Blog # 6

After taking this course I think that my definition of sustainability has only been altered slightly. I believe the definition of sustainability to be meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising and endangering the future. My definition for eco-literacy is still relatively the same from the beginning of the semester, the same applies for my definition of a sense of place. My major intersects with sustainability because in marketing you need to maintain/ sustain relationships with clients and any stakeholder so that business in the future is a lot easier and casual. It relates to sense of place because that is what marketing tries to establish; it tries to convince the consumer that the product has been designed to sooth their needs and hence create a sense of place. It relates to eco-literacy with the whole "Green" movement and understanding that there are repercussions to mishandling products in nature.

I really enjoyed the field trips that we went on in this course, in particular the field trip where we went canoeing. Just being on the water and surrounded by the mangroves made the rest of my day! I also liked the downtown field trip as well because prior to that trip I had no idea about the history of Fort Myers; so I feel as if I was well informed about my new home after. And I believe that the school should continue to do that field trip now that we have more students coming from out of state.

Blog # 4

My overall opinion summed up in one word of the Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass field trip would be "Serenity". I felt very at peace when we were out Canoeing, the sound of the current running through the pass with the combination of the wind gently caressing the leaves of the mangrove trees was absolute music to my ears. I also enjoyed the fact that we were on a canoe; I love canoeing its such a great exercise!

My home town of Miami has not experienced any drastic changes since I was little; just the addition of some new high rise buildings in the downtown area (including the new marlins stadium), and the city of Hialeah, (the town were I was raised in) has become a lot more main stream and franchised as well. Growing up there were a lot more mom and pop restaurants and bakery's etc..

 If a developer offered you 300% the market value of your childhood home to develop into condos I would not take that offer! That house means way too much to me and my family, my grand father still lives in that house. My parents worked too damn hard to buy that house when they come over from Cuba without a penny to their name. The same thing applies for if the county came and approached me about purchasing the land under the 20/20 program, for 80% of its market value, I would tell them thank you but no thank you.

Blog #5

The word Downtown evokes a lot of different emotions; The most predominate emotion to me though is a sense of home. I guess its because I grew up in Miami my whole life which is one of the biggest and most populated cities in the United States. The word also brings me to a state of happiness because Downtown usually means a night of bar hopping and partying. I believe that the stature of downtown has changed significantly in communities; in todays society a city or community with a thriving downtown area filled with business and restaurants means that the communities economy is doing well.

Downtown Fort Myers is currently experiencing a "Green" renaissance, meaning that the city is trying to market Fort Myers as a eco- friendly city. Some architectural features that stood out to me was the fountain that consisted of statues of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. Another feature that I noticed and thought to have given the Downtown area a very original look is the Lee county court house and its Neo- Classical look. This all relates back to sustainability in almost a very direct manner. The city of Fort Myers is attempting to become a pioneer in a very sustainable/ eco-friendly design.

Blog #3

I must say of the couple field trips that I have been on in this class I really enjoyed the ECHO trip the most. I really enjoyed the format in which they gave the tours; the way they split up their entire facility into miniature ecosystems was what stood out to me and I felt as if it was an efficient way to retaining the most amount of information possible. The examples of these ecosystems really differed from my perspective of American agriculture in many ways. For example I had no idea that people in inner cities partook in roof top agriculture. I have always that of agriculture to take place in the middle of nowhere, not in the middle of New York City.

I do feel as if the work that is done at ECHO could potentially help develop parts of the world that are under privileged and lack resources. One tree that I think could be very helpful is the Maringa tree. The tour guide at ECHO described this plant as being the holy grail of trees, it carries a wide variety of vitamins and minerals and even a substantial amount of protein. I would say that the Maringa tree itself could be considered an appropriate technology for developing countries due to its simplicity, all you literally have to do is plant the seeds or plant a branch from the tree and in time it will turn into a very useful asset with a variety of benefits. I would consider doing some service learning hours at ECHO; it seems to be a very peaceful and tranquil environment and on top of that I get to feed the goats!

Blog #1

I expect to learn a lot about the distinct ecosystem of southwest Florida region throughout the duration of this class. I expect to learn a lot about the animals that I see on a normal basis on and off campus, and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of what makes each one so unique. I guess I would define sustainability as maintaining a constant state without living beyond on your needs. Eco-literacy refers to the amount of knowledge you have on a certain ecosystem. Sense of place is feeling as if you are right where you belong. Sustainability relates to my field of study, marketing, because marketing is all about sustaining and maintaining relationships with future and current clients. Some emotions and attitudes that I consider to be unsustainable are anger. Anger clouds a person’s logic and reasoning and causes human beings to make impulsive and irrational decisions, therefore making it an unsustainable human behavior.