Annaleise Carr, 14, Youngest Person to Swim Lake Ontario

Last fall, a young Ontario girl named Annaleise Carr visited Camp Trillium for children with cancer and was so moved that she asked to volunteer — but at 13 she was too young to help. Instead, the toothy girl from Norfolk County decided to raise money for the camp by becoming the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario.

As sunset faded into Sunday evening, the 14-year-old girl approached Marilyn Bell Park, on Lakeshore Drive in Toronto. She touched the wall just before 9 p.m., then turned around and hugged her swim coach, Lisa Anderson, who accompanied her on a Zodiac boat. While dozens cheered and applauded, she climbed up the pier, was wrapped in a towel and hugged by her family. A few minutes later, she sat on a lawn chair and was checked by Mark Ghesquiere, a doctor who had followed her by boat with a support team. She was then taken to hospital for a more thorough checkup. Her support team said she was exhausted but otherwise fine. It had taken her nearly 27 hours fighting high waves, cold current and leg cramps.

Her parents, Jeff and Debbie Carr, recalled in an interview that they had first opposed to her project but now smiled with pride as they described Annaleise as a determined, altruistic youth.

Before her big swim, she swallowed a thermometer pill, a device first developed by NASA to monitor body temperature on astronauts. The pill’s wireless transmission enabled Annaleise’s support team to make sure her core temperature remained stable. She also had a light on her swimming cap to remain visible.

After a one-day delay because of high winds, she set off on Saturday, at 6:17:10 p.m, from Queen’s Royal Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake. She was initially helped by the push from the Niagara River’s current but soon was slowed by wind. Waves began getting higher and higher, reaching 1.5 metres. For hours, she also faced a 10-knot head wind and the water temperature cooled to 13 degrees. The weather was better through Sunday but she began cramping in the afternoon and a physiotherapist on the boat prescribed stretching exercises.

Which of the following factors DID NOT make Annaleise’s swim more difficult?

Montreal Botanical Garden and Biodome

The main attraction for people seeking indoor nature in Canada’s metropolis is the Biodome, an indoor garden with animals and plants from all over the Americas. The Biodome is especially popular in the wintertime. The botanical garden has a number of greenhouses. Orchid gardens and a tropical rainforest greenhouse can be found on the grounds, while other 10 garden’s exhibition greenhouses alter every season.

Which place ________?

Eden Project, England

Located in Cornwall, in Southern England, this unique collection of gardens is not a typical conservatory. The domes look like they came from the set of a science fiction film. These odd-looking structures are home to self-contained biosystems with plant life from tropical and Mediterranean climates. A number of outdoor gardens are also part of the complex.

Which place ________?

Atocha Station, Madrid

Not every indoor garden is housed in a purpose-built greenhouse. Madrid’s Atocha Train Station is a perfect example of such a place. It does get very busy, but a massive garden boasting more than 7,000 plants representing 260 species gives it a quiet atmosphere, even at rush hour. There is also a pond that serves as a turtle sanctuary, in addition to housing a number of fish.

Which place ________?

Cecil B. Day Butterfly Centre, Georgia

The butterfly centre is located at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain. The main attractions here are the colourful butterflies, which fly freely around the glass enclosure. The butterfly centre has earned LEED certification for its environmental friendliness and energy-efficiency, which is impressive for a building that must maintain tropical conditions year-round in a temperate climate.

Which place ________?

Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh

Arguably the greenest venue on our list, the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh has recently built a Tropical Forest Conservatory. The new greenhouse uses modern ventilation, earth tubes, radiant heating, and computer controlled shading and fogging to create a tropical environment with the absolute minimum consumption of energy. Phipps also offers tours of its research-oriented Centre for Sustainable Landscapes and its energy-efficient production greenhouse.

Which place ________?

Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, Tokyo

This large greenhouse complex in Tokyo was originally built on land reclaimed from a site used for waste depositing. There are actually three domes and an additional exhibit space where rare species of carnivorous plants are housed. Highlights include a fern forest, an indoor waterfall, orchid gardens from the sub-tropical Ogasawara Islands.

Which place ________?

Snorkeling at DeGray Lake

Swimmers enjoy a guided snorkeling trip, one of dozens of programs offered by DeGray Lake Resort State Park.

“Yoo hoo. You in the tent,” the ranger at DeGray Lake Resort State Park called to my friends and me. He told us (33)_____ . We checked our watches: it was 9:35. After a trip to the visitors’ centre, we knew we were lucky to get one of the park’s last vacant sites.

Though there are several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ campgrounds surrounding the 13,800-acre lake, visitors who want to occupy one of the 113 sites at Arkansas’s only resort state park should consider reservations, (34)_____ .

Many who visit the park are attracted (35)_____ , its 18-hole golf course, horseback riding and the hope of catching bass, catfish or crappie. But it was a guided snorkeling trip, one of dozens of programs offered by park interpreters that reeled me in on a recent weekend.

At the park’s marina, my companion and I — along with 13 kids and nine other adults — boarded a tour boat. Kelly Farrell and DeAnna Balthazor, our interpretive guides for the trip, handed out lifeyackets, masks and snorkels. As we headed across the lake, Kelly demonstrated the proper mask and snorkel fit. The kids responded with laughter when she said (36)_____ .

Five minutes and a mile from the marina, we rounded Tall Island, anchored the boat and anxiously waited to get wet as (37)______ . When one of the kids asked her about alligators, she said — much to our relief — that the water was too cold for them. But it soon proved the perfect temperature for us.

We plopped into the water. There was about 12 feet of visibility, but on a good day, Kelly said, (38)_____ . Kelly said it was now an ideal place to see fish and other wildlife. She was right. It didn’t take long before I spotted fish lurking among the lofty underwater boulders and aquatic plants.

Snorkeling at DeGray Lake

Swimmers enjoy a guided snorkeling trip, one of dozens of programs offered by DeGray Lake Resort State Park.

“Yoo hoo. You in the tent,” the ranger at DeGray Lake Resort State Park called to my friends and me. He told us (33)_____ . We checked our watches: it was 9:35. After a trip to the visitors’ centre, we knew we were lucky to get one of the park’s last vacant sites.

Though there are several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ campgrounds surrounding the 13,800-acre lake, visitors who want to occupy one of the 113 sites at Arkansas’s only resort state park should consider reservations, (34)_____ .

Many who visit the park are attracted (35)_____ , its 18-hole golf course, horseback riding and the hope of catching bass, catfish or crappie. But it was a guided snorkeling trip, one of dozens of programs offered by park interpreters that reeled me in on a recent weekend.

At the park’s marina, my companion and I — along with 13 kids and nine other adults — boarded a tour boat. Kelly Farrell and DeAnna Balthazor, our interpretive guides for the trip, handed out lifejackets, masks and snorkels. As we headed across the lake, Kelly demonstrated the proper mask and snorkel fit. The kids responded with laughter when she said (36)_____ .

Five minutes and a mile from the marina, we rounded Tall Island, anchored the boat and anxiously waited to get wet as (37)______ . When one of the kids asked her about alligators, she said — much to our relief — that the water was too cold for them. But it soon proved the perfect temperature for us.

We plopped into the water. There was about 12 feet of visibility, but on a good day, Kelly said, (38)_____ . Kelly said it was now an ideal place to see fish and other wildlife. She was right. It didn’t take long before I spotted fish lurking among the lofty underwater boulders and aquatic plants.