Personal journal #8

I didnt write all of my personal journals on time so excuse the date guys! However, I truly took time for all of these experiences this class and the added time of procrastination gave me time to really let the experiences sink in.  I appreciate my surrounding very much and I actually took time to go for a walk last week with no perspective or goal in mind. I simply found some woods and started walking!  Its nice to enjoy nature with no real end result in mind except enjoyment. I did realize I hate squirrels though, haha. Squirrels in my neighborhood are mean and apparently are ticked off about what we are doing to nature and decided to take it out on me!

Personal Journal #7

   I had an unintended run in with nature today. My car battery died and I had to walk through the woods as a short cut to get to where I was going. Its funny that sometimes we have to be forced to take in nature but in the end I enjoyed the inconvenient encounter. Don't get me wrong.. I certainly don't want to go trade in my car for new walking shoes but it certainly brought old topics and conclusions to new light.

Personal Journal #6

I had to mow the lawn today. Aghhhh.. Its terrible. Florida weather will make you not like going outside. However, if we can all just take a minute to realize our ancestors didn't care if they got a little sweaty and dirty and it certainly didnt hinder their day. It gives you a whole new perspective on what is important. We shouldnt let society affect who we are and what we enjoy just because nature is so "out of season." Pun intended.

Reflection on Colloquium and Final paper.

   I will continue my life with this new perspective gained from this course so that I can help change the world for the better. I am leaving this class with a better understanding of environmental issues. I think considering the diversity of the class and the number of students that had to be reached with a single curriculum, this class was very successful. I believe the class was very thorough in making sure the ideals of living green was cemented in our minds far after the semester is over. This class has made me want to get out and make a change. I believe a major part of this curriculum was focused on personal growth through getting out and doing through experiential education. I was most influenced by the field trips and visual interpretations of the curriculum. Sustainable growth and development seems to be the most important part of environmental studies because without that we will all die. In fact, this is very literally true. Without the proper resources, humanity will eventually kill itself out. Our well being is directly tied to nature’s well being. We can live happily if nature is happy, but nature can’t necessarily live if we indulge ourselves too much. We must learn to be a little more conservative of our limited resources. We must educate ourselves and others by the masses or this discussion will be all but a faint blur in history. 

Reflection on Service Learning

   My service learning experience was to research, detail and expand on a given time period while tying in a subject of an unexplained skull found under the Price House in Punta Gorda, Florida. This assignment helped me understand the diversity and layers that Southwest Florida’s history contains. I also reflected weekly on my natural environment. This gave me better comprehension of my town and the agriculture surrounding my neighborhood. I see it while driving to work and I see it every time I go outside but it is rare to take a moment to truly examine one’s surroundings. The emotional and analytical responses to such simple assignments are astounding and surprising to say the least. These experiences tied in directly to the coursework have helped me to better reflect on more global topics from my local perspective. I have now learned to see the big picture from small sized puzzle piece perspectives. I now can appreciate preserving the natural environment more because I see that my choices can directly affect me, my local environment, and my community. The content of the University Colloquium gave me the perspective I needed to achieve my goals and better understanding that was needed to complete my off campus service learning assignment. I don’t think the work we did as a class will directly affect social change, however I do believe what we learned in class has changed students enough to contribute their whole lives to the change that is needed to affect our society. Success is in numbers and changing a class’s perspective can be enough to eventually induce a social change. 

Letter to Future Students

To future Colloquium students, I suggest you use your time wisely in this class. This class is packed with work and assignments but behind all of this is a deeper meaning peppered with real life experiences. Take this class for the adventure that lies within and listen with an open mind and I believe you will all grow as individuals by the end.

Waste Energy Plant field trip

   This week in class we visited the Lee County Waste Energy Facility. If you throw away your garbage in Lee County it comes here to be changed into clean energy.  The plant reminds me of a twisted claw game that you find at many miniature golf places. It picks up the trash with a giant metal claw and dumps the garbage in a big bin to be burned by flames fueled by propane gas. This is entirely more efficient than landfills with the added bonus of the trash getting turned into usable energy. Thankfully decreasing our dependency on natural gas, oil and coal.

   I wish our county would get rid of our landfills and conduct business this way also, but we don't.  It seems more practical in every manner.  It pays for itself over time because they produce and sale the energy that it produces. It doesn't fill up miles of land with raw garbage and it is better for the environment. Hopefully, more counties in this area will catch on and go green.