Wildlife, plants, weather, landscapes and the environment are some of the most common topics in everyday conversation, the news and international exams. Choose a theme, learn the key words and practise speaking about the nature you love.
Talking about nature is rarely just about vocabulary lists. You describe what you see on a walk, explain how the seasons are changing, share photos of birds, or give your opinion on climate, farming and conservation.
Each topic below gives you a starting set of words and a model sentence. Notice the useful word partnerships – endangered species, heavy rain, habitat loss – because natural English depends on words that belong together.
Animals, plants and trees – the words you need to name and describe the life around you.
Birds, insects, mammals, endangered animals and animal behaviour.
"Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so you are most likely to see them at dusk."
Explore Animals & Wildlife →Forests, flowers, gardening, crops, native plants and invasive plants.
"Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant that spreads very quickly along riverbanks."
Explore Plants & Trees →Tree planting, forest management, wildfires and ancient woodland.
"Ancient woodland takes centuries to develop and cannot simply be replaced by new planting."
Explore Forests & Woodlands →Coral reefs, fish stocks, ocean pollution and marine mammals.
"Overfishing has caused fish stocks to fall sharply in many parts of the world."
Explore Oceans & Marine Life →From wetlands and rivers to mountains and city parks – how to describe where nature happens.
Forests, wetlands, rivers, lakes, mountains, grasslands and oceans.
"Wetlands provide a habitat for thousands of species and help to prevent flooding."
Explore Habitats & Ecosystems →Drinking water, floods, groundwater, river restoration and water shortages.
"After three days of heavy rain, the river burst its banks and flooded the village."
Explore Water & Rivers →Hiking, valleys, rocks, glaciers and national parks.
"We reached the summit just before sunrise and the view across the valley was breathtaking."
Explore Mountains & Landscapes →City parks, green roofs, wildlife gardens and insects in cities.
"We stopped mowing part of the lawn, and now it's full of wildflowers and bees."
Explore Gardens & Urban Nature →Everyday weather talk – and the bigger conversation about how our climate is changing.
Rain, storms, heatwaves, droughts, winter, spring and climate patterns.
"It's been a mild winter, so the first spring flowers appeared in early February."
Explore Weather & Seasons →Global warming, extreme weather, rising sea levels and carbon emissions.
"Scientists link the increase in extreme weather events to rising global temperatures."
Explore Climate & Climate Change →For people who love to observe, identify and record what they see.
Bird migration, identifying species, seasonal changes and field notes.
"I spotted my first swallow of the year today – a sure sign that migration has begun."
Explore Nature Observation →Go deeper with bird names, plumage, calls and the language birdwatchers use in the field.
"We sat in the hide for an hour before a heron finally landed in front of us."
Explore English for Birders →How we farm, build, travel and protect – the language of environmental discussion and debate.
Nature reserves, protected areas, biodiversity, rewilding and habitat loss.
"Rewilding projects have reintroduced beavers to several rivers across Europe."
Explore Conservation & Protection →Pollution, plastic waste, pesticides, deforestation and soil degradation.
"Plastic waste from rivers eventually ends up in the sea and harms marine life."
Explore Environmental Problems →Organic farming, soil health, bees, crop production and sustainable agriculture.
"Without bees to pollinate them, many fruit crops would produce much smaller harvests."
Explore Farming & Food →Tourism, roads, building projects, energy production and land use.
"The new road would cut straight through one of the last areas of open grassland."
Explore Human Impact →Language patterns you can use with every topic on this page.
Some nature words are not pronounced the way they are spelled. Check the stress and the sounds.
| Word | British English | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| habitat | /ˈhæbɪtæt/ | Stress on the first syllable: HAB-i-tat |
| biodiversity | /ˌbaɪəʊdaɪˈvɜːsəti/ | Main stress on VER |
| ecosystem | /ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm/ | Starts with a long /iː/, not /e/ |
| drought | /draʊt/ | Rhymes with out, not with thought |
| climate | /ˈklaɪmət/ | The second syllable is a weak schwa |
| meadow | /ˈmedəʊ/ | The first vowel is short /e/, as in bed |
| wren | /ren/ | The w is silent |
| thistle | /ˈθɪsl/ | The t is silent |
| lichen | /ˈlaɪkən/ | Sounds like liken |
| glacier | /ˈɡlæsiə/ | The c is pronounced /s/ |
Use your time outdoors as language practice.
On your next walk, pay attention to five things you could not yet name in English.
Look them up and learn each word with a partner word: a flock of starlings, a fallen oak.
Write two or three sentences in a nature diary, or say them aloud to practise pronunciation.
Move from description to opinion: what is changing, why, and what should be done?
Combine nature English with pronunciation, culture and your other passions.
The best nature English starts with what you see yourself – the birds in your garden, the river in your town, the weather this week.
Learn the words, use them in real sentences and share your observations with others.
Notice. Name. Describe. Discuss.