Gardening Calendar

January A time for preparation: sharpen secateurs, repair tools, order plants, double dig food plots, prepare seed boxes.	February Clip hedges, prune orchard fruits, plant garlic, artichokes and shallots, make new beds and borders, take time to enjoy the snowdrops.
March Spring clean the garden, sow seeds for summer, plant early flowering plants, sow lettuce, rocket radishes, and early varieties of carrots and peas.	April Bulbs are flowering, hoe flower beds to keep the weeds out, plant strawberries, fertilize roses, borders, hedges, trees and shrubs.
May Look out for and deal with pests, trim hedges, plant and train sweet pea, plant tubs, troughs and window boxes/	June It’s summer: deadhead plants and water regularly, harvest peas, asparagus and early potatoes, dig up bulbs and store for autumn planting.
July Strawberries are ready for picking, cut and dry herbs, prune and deadhead roses, feed tomatoes.	August Take cuttings of shrubs and herbs, harvest crops as they become ready, look out for butterflies, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
September Plant daffodil bulbs, pick blackberries, evergreen shrubs can be lifted and moved now, start a compost heap from autumn clearing.	October Pick apples and pears, feed the birds, clear away old rubbish and leaves and put on compost heap.
November Harvest leeks and turnips, remove moss from pathways, lag outdoor taps and water pipes, check for hedgehogs hibernating beneath bonfire heaps.	December Plant winter hanging baskets, clean up and organize tool shed, rake up last of leaves, cut shoots for indoor decoration.

Madeleine Floyd

Unit 5. Forestry (green business)

I. Reading and Speaking Practice Section

1. Guess the meaning of the following international words:

plantation, landscape, ecosystem, biosphere, genetics, topography, erosion, recreation, stabilization, minimization, control, technology.

2.Match the English names of the trees with their Russian equivalents:

aspen дуб

willow кедр

oak берёза

poplar ива

maple осина

birch тополь

fir-tree клен

cedar ель

3. Discuss in small groups the following points (see Appendix 1 on p. )

- your knowledge about forestry;

- your knowledge about the profession of a forester;

- forestry as art or as science;

- the related sciences.

Text A

Forestry

Read the text to find out the main concerns of a professional forester and complete the diagram.

Forestry is the art , science and practice of studying and managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests.

Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as the most important component of the biosphere, and forestry has emerged as a vital field of applied science, art and technology. Modern forestry generally concerns itself with: assisting forests to provide timber as raw material for wood products, preservation of wildlife habitat, natural water quality management, outdoor recreation, landscape and community protection, employment, aesthetically appealing landscapes, biodiversity management, watershed management, erosion control, and preserving forests as 'sinks' for atmospheric carbon dioxide.

A professional practitioner of forestry is known as a forester. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including timber harvesting, ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Urban foresters work within town and city environments to manage the trees in urban green space. Some work in tree nurseries growing seedlings for woodland creation or regeneration projects. Others are involved with tree genetics or developing new building systems as forest engineers. The profession has expanded to include a wide diversity of jobs, typically requiring an honors degree or college bachelor’s degree up to the PhD level for highly specialized areas of work.

Today a strong body of research exists regarding the management of forest ecosystems and genetic improvement of tree species and varieties. Forestry also includes the development of better methods for the planting, protecting, thinning, controlled burning, felling, extracting, and processing of timber. One of the applications of modern forestry is reforestation, in which trees are planted and tended in a given area.

In topographically severe forested terrain, proper forestry is important for the prevention or minimization of serious soil erosion or even landslides. In areas with a high potential for landslides, forests can stabilize soils and prevent property damage or loss, human injury, or loss of life.

Other duties of foresters may include preventing and combating insect infestation, disease, forest and grassland wildfire; weed control, fertilization, measuring and modeling the growth of trees (forest mensuration).

In many regions the forest industry is of major ecological, economic, and social importance.

Practice 1. Summarise the text by listing:

- traditional concerns of forestry;

- concerns of urban forestry.

Practice 2. Re-read the text to find out which of its paragraph deals with:

1) the qualification of modern foresters;

2) broad range of concers of modern forestry;

3) forest as an important component of the biosphere;

4) soil erosion and landslides.

Practice 3. Re-read the text again to find out which of the following statements are true and which are false:

1. Forestry concerns itself only with providing timber as raw material.

2. Silviculture is a related science.

3. To provide preservation of wildlife habitat is one of the goals of forestry.

4. The qualification of modern foresters is not very high.

5. Forest engineers work in tree nurseries.

6. Forestry can’t prevent serious soil erosion and landslides.

7. One of the applications of modern forestry is reforestation.

Practice 4. The answers to the following questions are the summary of the text. Answer these questions and give the summary of the text.

1. What is forestry?

2. What science is related to forestry?

3. What range of concerns does the modern forestry embrace?

4. What is the practitioner of forestry?

5. What are urban foresters busy with?

6. Why has forestry emerged as a vital field of science, applied art and technology?

7. What are other applications of modern forestry?

8. Is forest industry important today ?

Practice 5. Does this text give you sufficient information about forestry? What questions would you like to ask the author of the text?

Text B

Ancient trees saved in Wiltshire

Consider the headline and the subtitles of the text. Find on the map of England the place where it happened. Then read the text to find out:

- what organization saved ancient trees;

- how many trees were saved in Wiltshire;

- what Savernake is;

- who the current warden is.

Ancient trees under which King Henry VIII courted his third queen, Jane Seymour, have been saved by conservationists

At more than 1,000 years old, Savernake is one of Britain's oldest forests and famous for the great size and age of its vast number of trees.

Nearly 5,000 trees in Savernake Forest in Wiltshire have been mapped and surveyed by the Forestry Commission.

They have now been added to a national tree database to ensure they are protected for future generations.

The Forestry Commission is the latest organisation to join the Woodland Trust in its Ancient Tree Hunt, which aims to identify 100,000 of Britain's ancient trees by 2011.

"A handful of Savernake's trees are well over a thousand years old and have been here longer than some of Britain's oldest buildings," said Ben Lennon, planning and environment manager from the Forestry Commission.

"They are an important part of our cultural heritage and should be looked after in the same way we preserve ancient monuments.

"But until recently people have tended to think of trees as simply nice to look at rather than as something important to be conserved.

"Now we have located all the ancient trees in Savernake we have a much better chance of protecting them."

At more than 1,000 years old, Savernake is one of Britain's oldest forests and famous for the great size and age of its vast number of trees.

Since it was put into the care of one of the victorious knights who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, it has passed down from father to son in an unbroken line for 31 generations.

The current hereditary warden is the Earl of Cardigan.

Practice 1. Look through the text to find out who this text is intended for:

a) general reader;

b) students in forestry;

c) professional foresters.

Practice 2. Concentrate on discovering the author’s main idea. Select the statement which best expresses the author’s main idea.

1. The Forestry Comission deals with plantations and natural forests in England.

2. The Woodland Trust doesn’t cover all forests in England.

3. The Forestry Comission joints the Woodland Trust to save ancient trees in England

Practice 3. Re-arrange the sentences in a logical order and write a summary of the article:

1."They are an important part of our cultural heritage and should be looked after in the same way we preserve ancient monuments”

2.Savernake is one of Britain's oldest forests

3. The current hereditary warden is the Earl of Cardigan

4. The Forestry Commission is the latest organisation to join the Woodland Trust

in its Ancient Tree Hunt

5. Savernake is more than 1,000 years old.

6. Nearly 5,000 trees in Savernake Forest in Wiltshire have been mapped

and surveyed by the Forestry Commission.

Practice 4. Make a review of the article (use essential vocabulary from Appendix 2 on p. 70).

Practice 5. Make a report about the ancient trees in England as if you were Secretary of the Forestry Comission (use the information from the article).

Practice 6. What ideas in the article are true to Russia? What is your point of view on this issue?

Text C