Marine Experience

Freshwater Experience

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

    CREW is a 60,000-acre watershed located in southwest Florida that protects the quality and quantity of the region’s water resources. Above is a picture taken of the CREW Marsh Trail. I decided to do a virtual trip of the CREW watershed. The picture is sourced from “Wetlands in Florida” blog. After watching the virtual trip of Keepers of the Watershed, I was able to observe a few things. 

    One personal observation I was able to encounter during this virtual trip is the water conservation. The CREW watershed is the largest intact watershed in Southwest Florida and is considered a water conservation land. CREW being a 60,000 acre land that also provides habitat for wildlife, it is important that the watershed is used to reduce the amount of water wasted. In Robertson, it would be stated as irrigation. “Globally, agriculture is the largest consumer of water. Seventy percent of the water used worldwide and 41 percent of the water used in the US is for agriculture, but most of the water applied to fields runs off and is never used by plants.” (p.99)

    

    The second observation I encountered during this virtual trip is peace. Walking through the watershed brings a sense of peace and one can be emotionally moved. Just a walk through the trails can relieve stress. The watershed has different wildlife activities such as hiking, mountain biking, bird watching, horseback riding, observing nesting, ect. During the virtual trip, John Burroughs quoted “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. In Robertson, this would be stated as generative. Generative consists of visualization, beholding, and loving-kindness meditation.

    

    And lastly, the third observation I encountered was the aquifer system. The land is like “keeping a sponge wet”. CREW is the direct source of portable water and must be preserved. Without the water being retained or the land being developed, the quality of water today would not exist. 21 inches of recharge could occur on an annual basis which means that the aquifer system is able to generate 12 in of water and the aquifer would equate to 16 billion gallons of water a year. “Freshwater in rivers, lakes, and aquifers is known as blue water; water which falls as rain or infiltrates the soil is known as green water. Freshwater is generally a renewable resource. A constant volume of water moves through the hydrologic cycle where it is continually filtered and recycled.” (p.90)

Reference:

https://www.ourwetlandsfla.com/crew-corkscrew-regional-ecosystem-watershed/