ESTONIA (know at least 5 plants and 5 animals of Estonia)

Plants
Estonia has about 1470 endemic plant species. Rare orchids can be found in the western
grasslands. Arctic lichens are found on the island of Hiiumaa. The most common tree is the
pine or Scots pine, followed by the birch, aspen and common pine. Oak, alder and spruce are
much less common. The cornflower is the national flower of Estonia. At the time of Soviet
rule, this flower was also the symbol of resistance.
Animals
There are about 60 species of mammals in Estonia, which is a lot by European standards. Elk,
deer, wild boar, badgers, raccoons, foxes, squirrels and beavers are common. More rare are
brown bears, wolves and lynxes (of each species there are about 500-1000 left). A special
appearance is the flying squirrel. Particularly rare is the European mink, which is being
reintroduced into Estonian nature through a breeding programme.
The Baltic Sea is a refuge for grey seals. On the coasts of the western islands large groups live
and many young are born, more than in Sweden or Finland.
Brown and green frogs, common toads and newts are common. The crested newt, green toad
and skunk toad are rarer. All Estonian reptile species, two snake species and three lizard
species are protected animals.
Herring and sprat are important for commercial fishing. Cod is also common in the waters
around Estonia. Between salt and fresh water we find smelt, sea trout, eels and salmon. In
fresh water, we find perch, roach, zander, bindweed, bream and dace. In 2007, Estonia
declared the Baltic herring to be its national fish.
In Estonia there are about 300 species of birds, including wintering birds. Sixty species can be
found all year round in Estonia, including starlings, blackbirds, snipes and golden eagles. On
the coast the rare white-tailed eagle still occurs. At the moment there are about 40 pairs
breeding in Estonia. In the forests lives the capercaillie, another European rarity. There are six
species of woodpecker in Estonia, of which the white-backed woodpecker is very rare. The
Eurasian owl, the long-eared owl, and the Eurasian tengmy owl are common, while the long-
eared owl is somewhat rarer. Old forests with trees more than 200 years old are the favourite
breeding ground for black storks. At present, there are about 2000 pairs of the common stork
in Estonia. The national bird of Estonia is the barn swallow. Millions of birds of 39 different
species use Estonia as a wintering place or as a resting place in their migration to warmer
areas.
Sources Bradt Publications

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: country studies Williams, N. / Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania

Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Lonely Planet

Spilling, M. / Estonia CIA - World Factbook

Marshall Cavendish Corporation BBC - Country Profiles

Taylor, N. / Estonia Available at:

https://theworldofinfo.com/estonia/plants/
 1. WEATHER: scrambled letters
Put the letters in a correct order and form a word about climate.
1. Sown 6. arin
2. awmr 7. fgogy
3. nwidy 8. lcdous
4. sinnushe 9. fosrt
5. eowshr 10. mepraettrue

2. Find the correct English word/words for the given phrase.

a mixture of smoke and fog
1. gas which is sent out into the air
2. water that falls from the clouds and contains harmful chemicals
3. to process used objects so that they can be used again
4. to damage sth. so badly that it no longer exists
5. weather conditions of a particular place
6. it protects the earth from dangerous rays of the sun
7. lots of trees form it
8. to make air, rivers etc. dirty
9. the problem of the rise in temperature of the earth's atmosphere
3. Fill in the gaps, each with one word. You are given the first letter of each word.
ECOLOGY COMPETITION
Draw a picture showing how you think we can 1 p__________ the environment. You

can draw: environmentally-2 f___________ energy 3 s__________ and 4 p________

stations vehicles which are not 5 h___________ to the environment ways to protect

6 w___________, e.g. animals in danger of 7 e__________ or plants and trees in

tropical 8 r____________ like the Amazon possible consequences of global

9 w___________, e.g. 10 p___________ ice caps melting because of the 11

r____________ in temperature new ways to 12 r____________ domestic rubbish or

13 s___________ energy at home.

KEY

1. sown → snow
2. awmr → warm
3. nwidy → windy
4. sinnushe → sunshine
5. eowshr → shower
6. arin → rain
7. fgogy → foggy
8. lcdous → clouds
9. fosrt → frost
10. mepraettrue → temperature
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/environment/weather.htm

1. a mixture of smoke and fog → smog

2. gas which is sent out into the air → emission
3. water that falls from the clouds and contains harmful chemicals → acid rain
4. to process used objects so that they can be used again → to recycle
5. to damage sth. so badly that it no longer exists → to destroy
6. weather conditions of a particular place → climate
7. it protects the earth from dangerous rays of the sun → ozone layer
8. lots of trees form it → forest
9. to make air, rivers etc. dirty → to pollute
10. the problem of the rise in temperature of the earth's atmosphere → global
warming
3

1 protect 2 friendly 3 sources 4 power 5 harmful 6 wildlife 7 extinction 8

rainforests 9 warming 10 polar 11 rise 12 recycle 13 save
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