2nd Field Trip: ECHO

I decided to take my 2nd field trip, the agricultural field trip at ECHO, or Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. Here I learned about the many ways ECHO uses innovative and inexpensive resources to help third world countries provide food for themselves. ECHO teaches a wide variety of landscapes so they use their center in North Fort Myers as a testing center to see want type of plants, technologies, resources, etc they will need for other third world countries. There are different landscapes, some of these include city areas, where there is no room to plant food, monsoon areas where there is so too much rain, and arid areas where there is not enough rain. ECHO transforms what resources a place has and uses everything to help provide plants sustainable all year long to feed a village, family, town, etc. ECHO also teaches other countries inexpensive technologies, like water pumps, fertilizers, solar ovens, irrigation systems, etc. I really enjoyed my visit to ECHO it really made me think about how much we waste on a day to day basis. People in third world countries can't waste anything; even a soda can can be used for helping with growing plants or fertilizer. I definitely would like to go back there so I can show people just how much a little bit of innovation and technology can do to help waste less and make our world a better place.

solar ovens made of plastic and rubber

fertilizer made from worms

 Here are some example of different technologies ECHO has made.

Irrigation system

Water pump made from PVC pipe, so easy a child could do it.

 Here are some pictures on the different landscapes ECHO helps to provide food for.

City areas; garden on the rooftop

Hillside areas

Monsoon areas

Here are some other pictures of the plants ECHO grows and the animals they work with.

Buckingham

September 29

My mom came to visit my sister and me from Louisiana. While she was her she stayed at her boyfriend's parents house. She wanted to see me one day so she convinced me to drive all the way out to Buckingham to see her. I had no idea where this place was, or what to expect, but after I left I was glad I had gone. Buckingham was like walking in the book a Land Remembered. All of the sites I saw reminded me of what I had imagined while I was reading the book. There was swamp, cows, bulls, goats, chickens, birds, palm trees, and so much more. While I was reading a land remembered all I kept thinking about was how much I wish I could live in a place like that; peaceful and away from civilization. Buckingham is that place.

 There were herds of chickens everywhere. clucking and running around free as a bird, no pun intended.

 This site especially reminded me of the book so I had to grab a picture. The herd of cattle gathered together reminded me of how Zech and Tobias would graze thousands of cattle across the state.

 This picture reminded me of when the cattle drowned in the swamp because they were trying to find a faster way to get to Punta Rassa. I wonder if all of Buckingham once looked like this?

 Although this horse isn't free to range over the open fields I still had to take a picture because of how beautiful it is.

 These baby goats laying under the trees didn't remind me of anything at first. I just thought they were cute so I wanted a picture. But after I saw this picture again I wondered if maybe this was the type of area Tobias had first built a house at before it was burned down.

 This picture again reminded me of the scene when the cows are eaten by alligators when they try to cross through this swamp. I guess this cows not afraid though because he stayed there no matter how close I got.

 I guess this is the area me and my mom walked around in; the hickory swamp preserve; which is commonly known as Buckingham.

A walk on the beach

September 20

I love going to the beach because its so peaceful and relaxing. I decided to do my weekly journal sitting at the beach during sunset. To me, seeing a sunset inspires me. It is so beautiful and breathtaking that I just have to stop and stare. While I was watching the sun set I thought about this class and our world. What can I do to make it a better place? Is it really gonna make a difference if I pick up trash on the road or go on a field trip? Well after pondering these questions for a while I found my answers. When I pick up trash I think about the safety of the planet. If everyone stopped picking up trash there would be trash everywhere. I also believe that seeing people doing community service, like a street clean up it inspires other people to do something. The field trips also help me make a difference for a few reasons. I not only inspire myself to help the environment but I retell my entire trip to all my friends which I think will help to inspire at least one or two of them to do something for the environment. I think this trip to the beach helped me reflect on some topics we've been going over in the class and I will definitely continue to reflect outside even after this class is over.

My eerie night

September 10

I was with some of my friends and we were about to go to the store when we walked outside and couldn't move. The sky was orange. I don't mean sunset orange, I men the entire sky had turned a eerie scary orange; which made everything else look orange too. We stood outside probably for an hour thinking. So I decide to reflect on this environmentally. I was asking questions like, "Why is the sky orange?" "Is the world ending?" "Am I safe being outside. I never found out any answers to my questions. My only solution is that the world is still a strange place that has many unexplained phenomenons. Hopefully through this class I can learn some more answers about the world and its ever changing environment.

See how everything looks orange because of the sky.

Even the owls were acting strange

Standing outside under the orange sky