Entry #2

On the campus trail walk we saw sable palm trees also known as cabbage palm (Florida's state tree), palmetto trees, pine trees, cypress trees, oak trees, and Melaleuca trees (paper tree). Melaleuca's, native to Australia, were first planted to soak up water, but became an invasive species. In order to kill them they have to be debarked to spray the center of the tree with herbicides, this technique is called hack-and-squirt. Florida's state wildflower is the Coreopsis Tickweed, because the seed resembles a tick. We saw an inactive hornets' nest and poison ivy. We learned how control burnings puts the nutrients back into the soil. I think the selection of the site for the Florida Gulf Coast University campus is perfect; it's right in between University of South Florida and Florida International University. Yes, it is consistent with the "eco-empowerment" mission of the university. FGCU has the land to have solar panels to generate electricity, zero use of CFC-based refrigerants in educational building air-conditioning, trash compactors, motion sensitive lights, and buildings used out of recycled materials. I do not have any predisposed viewpoints.