国家地理-2008-04-30 Farm Restoration 农场变湿地

Dale Aden has been farming most of his life, just like his father, and his father’s father.

"I am a third generation farmer on this land." His land is in Okabena, Minnesota, right along the Okabena creek¹, where for many years, Aden watched helplessly as the creek flooded its banks and soaked his crops.

"In wet years, this crop all drowns out. And when you lose your crop, it, basically it takes another five years to pay for that one, that one year that we have lost. 

After the losses took their toll², Aden had an epiphany of thoughts--why not stop farming the marginal land and set it aside for wildlife? "I thought it as a legacy³, I would do this, put it back to where it should be better than where we found it.

Aden heard about a conservation program called Reinvest in Minnesota or RIM⁴, that would pay him to return some of his farmland to its natural state. The RIM program encourages farmers to keep farming their productive land but sell the marginal land that’s susceptible⁵ to soil and water erosion.

Aden planted trees and shrubs⁶. And here a friend is planting prairie grass that will soon provide cover for animals. "There, you see, she’s taking her head out of there." Aden also made dozens of birdhouses like this one for a pair of tree swallows that will soon get a lot more crowded when these eggs hatch. "They are community of 5 , 6 or 7. "

Aden broke drainage tiles and let his farmland return to wetland. "Up to about 3 years ago, this is all farmed. It's hard to believe now, but it was all farmed. Corn and soybean rotation⁷ as what it was across the road here it was the same way. 3 years ago it was all farmland."

Here’s a look at Aden’s crop a few years ago. Here’s that same spot today, a wetland with a thriving wildlife population. These days the sound of tractors on the Aden family farm has been replaced by a different sound. "As I call it music, I guess, wildlife music, is just wonderful to hear." And Aden is happy to sit back and listen. "I couldn’t be happier for the way it’s turned out."

epiphany:
A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization

1 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

5 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

6 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

7 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。