Entry # 7, ECHO field trip

       My colloquium class took a field trip on Tuesday to ECHO, which is located in North Fort Myers, Florida.  ECHO stands for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization.  Their main goals are to find affordable agriculture for people in the rest of the world and to teach as well as facilitate small farmers.  The four major components that are involved with obtaining this goal include problem solving ( for example, moving plants that were grown in one area to another area), seeds (which they provide to the farmers), providing the education and training needed in order to teach these farmers how to grow their plants, and finally networking.  ECHO was set up in order to show the different problems that might be encountered by farmers in different climate zones.  Some of these areas included the hot humid lowlands, the tropical highlands, and semi-arid environments. 

      There were many interesting plants at ECHO that we learned about.  A tree called the Neem tree is used as an organic pest control and in earlier times, it had been used by people for dental health.  The Moringa tree, also known as the Miracle tree, is very nutritious.  It has a lot of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and protein in it.  Its powder can be added to the meals of malnourished children as it will help them to gain weight much more quickly and easily.  It can also be used to help small children who have diarrhea get better quicker and is highly useful for women who are breast feeding to take.

       While at ECHO, we also learned about the different methods about gathering water as well as purifying it.  Irrigation pumps are used to safely deliver the water to the crops efficiently and without the use of energy.  Drip irrigation is a technique that can be used in order to water crops and conserve water.  Water can also be collected off roofs, and then later given to crops, or purified.  It can be purified by using bio sand filters to remove the pathogens or by putting it into a clear two liter bottle in the sun for four to six hours so the UV rays will kill any pathogens in it.  The Moringa seed can also be added as it will rid the water of any impurities.

       In different environments, there are different challenges with growing plants.  In areas that are prevalent for flooding, raised beds can be used in order to protect the plant from the excessive water.  In areas such as Western Africa where there is a dry climate, sunken beds can be used in order to collect as much water as  possible, while also protecting the plants from the harsh winds that may come across the area.  In tropical highlands, slope agriculture land technology, (SALT), is used in order to grow crops while improving soil on the steep hillsides.

Ohh, a Pineaapple!

       After learning so much information during our visit to ECHO, I realized that there are many ways in which I can become a better consumer.  By growing food in my own yard as well as buying food that is produced locally, the many resources that would be used up in order to transport the food, including fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil, and water, would now have been conserved.  In my opinion, the activity at ECHO is very sustainable.  It is all about growing foods locally in order to prevent the waste of resources through transportation as well as providing local farmers with the knowledge and resources to use in order to grow crops and make a profit on them.  I think the main reason why this activity is so sustainable is due to the fact that it taught about different methods used to grow crops in different environments.They even gave information on how to use different materials in order to grow crops in an urban environment.  You can use a rug for the base of the garden and by adding water to one area of it, all of the plants will be nourished.

Rice Paddies!!!

       In my opinion, organic means to create something without processing it.  There are no extra additives or chemicals placed into it to change it into something it is not.  For example, I would not consider any type of food or drink that has food coloring in it to be organic as this has changed the appearance of the food, so that while it may be more appealing for the consumer to purchase, it no longer resembles its original form.  This is a meaning that of course is in regards to our consumption of food and some other products. If you were to look at it from other perspectives however, organic means compounds that have a basis of carbon atoms (organic chemistry), or having to do with living organisms.

       In summary, I found the trip to ECHO to be an incredible source of knowledge about the increasing technology for sustainable farming as well as a wonderfully serene and calm place filled with beautiful plants. It was a wonderful trip and really made me think about how simple methods such as drip irrigation and irrigation pumps are so important to maintain a sustainable environment in which we live.

I took all of the pictures that are shown in this post at ECHO in North Fort Myers, Florida

I learned all of the information that is mentioned in this post during my field trip to ECHO