Field Trip: Fort Myers Historic Cottage and Matanzas Pass Preserve

This was by far my favorite field trip! While walking around the preserve on the nature trail we got to see many different plants and wildlife. We saw crabs, fish jumping in the bay, and mosquitoes. We got to see all three types of mangrove: Black, White, and Red. I really enjoyed having 5 min of quiet time to just look out at the water and reflect on the beautiful day. I noticed there was a nice breeze causing a strong current and the water seemed to be a little brackish. After we observed for a bit we went inside the historic cottage. We were greeted with cookies and lemonade. My favorite part of the trip was when we got to hear first hand of what it was like to grow up on the beach in 1930s from someone who actually lived it. I always find it so interesting how much things can change in just a short amount of time. I really liked hearing that the first school was just one room with one teacher who would take the kids home after school. Now if a teacher tried to take a student home I'm sure they would be sued or something bad would happen to them. The lady who was talking to us was a great story teller and kept our interest. I also really liked how she knew what was going on with the environment because of the changes she has seen first hand. She noticed that the water was now more polluted and there was not as much wildlife roaming. Overall I really enjoyed this field trip and learned a lot from the speaker and from the preserve. I would go again.