Journal Entry 9

I was very excited about this field trip because I haven't been to Downtown since I've moved here and was excited to get to experience it and get some information about it. I thought for the most part, Downtown was beautiful. The pier and the water were probably my favorite things to look at. It was breath taking, I would love to go down there and just relax and spend time by myself there. I also enjoyed the art and sculptures that we would see periodically through the whole walk. I also learned some interesting things. I didn't know Thomas Edison had so much to contribute to Fort Myers. It know makes since why the mall is called the Edison Mall. Or Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. Three pretty popular people in history and I would have never thought they would have any relation to Fort Myers without this field trip. I also think the Ford's Garage restaurant and the Firestone restaurant are really unique. I have ate at the Ford's restaurant in Miromar Outlets but I would like to visit the Firestone restaurant sometime an go up to the Sky Bar.

Another thing I found really cool was the brick road. Back home at my high school we had a brick road out front which made it unique and besides that one I had never really seen anywhere else have a brick road. I also never thought of the brick road being "safer" because people are nervous about driving on it but it makes sense. It makes it a nice place for people to be able to walk around and not worry as much about cars speeding through. I was also looking forward to this field trip in order to eat. I was glad I got to try some pizza from DHOP, it was very delicious. However I was upset I didn't venture over to Green Cup because I didn't know they had Bubble Tea. I was so excited to find that out that the next day I made my roommates go back to Downtown with me to get some, I also got to check out a few of the little shops there.

I think around FGCU it is newer and more developed which is great especially for attracting the people to the school. However, I think it is also great that Fort Myers still has the Downtown that is trying to stay away from that and keep the history instead of just building over it with new things. I think that is very important to keep that history there even though they are trying to become more developed around FGCU.

Journal Entry 8

On average I use 103 gallons of water daily, 721 gallons weekly, 2,884 gallons monthly, and 37,492 yearly. These numbers were quite a shock to me. 103 gallons a day and that is leaving out some other uses. I also drink lots of water and use water when cooking. I guess when I wash my hands or flush the toilet I don't really think of how much water is being used. I on average use 40 gallons of water just to shower every day and I think it may honestly be more. I have a bad habit of running the water and doing other things then coming back to take the shower. Never really thought of how wasteful that is. I am also guilty of leaving the water on the whole time I am brushing my teeth. I  don't really take steps to conserve water, at least not on purpose. I usually don't use the dishwasher, instead I usually wash my dishes by hand. I think this is more conservative because I don't use that many dishes and it would be a waste to run the dishwasher and use all that water for a few dishes so by washing them by hand I think I conserve water. However, conserving water isn't the reason I started doing that. A few things I could do to reduce water use is turning the water off when washing my hands, not letting the water in the shower run that long before I get in, and also putting more clothes in my loads of laundry in hopes of doing less loads.

Something I have noticed in Florida that we didn't really care abut much in Missouri is watering your lawn. Everyone here does it, it is a requirement by most HOA's and I think watering your lawn that much can be pretty wasteful. I have also noticed at most jobs I have had, water usage and being cautious of it is never mentioned. When I actually sit here and think of water usage I realize how poorly we are at conserving it. I think it is an issue that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. I think that having access to water is something we take for granted without really be conscious of it. We've never had to wonder if we will have enough water to do every day things. We just don't typically have to think like that, which I am very thankful for. However, I think that it is something we should have to experience in order to get a new appreciation for it.

Journal Entry 7

I was very confused when we first arrived to ECHO. I didn't know what it was but I was assuming it was a lot like the other field trips we had been on so far so I was expecting go on another nature walk. ECHO is a global farm who wants to help end world hunger. After visiting I did a little more research on them. Their vision is something that I think describes this place best, "Honoring God by empowering the undernourished with sustainable hunger solutions." This would be why our tour guide found this job by people at his church. My favorite part of our tour was definitely the tour guide. He had a lot of personality and passion while giving the tour which made it a lot more interesting. Some parts of the trip I found confusing, one second we were looking at flowers, the next we were in a mock "shop." It was all very unique and cool but it was also very different. I really love that they use this place to come up with ideas to help make food for other countries in an easier more sustainable way  while also ensuring they are being fed.

The machines/gadgets they created were awesome and seem to really help. I thought the one where they made their own manure or gas was interesting. I wish it would've been working when we were there. Also the big one that made watering multiple crops from one area was cool and probably very useful. I also saw a quote on their website that said, "ECHO outperforms most other charities in America." So obviously what they are coming up with is working and how cool that it is all being done so close to where we live. I think we could use some of the technologies and techniques that ECHO uses here, although we don't have issues with hunger like other countries, we could always be more sustainable. I think it would be cool to see some of these techniques and technologies in the FGCU Food Forest even though they have their own ways.