A Fresh Water Experience

    For my Freshwater field-trip, I watched the CREW: Keepers of the Watershed. CREW stands for the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed. The watershed encompasses an enormous region and sustains a variety of flora and fauna. One of the major reasons that CREW is essential to the ecosystem is by its aquifer. According to Sustainability Principles and Practice: "Depletion of aquifers is another threat to biodiversity" (Page 93). Without the watershed or groundwater it supports, the biodiversity of the region would plummet. The plant life would die from lack of water and a chain reaction would cause animals to run out of food. Thus, CREW plays such an incredibly important role in sustaining the biodiversity around it.

    CREW is also breathtaking. The age of the Cypress trees in CREW can reach up to several hundreds of years. Some of the trees have been there since the colonial era, and yet they still stand. It leaves me in awe of how long these trees stand for in comparison to human life. These trees have outlived dozens of generations of human beings. If not for the current pandemic I would have gone out with my friends to visit so that we could "drink in the beauty, and think and wonder at the meaning of what you see" (Sense of Wonder). 
    It is the beauty and biodiversity of CREW that should inspire us to protect it. There may not be many places like CREW left in the world, so it is our responsibility to ensure that it can last for future generations. This is why the educational programs at CREW are beneficial for its future. The video CREW: Keepers of the Watershed states, "...But it will be up to future generations to take up stewardship of the watershed" (12:39). By reaching students, more citizens can become informed on CREW and become more involved. No one cares about losing something they knew nothing about, but if people knew the danger of losing CREW then it would be protected.

Hopefully, sometime within the next year, I will be able to go to CREW in person like I did when I was younger. I remember it being a fun field trip that took me away from the classroom for a day. I'd like to experience it again as an adult and see how much more I can appreciate it.