Field Trip 1 - Neighborhood

Kirsi Keenan
Field Trip 1 Neighborhood

Three Separate Habitats
Three separate habitats that I encountered in the area of my neighborhood were my neighborhood/backyard, beach/ocean and lagoon. The first habitat that I encountered was my neighborhood and backyard the plants that I saw were an Areca Palm, Fox Tail Palm, Ficus Tree, Gumbo Limbo Tree and Poinciana Tree. This habitat is well maintained with a sprinkler system twice a week. The plants are able to grow quickly and remain very green because of extensive sun and adequate water. The soil in the area is somewhat moist since there has been plenty of rain and water recently this summer. The third habitat was the Beach/Ocean environment, here I saw Sea Grape Plants, Sea Grass, Sea Weed, Sea Oats and lastly I did not see this plant but I know it is present in that habitat, Phytoplankton. This is a very salt environment and the plants that grow here are very hearty because of all the salt that is present in the air. They thrive on lots of sun and the amount of water that they receive depends on the time of the year. There are times when these plants have to adapt and be able to live with less water. The plants root systems are shallow and short since they are near the water. The third habitat I visited was the Lagoon. The plants that live in this environment are Mangroves, Pickle Weed, Alkali Heath, Salt Grass, and Alkali Weed. This vegetation needs to live with lots of salt water. These plants have adapted to the very wet and salty environment in which they live in. The soil that is found in the Lagoon is very sandy. The plants have a very shallow root system because water is near the surface.

Ten Animals in the Habitats
The animals that live my backyard and neighborhood habitat are Foxes, Raccoons and Red Cardinals. The animals that are located in the Beach and Lagoon habitats are Possums, Skunks, Box Turtles, Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Manatee, Sting Rays and Portuguese Man-o-War.
Retain/Detain Water Systems
In my neighborhood we have water draining systems at the end of every street. Unfortunately since I live so close to the beach when there are heavy rain storms the streets get very easily flooded and do not drain until the water evaporates or the surrounding grounds become less saturated and absorbs the water. When the levels of the intra coastal waterways become too high, the water is released into the ocean to prevent flooding.

Relationships of People and What I Would Change
The majority of the people that live in my neighborhood are respectful of everyone’s property. There are some people who use the Florida Friendly Landscaping also called xeriscape. With this system they do not use extra water to keep their plants alive; instead they have plants that can thrive with amount of water that is given by nature. During the dryer seasons the City sets water restrictions so that people are forced to save water. Most of my neighbors follow the water restriction plan voluntarily all year. If I would change anything I would encourage people to xeriscape their property and have water restrictions year round. Especially during the rainy season, I would limit watering to once a week.

Three Unique Energy Saving Designs
While I was on the FGCU website for the Master Plan, one of the plans that caught my eye was the utilities element section. What interested me was the steam and chill water sub-element that they are planning to put in at some point. I was so intrigued that they want to put in chillers that are the most environmentally safe refrigerants that are available today. The university truly cares about the environment and has proven this by all the environmentally friendly tactics they use to keep the campus green.
Another plan that FGCU has been implementing is the power grid that they coordinated with Florida Power and Light. This is a highly dependable source of power and electricity. I always saw the solar panels get built in the front of the school and they always interested me. I never realized though all of the hard work and planning that had to happen before they could even start building the solar grid.
The last plan that I saw in the Master Plan, was the section about the Conservation Element. I was really interested in this when I was reading how the university restores the ecosystems of the campus if it has been polluted by toxins. As well as maintain the natural environment the university will never do anything that could potentially harm the water preserves that are located around the campus area.