25 things that make me happy about a place

July 17, 2010

25 things that make me happy about the beach are:

1. Relaxation

2. Beautiful view

3. Watching the animals in their habitats

4. Sand between my toes

5. Feeling the salty wind on my face

6. Swimming in the water

7. Watching the sun rise in the mornings

8. Tanning in the sun

9. Watching the fish jump out of the water

10. Time to spend with myself

11. Play volleyball with friends at the nets

12. Watching the boats and ships go by

13. A place to clear my head

14. Nothing to bother me

15. If I'm lucky, see a dolphin

16. Watching the waves crash upon the shore

17. The smell of suncreen

18. Watching the clouds in the sky go by

19. Finding the beautiful shells in the sand

20. The "fresh" air

21. Very peaceful

22. A reminder of all the great memories I had as a child there

23. On occasion surfing in the ocean

24. The beautiful scenery

25. The oceans deep blue color

Art Work

This is a picture that I drew when I sat in my back yard and looked at the plants that are there. The bigger plant is a Fox Tail Palm, the medium plants are Saw Palmetto and the small plants on the bottom ground covering plants. While I was drawing this picture I was very relaxed and was enjoying spending time by myself in my back yard. I never realized how nature can be so calming and soothing when you take the time to just listen to the natural sounds it gives off.

Field Trip 4 - Urban Environments

Field Trip 4
Urban Environments: Mizner Park, Boca Raton, FL

The Mizner Park development in the city of Boca Raton is a prime example of New Urbanism. The architecture copies the style of the former prominent architect Addison Mizner. His style was Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival. The Urban center of Mizner Park includes shops, restaurants, lots of green space, an amphitheater, movie theater, art museum and apartments available for lease or purchase. This is a vibrant development for young people to live and enjoy their leisure time. Young people will also appreciate that is plenty of street parking and garage parking, which are both free.
Mizner Park’s amphitheater hosts many artists, concerts and events. During these events there are reserved paid seats available for purchase also the green courtyard is available for people to picnic. This is a great opportunity for families at no cost to listen to their favorite artists for free. The city is very lenient about allowing people to bring their own food, cocktails chairs when there many available restaurants. The amphitheater is acoustically designed to offer the paying customers of value with their money. A nearby church and many of the houses nearby provide parking for a fee during these events, the church and the city work together to bring these events to the community.

Mizner Park is not just a business district, in addition to apartments in Mizner, residential neighborhoods surround the area. Nearby residents can walk or bike to his Urban Center. It is not unusual on a Saturday morning to see dog owners walking their dogs and enjoying a coffee and the outdoor seating area in Starbucks. At least 90 percent of the restaurants have outdoor seating and they are all pet friendly.

The Boca Raton Redevelopment Agencies original plan was to join Mizner Park with another Urban Community, Royal Palm Plaza, with walkways and safe bike paths so that the local community could enjoy museums, shopping, restaurants, concerts and other events without getting in their car. Unfortunately the down turn in the economy has put these redevelopment plans on hold. The two adjacent Urban Centers are still providing leisure and entertainment to the community but you must drive to either community.

Mizner Park is thriving because it offers so many services in one spot. There are many residents that live in the apartments above the stores, theaters and restaurants. Despite this if the economy were better there would be more concerts in the amphitheater and more events in the center. The City of Boca Raton is considering putting up parking meters on the street and charging for use of the parking garages.

Boca Raton like most coastal cities in Florida derives most of its income from tourism. The tourism industry has been adversely impacted in the last few years by hurricanes, the economy and the recent BP oil spill. The City of Boca Raton is for the most part at its full growth capacity, there is not much land available for development. Because of the downturn in the economy the assessed property values have gone down the property taxes the city collects are down as well. As in any city and especially a city in Florida where the climate is favorable there are plenty of homeless people. As a result of a lower tax base, the city has to cut services and this means the police force, fire departments and municipal services. Despite this, crime has not gone up in the city. As in all major cities there are areas that are to be avoided especially at night.

