Journal 6

Our field trip to Fort Myers beach was interesting and educational! It was great to learn about how the island became populated and how much quieter it was eighty years ago. The Island is only 7 miles long and only 1 mile wide at its widest point. The first bridge was built in 1921 but was later washed out in a Hurricane in 1926. They built the second bridge in 1926 and it was much sturdier the second time! The hurricane that washed out the bridge was also the hurricane that established the University of Miami’s mascot! The Island finally got electricity on 1934 but it was only on beachfront property and along the main BLVD. They finally started mosquito control in 1949, and then finally in 1950 shrimp boats arrived. As amazing as the beach is today it has changed drastically from the years that it first started being populated. Land has washed away throughout the years and many storms, and landfills have been made to create causeways and bridges. These man-made things have changed the flow of the water, and have also caused pollution, so the waters are not as clear and beautiful as they once were. Fort Myers beach and the Gulf waters are also different from other shrimping communities. At first shrimpers thought that the waters just weren’t filled the shrimp, but it was later discovered that the shrimp in the gulf come out at night and not during the day like on other Florida coasts. This brought lots of money and fisherman to the Island! I thought this was quite interesting. After learning all of this in the cottage, we look a walk on the boardwalk! It was so pretty walking through the mangroves, and we got to look out over Estero Bay and we were also able to see sea grapes, which are sometimes made into jelly!!

wd 313