Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower, and we use words and phrases, especially written, for people

learning English.

On today's program, Jill Robbins, has a report on huge projects meant to improve the environment in the wetlands known as the Florida Everglades.

Then John Russell reports on a way to gain useful workplace skills called microcredentials. Then listen for an unusual lesson of the day. But first, here is Jill.

Some experts say damage to the Everglades ecosystem began when the highway connecting the cities of Tampa and Miami in Florida was built in

1928. The Everglades are a huge wetland at the southern end of the state of Florida. The highway

cut through an area made up of grasses, marshes, fresh water ponds, and forested lands.

But now, efforts to return Everglades National Park to a wilder state have taken shape after years of work and billions of dollars.

A huge state-federal project aims to undo damage to the wetlands.

Eve Samples is executive director of Friends of the Everglades, a non-profit group based in Florida.

She said, this is the biggest, most complicated,

and most expensive ecosystem restoration project in the world. It's really important that we get it right. The project has continued for over 20 years. Observers say wildlife is returning to some

areas, there are fewer invasive trees, and people have good feelings about the changes.

The Everglades supports threatened species, protects against storm damage, and provides drinking water for millions of people in South Florida.

Development and agriculture have drained water that once flowed freely through the Everglades.

Invasive plants and animals have changed the land.

Too much phosphorus, mainly from agriculture, has harmed water quality.

The cost of efforts to repair the Everglades is more than $23 billion.

Those efforts could take 50 years to complete.

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