Minzer Park in the City of Boca Raton is a major Urban Center, however there is plenty of green space, abundant of parks and nature centers especially near the ocean. The city has provided bike paths for the recreation enjoyment of the community. Because of the lack of land the city cannot build anymore parks. However they can make more walking and biking paths that join existing parks.

I think Boca Raton has been doing a great job in making the city more welcoming to people without vehicles. There is not enough green space for this to ever be a sustainable city. The city population is dominated by the elderly and they are not educated in the concept of sustainability. They are looking for convenience of services.

Leopoldian Way

July 17, 2010

A ‘Leopoldian’ way would be a way in which land ethic existed. Leopold discusses the idea of ethics as being a way of guiding an individual’s relationship with the land. This relationship includes the soils, waters, plants, animals and collectivity that live upon the land. From the field trips and other different topics of this class I agree that we need a connection with land ethic. A land ethic will help conserve biotic member of the community, since we unfortunaelty choose something’s worth on economic value, something that leaving a piece a land alone would not have. All organisms and ecosystems are interconnected in some form or another. Even if just the smallest organism is eliminated, the entire ecosystems will we greatly affected. We need to consider nature into the picture before we decide to destroy a wonderful piece of land for a building.

Colloquium Experience

July 16, 2010

My colloquium experience has been very interesting and I have learned so much about the environment that I was previously unaware of. It was nice to be able to take a class that was not just dealing with the textbook. I enjoyed the field trips we had to go on, even though I did not go on all the field trips in Fort Myers, I still made a great connections with the local ones I went to in Boca Raton. The readings from the SOW textbook were very interesting, I liked that it talked about other countries around the world and the similar problems they are having with sustainability. I also liked how the authors would give possible solutions in these short chapters, I wish more people would read these books because if everyone was educated on these issues it would make it easier for everyone to come together and use less resources. Some things that I would change about this class would be the paper topics. I found it quite difficult to write about some of the topics that were given to us. The colloquium book with the passages from Louv, Orr, Douglas and Dewey, I found to be a little hard to understand and relate to. I think that the University is doing a great job with the Colloquium class. I think that it is neat that it is a class that everyone has to take. That it is a good idea that everyone with a different major can communicate with one another.

Lifestyle and Health

July 10, 2010

There are many environmental influences that have affected my lifestyle and health. I have asthma and now days the environment is not as clean and the air is polluted with many toxins that affect my lungs every day. I have to take medicine everyday to allow myself to breathe normally. I am not saying that because of the environment I have asthma, I am just implying that it makes my condition worse because the air in not clean. I am very grateful for the lifestyle that I live and the environment has played a huge role on how I have shaped my life. I enjoy many outdoor activities and have had many experiences as a child with nature. Besides having asthma I have very good health, mostly due to the part that I am very active and treat my body well. I try to stay away from all the processed food and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The environment has been abused throughout mankind and because of this I have change my lifestyle to a more “greener” route. I try to use less water, less energy and fewer resources. I believe that if everyone starts this trend we can tremendously help out the environment. The environment has influenced the way I carry out my day to day activities, I always make sure to recycle and use alternate ways of transportation rather than always driving my car. I believe that the environment has influenced my health a lot. I am always exorcising outside, I refuse to get a gym membership because I enjoy running outside along the beach paths near my house. I have a great joy improving my health just by exorcising outside and playing various sports with my friends.

Class Discussions

July 7, 2010

The class discussions that we did weekly I found to be very helpful. I really enjoyed reading other students posts and hearing their opinion about the information we had to read. I liked commenting on their posts and agreeing or disagreeing with what they had to say. It also allowed me to understand some of the curriculum better when I would read others opinions on the topics. I felt that the discussions were a vital tool in communicating with one another since it was an online class. It kept everyone connected and allowed everyone to give any opinion that they wanted to write about. My favorite discussion posts where when we would read a chapter in the State Of The World textbook and would write if we agreed with the author and how we felt about that subject. As well as reading others posts about the same chapters.

