Corkscrew Field Trip

      Last week in Colloquium we went to the Corkscrew Swamp preserve, which I wouldn't describe as a swamp, because the Everglades is more like a giant forest to me, and the other swamps I've been in feel nothing like it  We walked around on a boardwalk and weren't allowed to jump off into the dirt, but we got to see some interesting stuff going on around it, like some alligators which were WAY too small to eat for dinner.

      I found out that duckweed is actually an invasive species which can be harmful for local wildlife.  I'd known what it was, but I guess I'd assumed it was a natural part of the ecosystem.  Now I wonder if it's like Mellaluca, which was brought here on purpose, or if it was brought here on accident.  I guess I'll have to look it up one of these days...

> Impressions, feelings, ideas, what did you like about it?

      I thought the part about the septic systems was kinda interesting, I guess.  When they were talking about the aquifer being our water supply and how it was fed by seepage from the above-ground water, it reminded me about how important it is to keep the everglades from being polluted.  It worries me that they're now talking about fracking in the everglades, because of the accidents that have happened with it in other parts of the country, and the danger of a fracking-related contamination of the water-system...

> Would you visit Corkscrew again?

      Corkscrew is really far away, and not that different from the wilderness on campus, so I don't see why I'd go out of my way to see it...


Anyway, I'm outta things to say, so have a pony lovin' a tree.