motivated type of person who is driven to do extremely well in school. I do not settle for anything besides perfection but that is my problem. Yes I am at the top of my class and I do very well in every course I take, but I am miserable. I have very little time for myself, barely any time for my friends and family, and I am overworked. I think that I am more stressed than any person on this planet, and that is pathetic for a young college student. I forget to realize that I have a life to life and I do not want to become part of the "real world" this soon. I need to enjoy the last year I have of college and make friends, join activities, and get involved. I love to help people but if I cannot learn to take care of myself then I will be of no help to anyone.

    University Colloquium, although extremely intense with homework, has been a learn opportunity for me. I have taken away so many great things from the class that is relevant to my life. It is not just a required course, it teaches each and every person how to become a great time manager and how to enjoy the simple things in life like taking a field trip or learning how the environment impacts our lives. Through all of the craziness of school I have been given the inspiration that I can make a difference in the world and that I have the ability to manage my stress. Now, I just need to use those gifts and actually take action.

Personal Journal Entry #10 - The Land Ethic by Aldo Leopald

                                                                                                                                        March 17, 2011

GR #7: The Land Ethnic by Aldo Leopald

The Land Ethic really emphasizes the relationship between individuals and society. Begins by saying that the Golden Rule tries to integrate this relationship but there is yet to be an ethic dealing with man's relationship to the land and the animals and the plants which grow upon it.

      According to an article on Land Ethic, it is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land and a high regard for its value. By value, I of course mean something far broader than mere economic value; I mean value in the philosophical sense. Perhaps the most serious obstacle impeding the evolution of a land ethic is the fact that our educational and economic system is headed away from, rather than toward, a intense consciousness of land. Your true modern is separate from the land by many middlemen, and by innumerable physical gadgets. He has no vital relation to it; to him it is the space between cities on which crops grow. If crops could be raised by hydroponics instead of farming, it would suit him very well. Synthetic substitutes for wood, leather, wool, and other natural land products suit him better than the originals.

      In short, land is something he has 'outgrown.' Almost equally serious as an obstacle to a land ethic is the attitude of the farmer for whom the land is still an adversary or a taskmaster that keeps him in slavery. Theoretically, the mechanization of farming ought to cut the farmer's chains, ' but whether it really does is debatable. One of the requisites for an ecological comprehension of land is an understanding of ecology, and this is by no means co-extensive with 'education'; in fact, much higher education seems deliberately to avoid ecological concepts. An understanding of ecology does not necessarily originate in courses bearing ecological labels; it is quite as likely to be labeled geography, botany, agronomy, history, or economics. This is as it should be, but whatever the label, ecological training is scarce.The case for a land ethic would appear hopeless but for the minority which is in obvious revolt against these 'modern' trends.

Leopold explained:

"The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land."

This sounds simple: do we not already sing our love for and obligation to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Yes, but just what and whom do we love? "Certainly not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter down river. Certainly not the waters, which we assume have no function except to turn turbines, float barges, and carry off sewage. Certainly not the plants, of which we exterminate whole communities without batting an eye. Certainly not the animals, of which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most beautiful species. A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these ‘resources,’ but it does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state. In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such."