B. Listening comprehension – Video bonus + transcript

The History of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

“As I sit here in the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and look out, I see all sorts of trees in the distance. Attached to every one of them is a history that fascinates me. The Coconut Grove hammocks stand out on the plains of saw grass merging into the mangrove swamps. Every tree brings up a memory of the place where I got the seed, or of the person who gave it to me. It changes with each season and grows older, just as I do. Our gardens are a place in which to wonder. And wondering puts new forces to work, forces which will change the world. In 1936, Colonel Robert H. Montgomery founded Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Colonel Montgomery, a Connecticut accountant who established PricewaterhouseCoopers, purchased the 83 acres on Old Cutler Road and deeded the land to the parks Department of Dade County, to partner and maintain the property. Along with Everglades defenders Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Charles Crandon, we then obtained the services of William Lyman Phillips to landscape it, well-known for his work in the Panama Canal Zone and the adjacent Matheson Hammock Park. As this was in the middle of the depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps helped in the construction of the stonewalls and original buildings. In the Montgomery perimeter of the garden, over 250 species of the queens of the plant kingdom thrive, in honour of Liberty Hyde Bailey. A palm Glade is fast taking shape along the shore of the shallow lake, tropical vines are beautifully displayed over a long pergola. The interest of Mrs John be simple. Then, in 1939, with World War II looming and Archbold and I would embark on a plant-collecting voyage to seed the garden. Marian and I travelled cross-country to Los Angeles and boarded a freighter passing through Kobe, through Shanghai, then aboard the Chinese Junker, the Chang hole from Hong Kong to Manila and the seas off Indonesia. And what I made clear, I am no seaman but my fellow crew of sailors and plant collectors would go on to collect seeds from the Moluccas, their hanging fruits, oriental mangroves: a completely fascinating experience. Upon my return, the garden would go on to develop one of the world’s most important collections of tropical plants. While I wouldn’t live to see Fairchild today, I understand it flourished in the years to come. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the garden began its foray into research, establishing rare plant houses, laboratories and an educational program to foster young students interest in my beloved field of botany. On the morning of August 24th 1992, a fierce category 5 hurricane, Andrew, hit the southern coast of Florida. Its eye passing due south of the garden, many palms I seeded were downed and tropical flowers of all varieties lost. But from that devastation, we bloom yet again. In 1994, a comprehensive master plan paved the way for growth, development and renovation. We’ve brought flora and fauna from Madagascar with planted palms from every tropical destination. Our mango fest brings the exotic fruit from all corners of the earth to countless enthusiasts and our Fairchild challenge has taught thousands of students to appreciate nature. So, as I gaze out on the garden, there comes to me a cosmic feeling of happiness among the royal palms, along the stony beach, the lore of paradise. Marian and I are like Adam and Eve at the entrance of the Garden of Eden. This is a paradise of plants, it is a world of beautiful imagination and peace. It is the culmination of a life of wonder well spent exploring and planting the seeds of this: the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.”


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