50 Important Nature Phrases: English vocabulary lesson

Vanessa: Do you want to  

speak English fluently? I bet you do. Today, I'm  here to help you level up your vocabulary so that  

you can fluently talk about nature in English. Hi,  I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com, and  

today you're going to learn 50 important nature  expressions in English. To help you remember all  

of these important expressions, I've created a  free PDF worksheet for you. With all of today's  

expressions, definitions, sample sentences, and at  the bottom of the free worksheet, you can answer  

Vanessa's challenge questions so that you never  forget what you've learned. You can click on the  

link in the description to download that free PPDF  worksheet today. All right, let's get started with  

our first category of nature expressions. The first category is big features of  

nature, the forest. The trees in the forest  were so tall that I couldn't see the sky. 

Jungle. On our trip to Costa Rica,  we went on some hikes in the jungle. 

Fjord. When our kids get older, I would love to  take them on a trip to see the fjords of Norway. 

Canyon. I've never visited the Grand  Canyon, but I've heard it's huge. 

River, stream, creek. We have a creek in our local  park, and my kids love to splash around in it. 

Lake. Over the summer, we like to  go to the lake and paddleboard. 

Ocean. The ocean is so large that we  haven't even explored all of it yet. 

Mountains. I love living in the mountains and  going on vacation to visit other mountains, too. 

The beach. When you go to the beach, make  sure your pronunciation is clear for this  

beach. When you go to the beach, make  sure you bring a towel and sunscreen. 

Desert. Something I want to experience is riding a  camel across the desert. Have you ever done this? 

Our second category are words  to describe beautiful nature. 

Breathtaking. The view from the top  of the mountain was breathtaking. 

Refreshing. When I need to take a break  from work, I go outside to get some fresh  

air because it's so refreshing. Flourish. I love to see how some  

wildlife flourishes after a wildfire. Evergreen. I love to take a hike in an  

evergreen forest because it's great  to see the greenness in the winter. 

Verdant. The valley looked so verdant in the  spring. How refreshing after a cold, bleak winter. 

Crisp. After a hot summer, a crisp,  dry fall is a refreshing thing.  

Wow. We're using the word refreshing a lot. Pristine. I love to go camping in the middle  

of the woods because it's so pristine.  There's no litter, but unfortunately,  

there's a mountaintop near me that has recently  been blocked for camping because so many people  

were camping there that the nature turned from  being pristine to being full of litter and trash,  

and it wasn't good for the environment.  So this area is not pristine anymore,  

but hopefully it will be regenerated soon. Lush. The jungle in Costa Rica was so lush  

that you couldn't see much ahead of you  because the leaves were so thick and lush. 

Majestic. The view of the ocean from  the top of the mountains was majestic. 

Sweeping. From where I stand on the top of the  mountain, I have a sweeping view of the valley. 

Our next category of nature words are  words to describe problems with nature. 

Environmental issues. I'm concerned  about environmental issues like  

climate change and pollution. Flood. In the spring, sometimes  

there's heavy rains that lead to flooding. Drought. The farmers lost almost all of their  

crops because there was a drought.  It didn't rain for over two months. 

Pollution. To cut back on pollution, we  try to walk or ride our bikes as much  

as possible. What about you? Do you have  any ways that you try to reduce pollution? 

Endangered and extinct. Many animals are  endangered and will become extinct if we  

don't do something to try to save them. Habitat loss. Tigers and elephants are  

two animals that are affected by habitat loss. Loss of biodiversity. Overfishing and pollution  

are two big factors when it comes to  a loss of biodiversity in the oceans. 

Invasive. Feral hogs are invasive in  the US and cause a lot of destruction. 

Erosion. Cutting down trees can lead to erosion  because the roots hold the soil in place. 

Wildfires. A recent wildfire in Canada  was so large that we could see the  

smoke from where I live in the south of the US. Our next category are verbs to describe nature. 

To plant. My family loves planting trees, and  we try to plant at least one tree each year. 

To grow. Every year, we try to take a picture with  a tree in our yard so that we can see how the tree  

has grown and how our family has grown, too. To rot. Mushrooms like to grow on  

logs that are rotting. To hibernate. Usually,  

bears hibernate in the winter, but where I live,  the bears don't completely hibernate. They wander  

around and try to dig in your trash, eat the  berries on the bushes. They don't completely  

hibernate, so you have to watch out. To flower. Notice that this is a verb.  

This is a flower, but what does a flower do?  It flowers. The tulips flower in the spring. 

To pollinate. Birds, bees, and other  insects help to pollinate the flowers. 

To forage. Where I live, we have to be really  careful with our trash because raccoons and  

bears like to forage in the trash, and  it's not good for wildlife to do this. 

To regenerate. If you cut  off a section of some plants,  

it can regenerate into a completely new plant. To babble. I like the sound of a babbling stream.  

Listen to this. Just a little note. The verb to  babble is also the word that we use for babies  

before they learn to speak. So you might  say, "The baby is babbling when it says,  

'A-du-dab-du-dab-du-da.'" It's not language,  but they're trying to speak. So maybe for you,  

if you're having a hard time speaking in English,  you might say, "I feel like I'm just babbling." It  

doesn't make sense. But hopefully, after this  lesson, you won't need to babble about nature  

in English because you'll have the vocabulary you  need. All right, let's go to the next expression. 

To blow in the breeze. We recently put  up some wind chimes on our deck because  

they sound great blowing in the breeze. Our final category of nature, words are  

words to describe small features in nature. Petal. Notice that in American English,  

this T changes to a D sound, petal, petal. In  the US, we have a wedding tradition where a small  

child called a flower girl scatters petals down  the aisle before the bride walks down the aisle. 

A stem. Roses are beautiful, but watch  out for the stem because they have thorns. 

The trunk. The trunk of the tree was so  large that I couldn't wrap my arms around it. 

Bark. This is not talking about the sound  that a dog makes, "Woof, woof, bark, bark."  

This is talking about the side of a  tree. You can usually tell the type  

of tree by its bark. Is it rough? Is it  smooth? What's the texture of the bark? 

Branch. My kids love to climb trees, and sometimes  they make it to the tippy top of the branches. 

Leaves and needles. In the fall,  leaves turn red, yellow, and orange,  

but usually needles stay green. Acorns, pinecones. We went out  

into the woods to collect some acorns  and pinecones for an art project. 

Blades of grass. My son likes to look at  bugs crawling through the blades of grass. 

Moss. I love walking on moss with bare  feet because it's so soft and comforting. 

Boulders, rocks, stones, and pebbles. My kids  love collecting rocks because they come in all  

sorts of fun shapes and colors, and it's amazing.  They've come from the center of the earth and been  

around for a long time. They're pretty cool. Congratulations on expanding your vocabulary  

so that you can speak fluently in English. Don't  forget to download the free PDF worksheet with all  

of today's 50 nature expressions, definitions,  multiple sample sentences. In the bottom,  

you can answer Vanessa's challenge question  so that you never forget what you've learned.  

You can click on the link in the description  to download that free PDF worksheet today. 

Now, I have a question for you. Let me know  in the comments, where is your favorite place  

to go in nature? Do you like the mountains, the  beach, a local park? Let me know in the comments,  

and I can't wait to learn what you have to say.  Thank you so much for learning English with me,  

and I'll see you again next Friday for a  new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. 

But wait, do you want more? I recommend  watching this video, where you will join  

me as I fill up my car with gas. Yes,  going in a car is the opposite of nature,  

but it is part of our daily lives. So  join me in this video to find out how to  

talk about a gas station and this important  vocabulary in English. I'll see you there.