Estero Island

I really liked visiting the Estero Island Cottage.  As sad as it was that we couldn't go canoeing because of the storm, I did enjoy riding through the islands.  It was amazing to see how inefficient the draining systems out there are.  I guess, being on an island, there's really no where else for the water to go, but I feel bad for the folks who live out there and have to deal with that every day during the summer.  After listening to the talk at the cottage though, I don't know if the quality of life on the island actually is being enhanced.  I suppose the bridges are better, and there are stores and restaurants out there, but the island itself seems like it was better before all the development moved in.

My hometown hasn't changed much in the last couple of years.  I think the biggest change was a retirement community that was built down by the bank and the middle school.  My hometown was a small farming and bedroom community in the Farmington River/Tobacco Valley in Connecticut, right on the border with Massachusetts.  Big changes don't come often, even though we're part of the surrounding area of Bradley International Airport.  I remember, the most drastic change that happened the whole time I lived there was a Highland Park Market grocery store that opened up at the top of Main Street where there had been a gardening store or something similar before.  I think New England farm towns especially resist change better than a lot of other areas.  We felt a greater sense of community after we got the grocery store, in fact, because it meant that we didn't have to drive all the way over to the other side of the Connecticut River to get groceries in the next town anymore.

I think, if a developer offered an extreme amount of money for my childhood home in order to make it condos, I wouldn't feel too bad.  I grew up in condos before we moved to the other town, and I'm completely certain that they couldn't build condos on the land where our house is.  We actually got the chance to watch a house across the street sink into the ground, because the land bordered a wetlands area, and the foundation of the house wasn't structurally sound enough.  It's possible I have a, "It can't happen to me" mentality about it, but knowing the area, I'm comfortable that things won't change because it would take an enormous amount of time and energy, and it's just not worth it in the end.

Downtown Fort Myers

Downtown Fort Myers doesn't make any sense to me.  It's the first place I had seen in Florida that called itself a "downtown" since moving here, and I was seriously disappointed.  To be fair to the area, it's much nicer now than it was four years ago when I moved here, but it doesn't compare at all.  Downtown to me means Manhattan and Boston and even Hartford and Providence.  I'm used to living close to "real" cities with skyscrapers and buildings made entirely of steel and glass, so I find Downtown Fort Myers to be pokey and boring and sad.  I'm much more used to it, having been in Florida, so my expectations aren't as high as they were, but I'm still not very impressed.

I guess that areas like Downtown Fort Myers are experiencing a renaissance, but only because they cater to retirees and snowbirds.  The architecture is based on the "old Florida" Mediterranean influenced styles that people like to model their new houses on, that imply being upper class and expensive, and classy. I guess it's a way to encourage people to stop and walk around, and to do real world window shopping.  Unfortunately, the way that young people spend money is usually online, so their target audience is slowly disappearing.  I don't think that their current model is sustainable for the future.

Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization

I liked going to ECHO, but I was also a little disappointed by it as well.  I think I was expecting a more efficient farming set up, and I noticed that there doesn't seem to be much measurable product coming out of ECHO.  I understand that their goal is to help support people in developing countries by showing them how to work with the environment to support themselves, but there are people in Southwest Florida that have problems and could benefit from working with ECHO.  I'm not sure about their public relations in the area, but I think that most people who haven't been in a Colloquium class know very little about ECHO.

I did like how their farm was laid out though.  Instead of the more traditional American farming row crops, they work with the land and practice techniques that are less invasive.  I think they are doing relevant work for the developing world, but it's a little disappointing that they aren't doing more to change views and practices a little closer to home as well.

I don't think I would be personally very excited about working with ECHO for my service learning.  I already have an organization that I enjoy working with anyway, but I don't think that I'm the right kind of person to be volunteering with them.  I would love to have a small tire planter, or to grow sweet potatoes or bananas or citrus at my home.  That said though, I don't feel that I'm passionate enough about alternative farming, or at least about working with ECHO for it.  I would be more interested in making alternative farming or local produce more available in our own community then in bringing it to places around the world.  I appreciate the work they do, especially if they are helping people who really need it, but I don't think I would fit with their philosophy.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

I think my favorite distinct ecosystem at the Corkscrew Sanctuary was the Cypress hammock.  It was cool to see how the trees get bigger and thicker the further in and higher you go.  It was also really cool to see where the panthers had left marks on the trees.  Since the cypress are so large and make huge domes at the top, they create an environment on the forest floor for plants that prefer shade.  There's a lot of sun in Florida, so these plants need these environments in order to survive.

Conservation means different things in different contexts.  My first thought is physics related, because of how much time I spend working with science and engineering applications.  There are a lot of conservation laws, for mass and energy and momentum for example.  Our conservation laws aren't universal constants though;  We have to fight to get people to recognize that conservation is a worthwhile cause, where as conservation of energy is constant regardless of whether it's convenient.  This is why we need to promote the idea of stewardship in our communities.  Non-profits are important because they are passionate and willing to take responsibility for an area and protect it from the damage or irresponsible management of resources.  Civic engagement factors into this because it takes dedicated, passionate people who are willing to donate their time and effort to a cause in their community.  They pass on their excitement on to their neighborhood or city.

This particular persevere is protected by the Audubon Society, because in the past thousands of wading birds were killed by ignorant hunters.  I think, in this case, the government's involvement is most useful in terms of providing grant money.  Most of the time, bureaucracy and muddled facts slow down large government agencies and limit their ability to be useful.  When a non-profit agency is being supported by a government agency, a lot more is possible.  Personally, I think there's really no reason to bulldoze the preserve, ecological standpoint or not.  There's already way too many golf course communities in the area, they don't really need another.  From an ecological standpoint though, the preserve provides an environment for plants and wildlife that would not exist without having a conscious effort made.

Introduction to University Colloquium

I've heard some horror stories about University Colloquium, and I'm not sure I understand where they come from.  I think a lot of people don't like writing-intensive classes, but I'm personally excited about this course.  As a software engineering and math major, I don't get outside much on my own, so a class with field trips is a welcome change of pace!

Sustainability, to me, is a measure of a thing's ability to carry into the future. Sometimes the thing can be an idea, or a physical place, or a system. Sustainability in software is designing for the future, and ensuring that anyone who follows you can not only understand your work but continue to build off of it.  Technology is fast-paced, and sustainability is as necessary as efficiency to an engineering project.  The last thing anyone wants is a bridge that's not built to last.

As far as unsustainable attitudes, I think my biggest issue stems from living in Cape Coral.  I complain about it a LOT.  I want to be able to ride my bike to work and class and down to the store, but here it's almost impossible to do, or at least do safely.  I usually end up either driving or staying inside playing video games,  both of which are pretty unsustainable behaviors.  As great as it would be, I don't see myself ever becoming a professional gamer.  I also like new things, which I don't think is wrong.  That said... making new things means breaking down things we already have, and usually results in killing trees or animals, or stripping the land to mine or grow crops, or polluting the atmosphere and in turn all sorts of sensitive systems on Earth.  Actually, most production is a conglomerated evil glob of several of those things.

Unfortunately, I'm not apologizing. But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?