Ecosystem Services and Land Use

Going to the Food Forest and the Trail Walk, I had an idea of what we would see, but I didn’t think I would learn so much. Again, relating this back to my first post, a lot of the nature that I was around growing up wasn’t in the backyard of my house. It was abroad. So, going to these two places on campus, I was expecting some of the same kinds of trees and plants that I see on a daily basis. I was so wrong.

When we were discussing permaculture, monoculture and sustainable food systems in class, I really just took those concepts at face value. I wasn’t too interested in how they worked and the benefits they provide to us and the environment. I honestly just thought, “Oh, we’re going to go see some trees, plants and then walk around and see more trees and plants.” But, listening to the vast amount of knowledge that our “guides” had when teaching us about all of this stuff really opened my eyes to the possibilities.

For example, one of the things that I found really fascinating about the Food Forest was the fact that it operates on a “closed-loop” system. It doesn’t exchange any matter with anything outside of the forest. No pesticides or anything like that, which I thought was really cool to find out. Not to mention it’s all student run. Also, the permaculture that was present at the forest was eye-opening because of how they can be used. For example, the moringa tree being used as a substitute for pepper, the jackfruit possibly solving the hunger crisis and the awesome mulberry. What I am trying to get at here is that we literally have good, nutritious and delicious food all around us, yet a lot of us don’t know it. That had to be the main thing I took away from going to the Food Forest.

This experience totally changed the way I look at my diet and the way I interact with the environment. The main example that I remember, because it was something I never knew, had to do with poison ivy. Obviously, you learn as a kid not to touch it. But, I didn’t know that if you burned poison ivy and inhaled the fumes, it is probably worse than simply touching it. Also, more importantly, poison ivy is highly beneficial for deer. Our relationship with nature can really be defined by this example. Someone, or something, will always benefit from nature and we should try to make sure that we preserve it for that very reason.

With all of this in mind, it is very important to preserve the Food Forest and Campus Trails at FGCU because it teaches people like me, who don’t experience the natural world much, about the importance of the environment and living from it and with it. As a student body at FGCU, we see the school’s mission of being environmentally friendly and sustainable on a daily basis. For example, it provides the cultural service of education and recreation. It provides provisional services like food, shelter, and energy. FGCU is the definition of sustainability for colleges and it’s time more follow suit.