#swampwalk

SONG 9: "Graveyard" by Swampwalk

When I get asked, "[Chloro], what music do you listen to?" by friends and family, what do you imagine I respond with? Because, like, listen to this song. It is so far removed from the mainstream that I do not think I could possibly explain this to anyone without half an hour worth of time and making them listen to it.

Now, more realistically, I answer with "indie rock and indie pop," "pop-punk," or "old video game music" to that question (the last one is for chiptune music, which people do not understand at all apparently).

This is Swampwalk, a very small experimental artist that has had an emphasis on... yes, you guessed it, chiptune!!! This song from their Kids Like Me EP is something I don't quite recall finding. It, like many other songs, is just something I enjoy and don't bother with my "origin story" for.

It's a strange song, definitely. Maybe a bit dissonant, or perhaps melancholic? But it still has this sort of optimism and the chorus's and bridge's lyrics, and I often find myself an active listener to it. It's not a song I can play in the background; no, I must sing along and get engrossed in this one. This is not the pinnacle of vocal chiptune, but it certainly is up on a higher peak than most of the genre.

One of the few fanfics I've worked on that has had real progress was actually based on this very song, so I've got a bit of a personal connection to it at this point. I associate it very closely with two of my OCs and probably always will.

FGCU Sustainability Efforts:

The first field trip for this class was very informative! Before I went on the field trip I didn’t know anything about FGCU’s commitment to sustainability. Of course I had seen the solar powered trash cans on campus, but for some reason it had never clicked for me that they might also be trash compactors while limit the amount of trips to the dump you have to make for each can. I had also never heard about the way the buildings are cooled with ice under the flooring in almost all of the buildings, although I will say it makes sense now that the buildings aren’t thermostat controlled because during the peak hours of the day it can get kind of hot in some of the classrooms. Although maybe the trade off for how energy efficient it is is worth the few hours of brief bit of uncomfortableness. Moving on, the environmental rating system that Seidler Hall has, called the Leed System, was very interesting to hear about. It was interesting to hear about all the ways the building is built to be environmentally friendly and to hear about the way the buildings are configured to promote wind flow between them so that they don’t become heat islands. Finally, hearing about the way FGCU has constructed the campus to have interconnected waterways and intentional flood areas, was really inspiring to know that they have actually committed to their promises about the environment since the very beginning. 

Nature Trail Walk:

Going on the nature trail walk was a phenomenal experience. I enjoy spending a lot of time outside, so going into the muddy and water filled areas made this an even better experience, than just a normal walk. From the pine flatlands part of the walk, I learned that they used to do controlled fires in the area, but due to the nature, layout, and size of the school it's just not safe anymore. Now, they have created an artificial way to get the same results as a controlled burn but without actually using fire so that it's safe for the environment and the people at the school. I learned that the oak hammock is where the ground level starts to get a little lower so that water begins to pool there in the wet season. At this point in the year the ground isn’t too saturated, but it's just wet enough that the ground became pretty slick with mud and we all had to hold on to the trees around us to make sure we didn’t slip and fall, that part was a little intimidating at first, but after I got the hang of it I ended up enjoying that aspect as well. However, the part I enjoyed the most was when we actually got into the water in the cypress dome. There I learned that that is the lowest place on campus and its where most of the water collects. I also learned that the cypress trees have these features called knees that they use to help support themselves in the water and that wherever the knees rise to is usually about where the water level goes. We were able to see this feature because the water level was not at its usual capacity due to it only being a few weeks into the rainy season. This was by far the most interesting part of the walk for me and honestly I wish that the water level had been higher because I think it would have been so fun! The only thing I really knew before going on the nature walk was that pine trees are conifers and that its hard for the cypress trees to catch on fire due to the way their bark snuffs out a fire by depriving it of oxygen. Finally, standing in the cypress dome for the moment of silence was incredible. With my church youth group we often do an hour of silence while we’re outside to help us reconnect with ourselves in the midst of our busy lives and with nature. I was mostly feeling peaceful which was very nice to take a break away from the day to have that moment.

Ecological Footprint:

For my ecological footprint I need 3 Earths to sustain my lifestyle and overall I think the biggest thing I can do to improve my lifestyle is eat less meat or find more sustainable ways to eat meat, so that my carbon footprint isn’t as big as it is. As a whole my group got an average of 5 Earths needed to sustain our lifestyles and while we were discussing we came to the conclusion that we all had the same highest category, which was also food. We all came to the similar decision to try and reduce the amount of meat we eat as well as trying to eat more produce that is locally grown. We also all agreed that there are times when we drive somewhere where we could’ve walked and agreed that that is something we can work on too. 

Overall Learning Experience:

Social isolation day 1042 The stump acts as a lovely shelter for some sort of critter. As I step out into the overcast morning, the sky hangs low like a heavy blanket, muffling the world in a soft gray light. The air is thick with moisture, and the trees stand tall and still, as if holding their breath. I set out on my journey, the road before me winding its way down towards the swamp. The…

Let’s see if I can do better in 2022

From strava year in review, 2021 I would like to do at least 2 weekly recorded hikes of 2 miles. (And remember to turn on recorder!) 2021 totals – days active 53time 83 hoursdistance 172 mileselevation 5744