Solar farms become home for endangered foxes

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Solar farms become home for endangered foxes

Warm-up

Do you have solar panels on your roof?

Vocabulary Match

habitat •• home
environment •• enemies
adapted •• nature
predators •• building
researchers •• scientists
construction •• adjusted

Vocabulary Answers

habitathome
environmentnature
adaptedadjusted
predatorsenemies
researchersscientists
constructionbuilding

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

A solar farm in California became an unexpected home for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. It was built to produce clean energy, with large areas of panels and little human activity. After ________, plants began to grow, attracting insects and small animals. This created a stable ________.

The foxes, which had lost much of their natural ________, found food and safety there. Fences kept larger ________ out, and the panels provided shade. ________ saw that the foxes ________ quickly and began living in the area.

This shows that solar farms can do more than produce energy. With good design, they can also support wildlife.

A solar farm in California became an unexpected home for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. It was built to produce clean energy, with large areas of panels and little human activity. After construction, plants began to grow, attracting insects and small animals. This created a stable environment.

The foxes, which had lost much of their natural habitat, found food and safety there. Fences kept larger predators out, and the panels provided shade. researchers saw that the foxes adapted quickly and began living in the area.

This shows that solar farms can do more than produce energy. With good design, they can also support wildlife.

Quiz

  1. Where is the solar farm located?
  2. What kind of energy does the solar farm produce?
  3. What did the foxes find at the solar farm?
  4. Who saw that the foxes adapted quickly?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. In California.
  2. Clean energy.
  3. Food and safety.
  4. Researchers.

True or False

  1. The solar farm attracted insects and large animals. T F
  2. The foxes found a new home at the solar farm. T F
  3. Larger predators were able to enter the solar farm. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. False

Conversation

A:Did you see the foxes at the solar farm?
B:Yeah, they seem really happy there!
A:It's amazing how they adapted so fast.
B:I know, right? They even have shade from the panels.
A:And no big predators can get in.
B:It's like a five-star hotel for them!

Discussion

  1. Have you ever seen a fox in the wild?
  2. What other animals might like living at a solar farm?
  3. Are there any solar farms in your city? What do you think about them?
  4. What other kinds of energy can you think of?

Further Reading

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/foxes-use-solar-farm-as-natural-habitat/20424/

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