Picture by Heidi Cuevas
Sonia Stolar | Staff Writer
At first, I didn’t find the idea of waking up before sunrise and heading to campus to get on a yellow school bus and head west toward the swamp appealing. Possibly, because I live too far away. Or I wanted my Saturday off. Or the picture of walking for two hours straight in humidity, rain clouds towering above a group of students that stretches down the entire path of the hike did not fascinate me.
But all I know is that it did not sound like a dream Saturday, at least not to me: no driver’s license and living 21 miles away from MMC.
Yet, what sounded like something I just needed to get over with turned out to be a pleasantly inspiring educational experience.
I will not be inserting my full report, which can remain in the Canvas submission box for Ecology of South Florida Lab—one of not many classes at FIU that offer opportunities as such.
This lab takes students on three field trips that are stretched out over the term: Everglades pine rocklands and tropical hammock, Big Cyprus and Key Biscayne.
A group of students and I were picked up by a yellow school bus as the sun was just finishing settling over FIU’s main campus. The light lay smooth on the road, heading toward the national park.
Then the scenery unfolded.
Sable palms, gambo limbo trees, a path through greens atop of greens covered in vegetation. Then the pine rocklands—South Florida sabal pines, pinecones leading the way, grey skies towering over open canopy. It is impossible to forget mentioning the slough: alligators, cormorants, wading birds, and more.
It is in the moment we passed through the blanket of lily pads that our instructor mentioned the Florida Highwaymen—a group of painters who chose to gain financial independence in a segregated state by selling artworks of South Florida landscapes by the roadside. With the paintings being sold at prices like $6,000 and $12,000, my student group was encouraged to take in our surroundings and appreciate them.
My eyes darted at the details on every step of the way: a cuckoo was pollinating a purple thistle, or the reflection of the trees in the water covered with fallen leaves.
The trip is not a simple part of the syllabus. It is more of an opportunity to fall in love with the priceless gift that Florida gives us: the Everglades.
The national park is not only a part of the curriculum, but in the constant rotation of news in my feed.
From the project that could pave over 160 acres of wetlands to a possible building of an incinerator that could increase mercury pollution in the national park and bring in more harmful chemicals disrupting the environment, the Everglades cannot seem to catch a break.
The national park is under constant stress from dismissive country commissioners and Alligator Alcatraz. If only the information that I see displayed on infographics on Instagram were as talked about in the everyday news cycles.
I am not a Florida native, and it wouldn’t even be on my radar if not for having mutual friends with those who fight for the protection of our environment. Surprisingly, or not, FIU is full of advocates who are engaged with the dangers South Florida’s infamous landscape faces constantly.
Yet, only reading about it in an article or seeing a report on a local news station is not enough to pull one into the issue.
That is why the field trip is a breath of fresh air—an educational experience that makes you fall in love with what was just a few miles away.
Frankly, it surprised me how students who have lived here their whole lives have never been to the Everglades. Though after studying in Florida for a few years now, I visited the park only once, when I came here as a tourist for the first time. The catch is, the Everglades is not just a fun activity found on TripAdvisor. Just one visit is an immersive experience that guides visitors through Florida’s jewels.
With all its importance, it is not easily accessible. Especially if one is without a car, the national park feels further and further away.
For that reason alone, classes that offer field trips are priceless—the students get easy access to something unique and special to South Florida. It is time we stopped treating it as just another class and more as an opportunity to soak up the beauty of Florida’s landscape. Eventually, by falling in love with it, we’ll also start learning how to protect it.
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The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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