FGCU Canoeing Trip

Ishadeen Abreu-

I had a blast canoeing last Tuesday! I wasn't able to take pictures because I left my camera in my car just in case we had the misfortune of tipping over. It was definitely a little workout with it being extra windy that day but all in all the weather was nice and it was peaceful. I felt like I was back at home in Iowa at my grandparents house.  I would always take out the paddle boat and paddle to the middle of Lake MacBride (picture below) with a good book and just be in the most peaceful setting you can imagine. Being out in nature as a real soothing effect. I love it!

Lauren Jump-

I really enjoyed the Fort Myers Beach woman’s presentation.  The red mangroves and the oysters’ benefits to cleaning the water interested me the most.  “Mangroves produce 3.6 tons per acre of leaf litter per year which benefit estuarine food chains.  An estimated 75% of the game fish and 90% of the commercial species in south Florida depend on the mangrove system... They also trap mud and silt that flows with the tide, thus gradually increasing the soil around them” (SFRC).  I could not find anything online about red mangroves assisting with cleaning water besides that it prefers brackish water to seawater for nutrition.  It was news to me that we have oysters in the Gulf of Mexico.  I am quite impressed that Crassostrea virginica can filter 50 gallons of water per day (Eastern Oyster).  I had a lot of fun canoeing!  Kayaking is a lot easier.  But, I always love being on the water.  I did not take my camera out on the canoe because I do not have a waterproof case for it.

Florida Forest Trees.  Red Mangroves.  SFRC.  <http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Red_mangrove/redmangr.htm>Eastern Oyster.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_oyster>  

Alexandra Maclean - 

Last Tuesdays class way lots of fun; I really enjoyed learning all about Fort Myers beach. The oysters I have heard of once in a presentation but did not know how beneficial they were.  Canoeing was fun though It would have been even better if the wind was not so strong it was a really work out trying to keep the canoe going where you want. When I was young I went canoeing all the time in the summers up in Maine with family I have always enjoyed anything that takes place in water. For this trip i did not bring my camera so i did not get any pitchers unfortunately. Overall I really enjoyed this last Tuesday's class.


Anna Dyson -

As blog master i took on the roll of photographer. This turned out to be difficult to do because of the strong wind that day. Whenever Alex and i would stop to take a picture the wind would blow us straight into the mangroves! The current was as strong as the wind sometimes, and it gave us a great workout. The canoeing experience just goes to show, that it must have been tough to travel primarily by canoe! Due to the weather i did not see large amounts of wild life. I did snap a picture of an osprey nest with a mama bird in it. I heard two large fish jump, but when i turned around to see all i saw were ripples. I saw one other bird, but it was too far away to identify.

Pictures from field trip below: