Session 2 /DL Colloquium/Summer A

May 16 - 22

Paper 1 due Monday, May 23rd, Educational Autobiography

Sense of Place III: "A Question of Sustainability" Field Trip

Field Trip 2: "Balancing Human Needs with Natural Systems---An Estuarine Encounter"

The title of this week's field trip should give you a good clue as to what the goals and learning outcomes of this trip are. The field destination site is to our coastal backyard where fresh water flowing off the land meets and mixes with salty waters of the Gulf or Ocean. These semi-enclosed bodies of water are called estuaries and are one of the most productive ecosystems found on Earth.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE IN WHICH TO COMPLETE THIS FIELD TRIP. YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A FIELD TRIP TO THE ESTERO BAY HISTORIC COTTAGE AND MATANZAS PASS PRESERVE LEAD BY YOUR INSTRUCTOR. WE WILL MEET ANOTHER CLASS OF COLLOQUIUM STUDENTS AT THE COTTAGE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH AT 8:15 A.M FOR APPROXIMATELY 2.5 HOURS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW FOR DIRECTIONS:

PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO DLColloquium@aol.com IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND THIS TRIP!!!

~OR~

Choose an estuary to visit. If you live in or near Charlotte, Lee or Collier County in SW Florida, will find a list of places below to help you in your choice.

One place you might like to visit is Estero Bay, located behind Ft. Myers Beach. In 1966, Estero Bay was designated as Florida's first State Aquatic Preserve. Before it was claimed as a preserve, human encroachment and subsequent development changed the surrounding land and the bay's sustaining natural systems. Impacts began to accumulate rapidly and concerned citizens spoke up. At one point, preservation efforts led to United States Supreme Court intervention. Because of these early efforts, the bay is still home to a myriad of marine life including bottlenose dolphins, manatees, and sea turtles. Still intact are critical habitat areas such as bird rookeries, seagrass beds, and the ever-important mangroves - the cradle of the sea. Since systems are connected, important questions to ask here are:

• How much more human impact within and outside the preserve (or the estuary you visit) can the bay withstand?
• With present uses, is Estero Bay (or the estuary you visit) sustainable?
• Why is it important to protect and preserve estuaries?

You may recall that the focus questions for the Colloquium field trips are: 1) How does the health of one system affect the productivity and health of another system and 2) What actions can we take to protect and restore our natural systems?In visiting an estuary and writing your field trip summary, I would like you to answer the above questions.

Also:

• Explain to me what an estuary is.
• Explain to me what other natural systems are interdependent with the estuary that you are visiting. (Remember your trip to the cypress slough?)
• Make the connection between our tourist driven economy and the health of an estuary. Why are tourist dollars (which amounts to billions of dollars for Florida) dependent to a degree on estuaries.
• Explain how a seafood dinner is connected to an estuary.

  To help you answer the above questions, read the interpretive kiosks that you can find at Lovers Key State Recreation Area, Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, Rookery Bay/Briggs Nature Center or wherever you go that has intrepretive signs. Talk to the park rangers or naturalists or field trip leaders (National Estuaries Day) at the sites. An excellent website to gather information about Estero Bay is: http://www.ci.fort-myers-beach.fl.us Click on the eco/archaeo trail to get into the site. I encourage you to read through the site. Another brand new website to learn more about Estero Bay is http://www.calusablueway.com/
  Other good sites are: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/southwest/esterb/info.htm
  

For those living outside of SW FL, go to the FL DEP State Parks website by linking from our Colloquium website. You should be able to find a suitable park to visit.

If you live in Southwest Florida, here are some good destinations:

• Rookery Bay and Briggs Nature Center, State Road 951 to right on Shell Island Road, Naples. Phone: (941)417-6315
• Lovers Key State Recreation Area, Estero Blvd., located just South of Ft. Myers Beach
• Matanzas Pass Preserve/Estero Island Historical Museum, behind Ft. Myers Beach Elementary School, Ft. Myers Beach

Need help with field trip destination ideas? Email me DLColloquium@aol.com

Due date: Monday, May 30th

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