Reflection on a place

July 2, 2010

One of my favorite places to relax would be the beach. I have lived right across the street from the beach my whole life. I spend a lot of time there and love to go there when I need to just to clear my head. When I go to the beach by myself I love to stare at the ocean and watch the waves crumble and see the white foam appear and disappear. I love the salty air and the sand between my toes. When I am here there is nothing that can bother me or distract me. The ocean is so beautiful I could just gaze at the horizon for hours. The seagulls that live in that habitat are also an enjoyment to watch, seeing them trying to find scrapings of any food that was left behind by people who were there last. The beach is a place I go to when I need to be alone and do nothing but relax. When I was there I thought about how terrible it will be if the oil spill reaches our shore. It will destroy the homes of many animals that live there. I hope that the leak is stopped soon, it has destroyed so many beaches along the coast and leaving so many animals homeless and has even taken their life.

A More Sustainable Life

July 1, 2010

There are a few different ways that I have thought about that I can live a more sustainable life as well as help out the community and the environment around me. I am planning on using energy saving light bulbs from now on, even though they are a little more expensive in the long run they will save a lot of energy. From now on before I leave my house I will make sure that I have unplugged everything from the outlets and shut down my computer when I am not using it. I will close my blinds during the day to block the sun so that I will not have to use my air conditioning as much. I will invest in buying a bicycle and use it as much as possible instead of my car. For the community I would like to give more of my time and help out with any events or activities that could create awareness of sustainability and reducing our use of resources. I really enjoyed one of my field trips to the nature center Gumbo Limbo in Boca Raton, I would love maybe get the chance to help out there.

Simply Grateful

June 29, 2010

I have been so blessed to have had such a great family and friends in my life. I am also grateful that in my life I have had a deep connection with nature and have used my imagination to make my own fun when I would play outside as a child. It saddens me to read about the children today and how they are lacking a connection with nature because of video games and computer games. This does not allow them to imagine for themselves. I have had a great life, I live near the beach and have spent a lot of my time there, building sand castles, playing in the water and simply just relaxing and enjoying my sense of place there. I am grateful for the wonderful planet that we live on. This class has helped me enjoy the beauty that this world has to offer. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had on the field trips and as well the past experiences I have had throughout nature as I was growing up. I play soccer so I spend a great deal of time outside, sometimes I forget that I am so lucky to be able to be outside and enjoy the environment around me.

The Power of One

June 26, 2010

Throughout taking this class I have gotten better understanding of the Power of One. I have always been a person that has my cell phone practically glued to me. I hated the thought of ever being alone for ten minutes. This class has taught me that relaxing and being by myself can be a great experience. I have enjoyed just sitting by myself without my phone and just listen to the sounds that come from nature. I can be by myself now and not worry about what other people are doing and if I am missing out on something. I find my life to be less stressful since I can just relax by myself without any other worries. I can be my own person and not care about what anyone else thinks about me. Having the Power of One is a very important characteristic, it is important to spend some time alone and reflect on your own feelings.

Health and Well Being

June 16, 2010

Health and well being are two very important factors that a person must have through out their life. Staying healthy is vital to live; we must feed nutrients to our bodies and take care of them to be able to live a bountiful life. When reflecting upon staying healthy, it relates to how we treat ourselves and what environment we live in. Living in polluted cities can have a long-term negative effect on our health. We are at risk of polluting our bodies with the toxins that fill the air. Another health risk that Americans are constantly putting themselves in is the amount of daily stress they have. Americans leading death is from heart failure which is related to high levels of stress. When talking about a person’s well being it relates to the quality of life that they experience throughout their daily lives. To enjoy the beauty a life, a person needs to have a positive well being meaning that they are happy and healthy. I would consider myself as a person with a very positive well being. I enjoy life very much and never take for granted the wonderful experiences that I encounter with nature. I play soccer for Florida Gulf Coast University so health and well being are a very important aspect in my life. I stay healthy and in shape to keep up the various demands of staying in shape and working hard to play.

