ECHO

I have lived in Florida for about eight years now, and I had no idea what ECHO was. When I found out about this field trip I asked some of my friends (who don’t go to FGCU) if they had ever been there and they were in the same spot at as me. It is amazing to me how something so wonderful is kept almost hidden from the people around it. While I was there I learned a good amount of knowledge. The one thing that really stuck with me was the man made mountain. I learned the importance and the advantages of having natural fences on surrounding hills and mountains. One of the interns told me that the reason Haiti is having so many mudslides is because they cut down all the mangroves and natural fences they had. I remember learning that there are many species of lemons, which I thought was very interesting. I also saw the compost piles with all of the worms in it.
My grandmother, who raised me, loved her garden. She used to grow plants and flowers and a number of other things. I remember putting out vegetable scraps and our other things in our compost pile in the back. Never quite understood what it was for, but I have a better understanding now. I do remember our home grown cherry tomatoes. Visiting the farm made me miss them. When I get my own house I am definitely going to start my own garden.
I really enjoyed my trip to ECHO. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much I have decided to do my community service hours there. I will also be volunteering on Farm Day, which is pretty exciting. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about ECHO, except maybe that I didn’t get to each any strawberries! I can’t wait to learn more through my volunteer hours and become more involved with ECHO.