Nature Trails

“FGCU really has one long connected trail system, the main part of the trails are near South Village reaching to North Lake with an entrance on the SoVi bridge, an entrance facing SoVi’s Eagle Hall, and another in the Oak Hammock Outdoor Classroom across from the FGCU Intramural Field and the dirt parking lot. The trail system has a various connections to North Lake, some being from the SoVi area and others from the North Lake Boardwalk.”(3)

To sum-up, the trail entrance locations are: near the South Village housing at the base of the bridge that connects South Village to FGCU Boulevard, across the road from Eagle Hall, across the road from the the intramural field on the main campus, and near the Alico Arena in the overflow parking lot.

These trails are an important part of Florida Gulf Coast University because they facilitate education, research, and service for those in environmental science programs and otherwise. They are also valuable because nature trails foster a connection between the students, the environment, and sustainability through effective experiential learning.(2) They exist as powerful tool that has an effect on students and can assist in their journey for a higher education.

The trails are used to create a beautiful environment where people can be closer to the natural world as well as the wildlife within it.(1)

There are many ways that the Nature Trails connect to sustainability. According to Taylor Hancock, “the nature trails provide a vehicle for education to take place in the campus conservation areas, allowing for instructors to speak about sustainably, specifically in an environmental context, first-hand through experiential methods.”(3) Other than the nature trails helping our campus conservation and contribute sustainability to education, these nature trails contribute sustainability to our university as a whole. Another way our nature trails create a connection to sustainability is the campus conservation areas provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water filtration and storage, flood mitigation, and a refuge for wildlife developed throughout the unique southwest Florida landscape.

There are a few other universities in Florida who have nature trails like FGCU, however their trails likely do not highlight the same diverse ecosystems as FGCU. Many universities have acres available for recreational use surrounding the campus but FGCU stands out because the trails are inside the campus

“The Nature Trails are mostly maintained by the FGCU Physical Plant through the Grounds Crew. They usually make sure the trails are clear since the trees and branches usually lay in the middle after storms. They are also constantly removing invasive plant species which are nearly impossible to fully remove and keep coming back into our campus conservation areas from close properties. The FGCU Campus Naturalists and the FGCU University Colloquium program also have a Campus Trail Clean-up in the Fall and Spring semesters each year where they facilitate student service learning in maintaining the trails, the majority of work being invasive plant removal.”(3)

Information and all photos of animals from:

1. "Campus Trails & Wildlife." Florida Gulf Coast University, www2.fgcu.edu/EHS/trails-wildlife.html.

Accessed 5 Nov. 2018.[Text Wrapping Break]2. FGCU Nature Trails, fgcunaturetrails.weebly.com/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2018.

3. Hancock, Taylor. Personal interview. 9 Oct. 2018.