Journal 4: Downtown Ft. Myers

Provide a reflection of your experience for the downtown Fort Myers field trip. What were your impressions of the downtown area? Did you notice anything about the design of the buildings Downtown? What about car, pedestrian, bike and transit transportation? Is there open space or green design features? What kinds of businesses did you see?

• I appreciate downtown Ft. Myers now after learning a few historical facts and landmarks, so I think it opened my eyes to some history and rich historic culture in the United States. The buildings downtown are all built to human scale rather than industrial scale. It is a car friendly area, the streets are easy to navigate, and it has slow speeds which is good for bike/ ped. There is a large park in the waterfront area that proves a green space in the condensed downtown area. There were mostly locally-owned shops that were not chains, and there were a few chain restaurants. This is fine because it exemplifies how chain businesses can adapt to the needs of the surroundings.

Analyze and connect your experience Downtown to our course material and class discussions on urban environments and land use. You may have to do additional research. If you do, informally cite your source.

• We studied infrastructure and complete streets in class, downtown is a great example of complete streets that have been adapted for the uses that were required by the specific area. There are a lot of cars from the amount of people living here as a vacation home, which means that they need to be able to get around. The streets are also very walker friendly. It maintains a good balance, and I felt very safe.

FGCU Food Forest

Provide a reflection of your experience at the FGCU Food Forest. What were your impressions of this field trip and thoughts on permaculture and sustainable food systems? What were a few interesting things you learned about tropical edible species? Do you have a new respect for the food you eat and the environment and resources needed to grow that food? Do you think the Food Forest fits with FGCU’s mission in sustainability? How could we incorporate some of the practices you learned about locally or individually? How can you connect these ideas to Nature Deficit Disorder or the Restorative Effects of nature?

me at the food forest holding a mulberry

The FGCU food forest is always my favorite place to go and get fresh foods. I have always really appreciated the services that it provides for the school, as well as the community. It is also a very interesting piece of environmental performance and ingenuity in the way it sustains itself through design. I did a grant project two years ago to build a permaculture garden at an elementary school in Cape Coral, and I learned about how pigeon peas are good for creating a balanced soil for the other plants. I also learned on our trip to the food forest that banana trees only grow for one season and then they die. I think I learn something new about the food forest every time I go there, and it makes me happy that it is being well-maintained. It is also an excellent source of outdoor healing, to either work in or to simply walk through. I believe that the food forest is front and center the best example of FGCU sustainability, simply because it is a reflection of the vision of the students that started it and maintain it. There are lots of interesting high-tech innovations in our school and community that would be considered the pride of FGCU's sustainability, but none which so genuinely reflect what the students want. Permaculture gardens are certainly a great tool to have in a community, so I think it would be great to do more grant projects for SAGE to build more food gardens in elementary schools that can also gain volunteers from the community. We as students can now see how easy it really is to grow our own foods and herbs, so we will be more likely to plant food and herb plants! Or be more willing to help with community gardens because we know the impact they have. I think this ties in heavily to NDC because taking care of a garden and being able to provide food for yourself has a healing affect. 

Sense of Place

1. Sense of Place--- "You can't know who you are until you know where you are." - Wendell Berry.
Take a walking trip around your neighborhood. Observe plant species, wildlife, the design of your neighborhood, or unique neighborhood characteristics. Include photos or video clips. 
‘Sense of place’ is understanding the environment around you, the things that make a place special and unique, where you feel most at home. Is where you live now your sense of place? Write about an area where you have a feeling of ‘sense of place’.

I live in the North Lake dorms on campus as an RA. I have lived here for all three years in different areas of North Lake, and I have noticed each section offers something very different, almost like a real suburb. On one far end of North Lake, you have the sports complexes, this is a place where most of the student athletes live, due to how convenient it is to have all of their facilities nearby. This a very busy area, and it does not have a lot of green space, because most space is taken up by parking lots used for basketball games. The middle section of North Lake is closest to the front desk, and where most of the incoming student tours are held, which means that it is kept in more pristine condition, to give off a good impression of the place. It also has a lot of green space and outdoor facilities, which is what the school really pushes to be known for. It is such a great place- it has the waterfront, the hammocks, the pool, two large fields, a fire pit, and a small hut. It is pretty secure and monitored by the front office, so facilities are in good shape. The other neighborhood is the Groves neighborhood, which does not have any special designation, and in poor condition compared to the other two neighborhoods. The Groves has a green space between two buildings that is not well maintained or monitored. It has a cute chiki hut and cookout area, but there is no waterfront continuation for sitting on the water, it is all natural area, which I enjoy. I believe that the Groves really does not get as much attention as it needs due to the fact that it does not have a special facility or use. I have seen how this lack of designation affects how I am able to build community with my residents, especially when I rely on facilities to be maintained in order for my residents to get out in the community and socialize. 

What I have realized with North Lake is that it is essentially a microcosm for a medium sized city. The parts of the city that have the least well-maintained facilities sometimes also have the least interest in community building, and they do not get enough attention. Parts of the city that have large businesses and attractions have an easier time maintaining a sense of community. I live in the Groves neighborhood and I take great pride in the community that I have tried to build here that provides my sense of place and creates a community that values this place as well. I feel at home in the natural wild, and overgrown space here, and I hope to help my fellow Groves residents feel more at home and appreciate taking care of the place we live in.