10 or more people I share place with

June 12 2010

Ten or more people that share place with me would be my teammates from the Florida Gulf Coast Soccer Team. During the year we travel just about every weekend for games as well as have soccer practice just about every day. We spend a lot of time together. We grow as a family and are always together even when we aren’t playing soccer. We share the common place of the soccer field with each other as well as the locker room. Some of the girls on the soccer team that I have shared this place with is Ashley Ciesielczyk, Caytlan MaKenzie, Kayley McMillian, Anna Jokuty, Lindsay Haw, Kathleen Hunter, Amanda Suchko, Stacey Payne, Michele Kuhnen and Julia Martin. There are about 26 girls on the team.

Sustainability

June 4, 2010

My personal definition of sustainability is living naturally, with little amounts of pollution and wasting our resources. I think that it is important to reuse products as much as we can before we decide to throw them away. In today’s world we are not living a sustainable lifestyle. We are producing too much waste and using the resources which will soon run out. Sustainability is living naturally, recycling, using only what we need, enhancing our long term well being. I try to be as sustainable as I can when I live my life. Through the information that I have learned in this class, it has helped me create a more meaningful definition of sustainability. I now work harder in using only the resources that I need, recycle, and try to use the least amount of pollution throughout my day. I think that soon everyone should be driving electric cars that will cut the transportation pollution immensely. When I leave the house I shut off every light, unplug every charger that I was using, I also shut the blinds when I leave so that my air conditioner does not have to turn on as often. I believe that going “green” is very similar to sustainability. The greener we as a community become the closer we are to becoming a sustainable planet.

Gulf oil spill could 'devastate' South Florida's environment

May 15, 2010

Gulf oil spill could 'devastate' South Florida's environment

As Gulf blowout gushes oil, fears grow for Florida's wildlife and beaches
May 05, 2010By David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel

Few parts of the United States would be as devastated by an oil slick as the southern coast of Florida.

A necklace of federal wildlife refuges wraps around the tip of the peninsula, protecting wading birds, Key deer, American crocodiles and nesting sea turtles. The largest coral reef system in the continental United States forms an undersea rainforest of fish, crabs, sponges and coral, extending from the southern end of the Keys to the shallows off Palm Beach. The beaches from Broward County up the coast are among the most important in the world for loggerhead sea turtles, now just beginning their annual nesting season.

"A major oil spill would devastate the ecosystem and the economy based on that ecosystem," said Larry Crowder, professor of marine biology at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. "It's a particularly bad time of year because just about everything is nesting or replicating.

"In the Gulf of Mexico giant blue fin tuna are spawning, and their eggs and larvae float on the surface," he said. "Seabirds and gulls are nesting. For nesting sea turtles, obviously, oiling the beaches could have a devastating impact."
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-05-05/news/fl-oil-impact-20100504_1_gulf-oil-spill-gulf-stream-beaches

This article I found online, it caught my eye because I have been very concerned about this oil leak that has been going on for a couple weeks now. It saddens me to think of all the wildlife that is going to be affected by this. I leave on the east coast of Florida, and knowing that the oil slick will soon reach the beaches near me breaks my heart. It will negatively impact the wild life for a very long time, as well as the jobs of the fisherman who cannot work now because of this deadly oil covering the sea. The oil rig could not have exploded at a more terrible time than this, it is hatching season for a lot of turtles and they are going to lose their life when they try to go to sea for the first time. Hopefully they can stop this leak soon so it does not cause any more devastation to the environment than it already has.

Colloquium

May 17, 2010

Since this is the first week of Colloquium I do not know much of what to expect from this course. A lot of my friends have taken this class already and have told me a little of what to expect. My current perception is that this class will teach me about nature and the importance of sustainability. There are a few goals that I would like to get out of this Colloquium experience. I want to learn how I can become more resourceful with the products I use and not take the beautiful environment for granted anymore. I also have had a hard time understanding some of the readings by Richard Louve, he writes in a very confusing way, I would like to better understand his readings. I know that when I read other students posts in the class I will have a better understanding. I also would like to become a “greener” person, I know that after reading the books in this course I will be motivated to actually put my words into action. After this course is over I plan on using the information that I have taken in and use it in the future in my everyday life. If there is a chance that I can walk or ride a bike instead of drive my car, I will try and cut back on my person pollution.