Good morning Nicola, Arslan, Benedetta, Luca, Lorenzo, Tommaso, Fabio, Diego, Diego, Davide, Tommaso, Jamil, Diego, Giulia, Christian, Badr, Irene, Nicola, Filippo, Kevin, Matteo, Nicola, Alessio, Luigi, Chiara, Gioele,  
 
I do hope you enjoyed the visit to the Botanical Garden in Livorno last Thursday, and you found it useful to broaden our horizons about the conservation of biodiversity. I wrote several questions for you to reply. 

Take your time and think of this course as an opportunity to find out as much as you want to know about the subject.

There will be several activities, all of them guided by experts who love what they do and are willing to share their knowledge with us. The only way to contribute to the protction of the environment is to act both individually and as groups to educate young people to respect the complexity and beauty we are in, that is yours for the time ahead of you and you will leave to the others to come. 

Start answering, we will continue together accompanied by the photographs taken at the botanical garden. 

Enjoy your English,  Anna 

Teacher and Coordinator 

ISTITUTO TECNICO INDUSTRIALE STATALE “G. GALILEI” Livorno

Attività POC 33956 “Apprendimento e Socialità” - ENGLISH for Life - Mod.1 

English Labs

Environmental Education - Conservation of Biodiversity 

In collaboration with

Museo di Storia Naturale del Mediterraneo, Livorno – Centro Interuniversitario di Biologia Marina ed Ecologia Applicata, Livorno - Centro Recupero e Riabilitazione Tartarughe Marine Acquario di Livorno, WWF Livorno, CRUMA Livorno   

Worksheet N° 2

Questions to reply after visiting the Botanical Garden at the Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean in Livorno

1. What is the role played by the Botanical Garden and the Seed Bank in Livorno referring to the natural environment?
2. What do they do in order to preserve biodiversity?
3. Referring to animals and plants, what is an endangered species?
4. What does the phenomenon of plant blindness consist of?
5. Why is it defined this way?
6. What is the natural environment in which we live called? Why?
7. How do they preserve biodiversity at the Natural History Musesum of the Mediterranean in Livorno?
8. What is the reason why species are endangered?
9. What is the Mediterranean scrub?
10. How do plants adapt to the environment?
11. Do you remember the name of an invasive and quite common tree in our area?
12. Do you remember the origin of the olive tree?
13. What is the meaning of endemic referring to plants?
14. Why is it important to know the scientific names of the plants?
15. What language do scientific names come from?
16. Do you know any common expression in English coming from Latin?
17. Do you remember where the volcanic rocks of the Botanical Garden come from?
18. How many steps are there to recreate the natural environment for plants to grow?
19. Do you remember why trees are grown on terraces?
20. Why do the Mediterranean trees have developed the cork as a layer of wood?
21. What is the function played by the Mediterranean scrub in the climate change?
22. What happens due to it diffderently from what happens in the cities?
23. What is a wetland?
24. What do you remember of the artificial pond at the botanical garden?
25. What is a hotspot referring to biodiversity?
26. What does the presence of the liana Periploca Graeca in Tuscany signify?
27. What happens when you import in an environment invasive species, either animals or plants?
28. What is the Etnobotanical Garden at the Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean and why is it called so?
29. What is the plant at the Etnobotanical Garden coming from China that nowadays is very common in Italy too?
30. Why is it called so?
31. Why do plants have essential oils?
32. Where is the mustic tree/lentisco from?
33. What used to be made with the mustic from its trunk?
34. Do you remember the Latin name of the strawberry tree?
35. Why such a name?
36. What is the Hortus at the botanical garden?
37. What are the fundamental steps to process the seeds for preserving biodiversity at the Museum Seed Bank in Livorno?
38. Is the process similar to that of all the other seed banks in the world?
39. Do you remember what the procedure to establish the right humidity to be kept with seeds and put them into dormiency is?
40. How are the seeds made apt to germinate?
41. Do you remember the procedure?
42. What happened with the Fiordaliso di Capraia at the Museum Seed Bank?
43. What is the information gathered about germination useful for?

Thank you for answering and taking care of the environment, human animals included. It's so stimulating partecipating in these programs, there's so much to learn and become passionate of.  

As a first step to protect trees in your city, find your own one and have an eye on it every time you pass by, one by one all of them will be safe thanks to you. 

Anna - Coordinator