Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Oberle, Brad

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

The phrase ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ is one of the earliest introductions to environmentalism many of us are familiar with. Along with this phrase, we are made aware of large amounts of pollution such as plastics on land and our oceans. But the phrase is usually not extended to spaces. Have you ever considered reusing, reducing, or recycling a space? This phrase has been the approach to mitigating relatively new manmade spaces that can be found on many coasts: spoil mounds, a form of human byproduct that is often overlooked. Here in South West Florida, one of our waste spaces are spoil mounds, mounds that form as a result of dredging. These mounds are left in our bays and become overrun by invasive species. In recent years, more intervention has occurred in these spaces, mainly as conservation areas. The possibilities for spoil mounds do not just stop at conservation, though. These islands may have potential to harvest spaces of recreation and education. The idea of a newly designed spoil mound one man, Richart Sowa, combines artistry and his concern for the environment to produce something new. Sowa used roughly 100,000 water bottles as the basis of his floating island, Joyxee Island. The island is powered by multiple sources including solar and wave power. Sowa’s goal is to become entirely self-sufficient. Using this model in conjunction with research that has already been conducted on repurposed islands here in SouthWest Florida, the idea of Trash Island arose. This further contributes to using these islands as inspiration in conjunction with what we already know about spoil islands, I plan to create a plan for Trash Island, an island managed to be completely overcome with native ecology. This island would provide a number of services such as recreation, restoration, and education.

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