Campus Ecosystem Model - The Water School

Florida Gulf Coast University's Campus Ecosystem Model (CEM)

A model for undergraduate education whereby the university campus serves as a focus for the study of the entire watershed within which it is situated from its freshwater origins downstream to the Gulf of Mexico.

What is the CEM?

Draws attention to the exchange of information between organisms and their environment
Tracks matter and energy through the campus ecosystem
Explores the linkages that exist between the campus and other ecosystems via the import and export of the above properties.

The CEM increases the scale and significance of this approach by emphasizing that the university itself is situated within an ecosystem and is both influenced by and influences this system.

About The CEM

The CEM represents a deliberate linking of the curriculum to tangible environmental issues within the learner’s own backyard provides a genuine foundation in the discipline and reinforces basic principles and problem-solving techniques.

The model not only affords students with hands-on, real-world experience in the discipline of their choosing, but also integrates discipline-based frameworks by linking multiple courses. Such interdisciplinary approaches, emphasizing research experience as well as active, collaborative learning, have been endorsed by both science educators and national science organizations. Learn More

Professor speaking about wildlife in the mangroves

FGCU's Watershed

What is a Watershed?
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A watershed is a geographic area that empties, or drains, into a common body of water. Lakes, streams, wetlands, rivers, estuaries, and ground water can all be components of a watershed. As a system, a watershed can have several functions: collecting rainwater (flood prevention); removing particulate matter, nutrients, fertilizers, pesticides, and minerals from the water; delivering nutrients and minerals downstream; purifying drinking water; and providing habitat for plants and animals. Riparian vegetation, occurring along the bank of a stream, not only helps filter and cleanse water prior to entering the main water body, but also shades the water and the plants and animals living there.

The interconnectedness that exists within a watershed also leaves it vulnerable to human impact and environmental change. The creation of buildings, parking lots, and roads; the draining of wetlands; mining; deforestation; and agricultural activities can all alter the quality and quantity of water that flows over and infiltrates into the ground. These changes can alter watershed functions by eliminating critical water storage sites (e.g., wetlands and floodplains) and by contributing additional sediments and chemicals to runoff. Human activities can also eliminate critical natural habitat sites, thereby limiting biodiversity in the watershed (Ohio State University Fact Sheet).

Pollution in one area, the loss of another, these impact the entire region that is located downstream. The solution is watershed management, an attempt at restoring watersheds to their prime functioning capacity. Until recently, watershed management had been strictly under government control; now, in many areas, a community-based approach to watershed management is being put in place (Watershed Management Council 2002). This community-based approach takes into account environmental factors, as well as social and economic factors, in determining what strategies benefit the community the most. The community approach also crosses traditional political and municipal boundaries with the watershed being viewed as a "divide separating one drainage area from another…" rather than one town from another (Watershed Management Council 2002). Florida Gulf Coast University’s campus ecosystem is part of a watershed that eventually spills into Estero Bay. It is this watershed that helps maintain healthy estuaries and a healthy bay.
Online Resources
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CEM manuscript

Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council

Southwest Florida Watershed Council Home Page

Southwest Florida Feasibility Study

South Florida Water Management District

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Home Page

Coccoloba Chapter of The Florida Native Plant Society, Inc.

Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council

Training for the South Florida Naturalist

Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

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