Clumping
bamboo trees were also throughout the guided tour. Clumped together, these
trees are easier to maintain than running bamboo trees which requires more effort
in maintenance. They are very strong and are used for building and their fibers
can also be used to weave into clothing. Something like bamboo can be quite
essential for those in need of having a plant or tree that has multiple
purposes. I also saw a Mango tree, which I’ve heard a few of my friends say
that they were allergic to. This is because mango is in the poison ivy family,
so someone may have to be careful with the skin of the mango.
At ECHO, they had a tilapia
pond. I’ve eaten tilapia before, a
specific kind of fish, and we learned about that also. The tour guide explained
that tilapia fish are vegetarian and they eat algae. They are also hearty fish,
beneficial to one’s health.
Next in our tour, we came upon
the worm beds. With a thin layer of garbage, consisting of things such as
newspaper, lettuce, coffee grounds, etc, they break this down into castings.
This process takes between two to three weeks, and when the castings are pushed
off the end, fresh manure is put down. It was interesting to see the setup of a
worm bed.
Raised beds with plants and
trees allow farming in areas of high rainfall or flooding to continue to be
successful. Without the raised beds, these plants and trees would drown and
simply not grow. We also witnessed compost beds which is a method for making
soil out of waste organic matter in an urban area. These methods are adapted to
keep the plants and trees growing healthy.
The Moringa tree caught my
attention, as we had previously learned about this tree on our first field trip
through the FGCU Food Forest. The Moringa tree is drought resistant and fast
growing, reaching about 15 feet the first year. The leaves are edible and are a
great source of vitamins, minerals, and protein. Moringa is also known to be used
in infant formula. Moringa has seven times the vitamin C found in oranges, four
times the calcium found in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, three
times the potassium found in bananas, three times the iron in spinach, and two
times the protein found in milk. Quite a healthy little thing for being so
small!
One of the last places we visited
was the area where Miracle fruit were growing. Miracle fruit makes anything
taste sweet, even sour lemon. The trick is to keep it in your mouth for about 90
seconds and then take it out and try eating something sour. The sweet taste can
last anywhere between a half an hour to an hour and a half.
Overall, this trip to ECHO was
fascinating and very educational. I learned that there are a lot of plants that
we here, in the United States, are not aware of and do not consume. However,
these plants contain tons of minerals, vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients
that are beneficial to our health. We can even adapt the methods displayed at
ECHO, and can grow our own trees and plants to use for our families one day.
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