Zhongping Fern Garden

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Zhongping Elementary School.

A: I¡¦m _____________, a student in the fifth grade here.

B: I¡¦m _____________, the environmental docent today.

A: Where are we now?

B: We are now in Zhongping Fern Garden.

A: I remember there were some flowers here before. Where are the flowers?

B: You have a good memory. That¡¦s right. It was a flower garden, but because of the shelter/rainshed/canopy, the plants were not so healthy. They didn¡¦t get enough sunlight. And every time it rained, it would also cause serious loss of soil on the flowerbed.

A: Wow! Poor flowers. They need a better place to grow.

B: So our smart principal decided to build the fern garden here.
A: Are the ferns easy to grow without enough sunlight?

B: All ferns love to grow in moist and shady places. To help them grow better, we try to get some stones to make a place like if they just grow by the stream in the mountains. As a result, the rain is kept here and makes the environment humid. And then, the ferns can grow well as you see here.

A: But how about the serious loss of soil? What can we do?
B: Don¡¦ t worry. We use wood chips to prevent the loss of soil on the flower beds. To ensure the students can observe the ferns closely, we also designed a pathway with the recycled bricks. See? It¡¦s just over there.
A: Wow! That¡¦s terrific! We can even make friends with ferns during the breaktime. But I¡¦m curious about this question. How many kinds of ferns are there in the fern garden?
B: Does anyone here want to take a guess? There are about 30 kinds of ferns here. Today we will introduce you some common ferns. Please look at the picture. Its name is Common Tree Fern. Can you find where it is?
A: Yes. Here it is. It¡¦s quite obvious in this garden, is¡¦t it?

B: Yes, it is. Now please look at the second one. It has a cute name. Its name is Bird¡¦s-nest Fern. Can you find where it is?

A: Let me take a look. Bingo, it¡¦s here. I remember it¡¦s edible. I love this dish. It¡¦s so yummy.

B: So do I. I¡¦m a little hungry now. Back to the topic, please look at the third one. It also has a cute name. Its name is Staghorn Fern. It¡¦s easy to find because the shape of the fern leaf is just like the stag¡¦s horn.

A: Yeah! I saw it. They are really similar. It¡¦s just like the stag¡¦s horn.

B: So let me show you the next picture. Its name is Tuberous Sword Fern.

A: Wow! There are a lot over there. They are so beautiful.

B: How about these ones in the picture? I think they are cute and pretty, too.

A: The fern leaves are not big, and I like the color of them¡Xjade green. So what¡¦s the name of the fern?

B: It¡¦s name is Maidenhair Fern. Now let¡¦s review the names of the ferns we have introduced today. Please repeat after me. Common Tree Fern. Bird¡¦s-nest Fern. Staghorn Fern. Tuberous Sword Fern. Maidenhair Fern.

A: Now we have some questions for you. If you know the answer, please raise your hand. If your answer is correct, you can get a gift.

B: Question 1: Who decided to build the fern garden here?

A: (the principal) Good job.

B: Question 2: How many kinds of ferns are there in the fern garden?
A: ( about 30) Bravo!

B: Among these ferns we showed you today, which is edible?

A: (Bird¡¦s-nest Fern) Amazing.

Thanks for your listening. Hope you will enjoy the visit here today.