Coming to an End

Taking this Colloquium course has been a wonderful journey! The field trips, class discussions, lectures and presentations had a great impact on me. I feel like I have learned more in this course than in any other course I have taken throughout the my college years. The most important thing I took from this course is how to live a more sustainable lifestyle; as well, I feel like I am more aware of the things that harm this Earth and how to avoid giving into those habits. Overall, I am really glad I took this course at the time I did. I believe that the instructor really makes a difference in the way information is taught and presented. Personally, the methods that were used in this course to inform the students about unsustainable practices complemented my learning style. I had the opportunity to go out in the wilderness and experience rather than just hearing about it through class lectures.

Ed Begley: Environmentalist & Actor

After watching an Episode of “Living with Ed”, I was fascinated with the creativity this actor showcased for living a more sustainable lifestyle! Ed Begley explained how he produces energy with a bicycle each morning to make his breakfast toast. In just 10 minutes of pedaling, he generated enough power to make his toaster heat up. This actor also has his own green garden and solar panel system right in his own backyard. Watching this actor was so entertaining; I really respect his motives for going green. Furthermore, I think he is setting a great example for all his viewers around the world, especially for those who are materialistic. As I watched this episode, I also thought to myself that this is a form of Entertainment Education, where good messages are being transmitted to the audience! I believe he is making a big difference by just being a role model. I am sure people that watch this show learn a lot about “going green”. It is almost like he is making this sustainable living a trend; that’s fantastic because it is just what America needs to learn!

Putting Sustainable Habits into Effect

I am really excited about trying out the “green market” in Fort Myer’s Centennial Park. After learning that shopping locally is one of the best ways to cut down on importing and exporting costs as well as pollution, I decided to adopt this habit into my lifestyle. After being informed that this market was available every Thursday from seven in the morning till two in the afternoon, I made a note on my planner to visit this destination. Also, after looking up this farmers market online, I was also pleased to find out that they are open year round; that is very convenient! The online article also mentioned that this market has fruits, flowers, vegetables, native plants, palms, flowering plants, baked goods, local seafood, and ethnic specialties available. I had no idea they would carry such a wide variety of items. This news was so practical, I spread the message to my parents and got them on board as well! Hopefully they will spread the message to their friends; eventually, if the demand is strong enough, they might offer some more “green markets” closer to my home!

FGCU Environmental Club

Now that this course has come to an end, I feel that is important to become involved with organizations and clubs that are working towards creating a more sustainable living. As I was searching though the FGCU portal, I stumbled upon one club that correlates directly with educating and teaching people how to live more sustainably. Their club name is called the Backyard Farmers and their mission statement is as follows, “To educate about the importance of growing your own food and to start a demonstration garden/food forest on campus.” I look forward to joining this club soon, as well, I am really glad that I found out about it now so I can spread the message to more people on campus so hopefully they will join as well! From the looks of it, this club sounds like they can really make a difference! By joining, I hope I can help the club grow stronger. I am surprised I haven’t heard of it sooner.

Entertainment Education for Sustainabilty

After completing my third paper for this course, I learned of a new concept that is very effective for shaping people’s behavior into a more sustainable direction. A Mexican television executive named Miguel Sabido initiated the idea of Entertainment Education. Basically, through this approach, subliminal messages were showcased to the public through soap operas. After learning about the E-E approach, I was very surprised to learn of the positive results it yielded, as well, it was clever because it still used a marketing approach, the only difference was that the message was more educational. As well, beyond being educational, the message was appealing and informational at the same time. By using actors, people could identify with the characters and judge whether their actions were right, wrong, useless, or irrational. In essence, it turned out that modeling is a key way to shape the habits of people into a more positive way of life.

Billy Bowlegs

After learning about this Seminole Indian on the field trip to down town Fort Myers, I decided to do some more research on him because his story completely fascinated me! From what the professor mentioned on the trip, he seemed like a sharp witted man that used his mind rather than violence to solve problems and outwit the Confederates! I admire those character traits. From what I found online, everything the professor mentioned about Billy was confirmed, he was a clever leader that always found a way to persevere! However, I hate how his story ends, the professor mentioned that eventually Billy ended up dying on a reservation in Oklahoma probably from drinking himself to death. Although he was a strong man, I could understand why he would succumb to such drastic measures, there was no quality of life anymore; his title and everything he loved was stripped away from him.

Going Downtown: Fort Myers!

Today’s field trip was very informational; I had no idea Ft. Myers was one of the first forts built along the Caloosahatchee River! As well, I found it to be very interesting that Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone were all friends; it is so cool to know that some of America’s greatest inventors were actually buddies. Beyond all the interesting facts I learned today, I feel that this tour of downtown Fort Myers really helped me build a sense of place. It gave me goose bumps listening to all the wars and racial hate crimes that occurred right where I live. Lee County is my home and this land has been through a lot; as well, Florida has come a long way from where it used to be. I am glad for that; however, I was still shocked to find out that we were one of the last counties in the United States to desegregate schools, even more shocking is that it wasn’t too long ago! If I have learned anything from this field trip, it is that we must all learn to live in peace and respect one another. In addition, as a future educator, I must bring awareness to my future students so they will be informed responsible citizens as well.