Thursday May 16th, the second of nine classes we took a bus and visited the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. It was my first time going there and it was great to see all the wildlife and preservation that was taking place right before our very eyes. The class was split up into two groups, half going with Dr. Morris and the other half going with a teacher assistant. I chose to go with the teacher assistant and she was very knowledgeable over this subject and was a great instructor overall. We learned many things during the field trip about the different types of plants and the animals that live within these ecosystems. For example, there are three keys to different ecosystems and those include fire, water and elevation. The Cypress Dome has taller trees on the outside, and shorter trees on the inside. The reason this is because the trees are on a slope and when it rains, the water goes into the middle making it more damp then the outside of the Cypress which is generally dryer. Cats, bears, and other animals that live in this ecosystem will scratch trees in order to sharpen their claws so they can hunt. They will also mark their territory by peeing.
The entire trip took four hours and included over three miles of walking. However, the more we walked through the path, the more the ecosystems changed. We saw different animals including alligators, eagle, deer, and others. Each were in the different ecosystems that fit their lifestyle.
The land was preserved because one man stepped up when no one else would and realized that we continued to destroy the environment so that we could live in our buildings, then we would destroy everything that Florida represents and would completely change the culture of SW Florida forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment