📙 Part 2: Describe a person who helps to protect the environment

You should say: who this person is, when this person does this, what the person has done, and explain why you think this person does this.

This episode's vocabulary

Environmental activist (noun phrase) – someone who works to protect the environment. → Greta Thunberg is a well-known environmental activist who speaks out about climate change.

Deforestation (noun) – cutting down large areas of forest. → Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is causing serious environmental damage.

Sustainable (adjective) – something that can last without harming the environment. → Solar panels are a form of sustainable energy.

Awareness (noun) – knowing that something exists and understanding it. → We need to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans.

Unwavering (adjective) – strong and not changing. → She showed unwavering support for animal rights.

Soil erosion (noun phrase) – when the top layer of soil is washed or blown away. → Overgrazing can lead to soil erosion and poor crop growth.

NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) (noun) – a private group working on social or environmental issues. → The NGO helps provide clean water to rural villages.

Hands-on (adjective) – being actively involved. → He prefers a hands-on approach and works directly with the volunteers.

Re-wild (verb) – to return land to its natural state. → The project aims to re-wild the area by planting native trees.

Ecosystem (noun) – all the living things in an area and how they interact. → Pollution can harm the delicate balance of an ecosystem.

Fundraising (noun) – collecting money for a project or cause. → They organized a fundraising concert to support wildlife rescue.

Native species (noun phrase) – animals or plants that naturally live in a certain place. → The gray wolf is a native species of North America.

Natural heritage (noun phrase) – natural places and resources passed down through generations. → National parks protect our natural heritage for future generations.

Anthropogenic climate change (noun phrase) – climate change caused by human actions. → Burning fossil fuels is a major driver of anthropogenic climate change.

Conservation (noun) – protecting nature and the environment. → The conservation of endangered animals is important for biodiversity.

Questions and Answers

Rory: Well, I think in Scotland, we're quite fortunate to have someone like James MacLeod, who is an environmental activist dedicated to preserving our country's natural beauty. He spent the last decade tirelessly working to combat deforestation and promote sustainable land management and just raise general awareness about climate change. His commitment seems unwavering. Every weekend, he leads volunteer groups on tree planting expeditions to the Cairn Gorms National Park. That's a large national park in our country, it's in the north. And they restore areas affected by things like illegal logging and soil erosion. And then on weekdays, he collaborates with local councils and NGOs on policies that prioritise things like renewable energy and the protection of endangered wildlife, or what's left of it in this country anyway. Not only does he do hands-on conservation work, he frequently delivers lectures at universities, which must be quite inspiring for young people when it comes to taking action.

I think one of his most remarkable achievements was his successful campaign to re-wild one of the valleys in our country, though through some pretty relentless fundraising, he managed to secure government support, which allowed thousands of native trees to be replanted and natural ecosystems to thrive once again. His work hasn't gone unnoticed by others, thankfully, since he's, I think, received multiple awards for his contributions. There was one in the papers the other day, now that I think about it.

I don't know much about his motivation, but I suppose it probably stems from some sort of deep-seated love of our country's natural heritage, and he's made it his life's mission to reverse the damage done to the environment and educate others on the subject. If we didn't have him around, I think we would be much worse off.

Maria: And do you know many friends who protect the environment?

Rory: I think we all contribute at least a little bit, but not as much as this person.

Discussion

Yay! Thank you, Rory, for your story! Right, dear listener, the topic is a bit…

Rory: Crazy. This topic is crazy.

Maria: Crazy, yes. Crazy. A person who helps to protect the environment. You can talk about a person who protects the environment. Pretty much the sam ething.

Rory: Or you could just do what I did and completely make everything up. There is no James McLeod who is an environmental activist. Or at least, if there is, then he probably doesn't do all the things I mention. I'm quite fortunate, because I know a lot about this topic, so I could just make up some random person and use all of the vocabulary that I knew about the topic. However, I don't know James McLeod. He's not in the papers. He's just made up. Um, there you go. You could talk about him if you wanted to. Um, who else? I'm trying to think of famous people who protect the environment, and the one person that keeps coming to mind is someone whose full name I don't even know. Do you remember the woman who was famous for living with gorillas?

Maria: Oh, no.

Rory: No?

Maria: Huh?

Rory: There was a lady who lived with gorillas and was helping to protect the environment. I forget her name. I think it was Jane something. Hold on. The lady I'm thinking of apparently is Diane Fossey, and she lived with gorillas in Africa, I think. In Rwanda. Until she was murdered in 1985. Okay. So, no happy ending for you, Diane. Sorry.

Maria: By gorillas?

Rory: No, no. She wasn't murdered by gorillas. I think she was killed by poachers.

Maria: Wow. Yeah, Greta. Greta Thunberg.

Rory: Oh, Greta Thunberg. Yeah, I could have talked about her. She never occurred to me.

Maria: A Swedish environmental activist known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change.

Rory: Anthropogenic climate change, if you're very, very, very clever.

ChatGPT: ChatGPT here with a quick note. Anthropogenic climate change means changes in the Earth's climate caused by human activities. When people burn fuels like coal, oil, and gas for energy, or cut down many trees, they release gases into the air that trap heat. These gases, especially carbon dioxide, make the planet warmer. This warming leads to problems such as hotter weather, melting ice, rising sea levels, and stronger storms. So anthropogenic climate change is the way humans are making the Earth's climate change faster than it would naturally.

Maria: So you can read about Greta, for example, from Sweden, and talk about her. You can watch some videos and listen to what she has to say. Or you can make up a person. Actually Rory, James McLeod did exist.

Rory: What was that surname, Maria?

Maria: McLeod.

Rory: McLeod. It's McLeod!

Maria: Oh, it's McLeod? Really? Yeah. It's how you spell it? McLeod. Oh. So James McLeod was a military officer and a lawyer, okay?

Rory: Yes, but not a climate change activist.

Maria: And actually, there are lots of James McLeods.

Rory: Well that's unsurprising. It's Scotland. It's a very popular surname.

Maria: Yes, dear listener, so make up this person. Or you can talk about Rory and just imagine that Rory is an environmental activist. So yeah, you can feel free and talk about activists. So an activist is a person who is super active about something. In this context, environment.

Rory: Gosh, I imagine I am active when it comes to talking about the environment as well.

Maria: But an activist, is it something positive or negative?

Rory: It depends on who you ask.

Maria: But for example, Greta, she's an activist, okay? So she's an environmental activist.

Rory: Well, yes, but whether that's positive or negative depends on your views about climate change activism. For example, there are climate change activists in my country who contribute a lot and have helped develop infrastructure to improve recycling processes, for example. But there are also activists that chain themselves to roads and disrupt public transport, which is extremely irritating and has endangered people's lives. So there are two sides to this activism concept, if you will.

Maria: Yeah, so an animal rights activist, for example, could be a normal person or could be a bit over the top, okay? So could be extreme. And we can also talk about environmental activists or green activists. And Rory did use lots of specific vocabulary about the environment. And you can also use them in Speaking Part 3, which will also be about what? The environment.

Rory: Oh, yes.

Maria: So I'm going to talk about Rory, who is an environmental activist. Preserve our country or preserve our environment, like save. Then, if this person is alive, you should use present perfect. So he has spent all his life protecting the environment or tigers or, I don't know, pandas. Pandas are cute. Or if this person is dead, then he spent in the past.

Rory: This is environmental activism, according to Maria. If it's cute, then save it.

Maria: No, no, save, save the world, save yourself, other people.

Rory: But if we have to prioritise, then save the cute things first.

Maria: Well, Rory….

Rory: Yes.

Maria: Everybody is cute. Everything is cute in their own way, you know.

Rory: Although if we're talking about things like tigers and pandas, they are things called umbrella species. And so by taking actions to save them, we actually protect all of the surrounding wildlife as well. So the focus on them is like an umbrella, which protects all of the other animals around them. There you go. Band-nine knowledge. Band nine knowledge and vocabulary.

Maria: No, it's also knowledge. It's knowledge. It's science, dear listener. Yeah. We give you knowledge. All right. Because band nine means an educated native speaker. Yeah.

Rory: Allegedly.

Maria: So this person promotes sustainable land management. Sustainable is the keyword. When you talk about the environment, everything should be sustainable, which means green. C1.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: Yeah. C1. That's why everyone uses the word sustainable.

Rory: Also, it's a good idea.

Maria: Fashion should be sustainable, doing little or no damage to the environment. Sustainable development in all the countries. And sustainable land management. We manage land well, sustainably. And for example, this person could work on combating deforestation. Deforestation when forests are disappearing. Deforestation. And also environmental activists raise awareness about climate change, about global warming. They talk to people. They give us the news and knowledge. So they raise people's awareness. A very good word is commitment. So he's an activist. He does a lot of things. So his commitment to environmental protection is strong.

Rory: Yes. He is dedicated.

Maria: Yeah. So he's committed to these activities. He does a lot of things and he puts his energy into this. So he shows a lot of commitment. For example, we are committed to this podcast.

Rory: 100%.

Maria: Day and night, dear listener.

Rory: Of course, you can also be committed to an insane asylum.

Maria: A mental institution for crazy people, dear listener.

Rory: That was so nicely handled when you were like, yes, a mental institution. And then totally politically incorrect for crazy people.

Maria: Well, it's an easy word to explain mental asylum.

Rory: For mentally unwell individuals.

Maria: Mentally unwell individuals. This is how you talk in Scotland.

Rory: I think it's how they talk in mental health circles. I don't know.

Maria: So this person leads some groups. He could be a leader or he just takes part in different events. And you also used different words like soil erosion. When soil becomes bad.

Rory: What happens when soil is eroded? So if you think about a tree. Under the ground, the tree has roots and that holds the soil together. It keeps it strong and stable. However, if we remove the trees, the soil loses the stability. And it begins to fall apart. And it can be quite dangerous, I think. In addition to being totally unsuitable for farming and other aspects of agriculture.

Maria: Thank you, Rory.

Rory: It's okay.

Maria: He works with local councils. So local organisations. On the government level, for example. He collaborates with different people. He works with different people. And you can also say he's into renewable energy. The energy we take from the sun, from water. And he protects endangered wildlife. Endangered animals, which are in danger. And then Rory uses inversion. But only once. Once only. And Rory was quite emotional. Rory, could you read the sentence again? Emotionally.

Rory: Not only does he do hands-on conservation work. He frequently delivers lectures at universities.

Maria: Yeah. So you can say that he delivers lectures at universities. So he speaks at universities. And also he does hands-on conservation work. Practical conservation work. Preserving, saving, something. But we can connect it with inversion. Not only does he do this. But he also does this.

Rory: It's a good way of adding details actually. And you can use it in any part of part 2. What were the things that we had to talk about? Say who the person is. So it would be not only is he from my country, he's also a citizen of the United Kingdom. And then when this person does this. Not only does he work during the week. He also works at weekends. What has the person done? Not only does he engage in climate activism, he also gives lectures at universities. And then explain why the person does this. Not only does he care about his country, he also cares about the planet. Here we go.

Maria: Make sure you use it accurately. Not only does he do ___. But he also ___. The word order is different. And use it only once. Alright. You can speak about the remarkable achievements of this person. One of his most remarkable achievements is his successful campaign. Campaign like a policy. Like a marketing campaign. He secured government support. So he got the support from the government. To protect the environment. He replanted trees. He planted new trees. And he has received multiple awards. For his contributions. So this person has contributed a lot. To the environment. He helped the environment. So he got lots of awards. Lots of prizes. And then Rory talked about why he has done it. And you can say. I don't know much about his motivation. Like, why did he do it. I don't know. And then we are thinking. Probably his motivation stems from… His motivation is that he loves nature. Or his motivation stems from the fact that… And here a nice adjective. A deep-seated love for his country. If something is deep-seated. It's like you love our podcast, so you have a deep-seated love for our podcast. You strongly feel it. You believe in us. And also this person wants to preserve. Our country's natural heritage. Heritage is like history, nature, everything which belongs to the culture of our society. Traditions, language, buildings. So C2 word. Heritage, dear listener. Band-nine.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: Yeah, heritage, band nine word.

Rory: But it's such a small word. It's not difficult to say.

Maria: I know. Oh, what about the word fireplace? Do you know? What level it is?

Rory: Is the word fireplace a C2 word?

Maria: Yes, it is!

Rory: Oh my God. That's crazy. Why is that C2?

Maria: Yeah, fireplace is a band nine word. I have no idea. It's one of these examples of this. Apparently, it's an easier word. But yes, C2, band nine, fireplace.

Rory: Now that we've said that, everyone is going to be trying to use the word fireplace in their speaking.

Maria: Oh yeah, fireplace, dear listener. C2 word, band nine word, fireplace. So yeah. Perhaps in different languages there are different names for this object. And in English it's just fireplace.

Rory: Is it not the hearth as well?

Maria: Yes, yes. But usually people say a fireplace. But if you don't know the word, you won't say that. A place of fire, an oven.

Rory: Ah, okay. The fireplace is the entire structure, including the chimney. But the hearth is the flat surface at the bottom of the fireplace. Interesting. Why are we talking about this?

Maria: Heritage, C2, fireplace. C2, yeah, bam. Throw these C2 words at the examiner. You see, the examiner, I know. Heritage, fireplace. So this person has made it his life's mission. So it's his life's mission to protect the environment or to reverse the damage done to the environment. When we reverse the damage, we want to undo the damage that we've done already. Okay. And dear listener, we always say the environment. Can I say protect environment?

Rory: No, we've got to protect the environment.

Maria: The environment, dear listener.

Rory: Maybe if we talk about a specific local area. Not a specific local area, if we just talk about a local area, then protect an environment from a problem that's connected to that key area. However, normally, people are trying to protect the environment in general.

Maria: Sweet, dear listener. From our script, you can choose 4-5 words about the environment to use in speaking part 2 and 3. They're going to be also good for the essay, dear listener. You are killing two birds with one stone. It's an idiom.

Rory: Is the word fireplace acceptable for the essay?

Maria: Absolutely, yes. Use it in the right context.

Rory: On that note.

Maria: Bye!

Rory: Bye!

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