I went for my field trip to the campus of FGCU on January 18th. I walked the nature trail some, but I was alone on the trip and was a little nervous about being vulnerable to the elements. I used to spend a lot of time at a lake near my home, but since I have been urbanized I seem to have lost some of the bravery that I had in my youth. I decided to leave the trail when a grasshopper flew into my hair. Now, I'm not afraid of grasshoppers on a normal day, but since I was alone and in unfamiliar territory I got a little freaked out.
I think that the campus is a great site for eco-empowerment! The environment is raw and among the wetlands in south Florida, where better to encourage the importance of preserving our earth. According to the FGCU website, the 15 acres of solar panels reduced the dependence on Florida Power and Light by 18%. That is a great step toward the school being sustainable with the environment.
The campus is arranged in a circle all in the middle with the outlaying areas mostly remaining untouched. The campus has water and small lakes dotted throughout but the wilderness of the property surrounds the campus. The on-campus student housing is at opposite ends one with a lakefront, and the other in a more pristine setting. It is a beautiful area all around.
There was a lot of controversy over the university being built on the land. Manasota 88, a local environmental group, protested, arguing that the that the land would challenge the panther population and shouldn't be used. The legal dispute set back the start of the development, but the community and university leaders won in the end and an agreement was approved in 1995.
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