Category: Citizen Scientists

My little life in books is very, very busy these days and I’m having lots of great experiences … even if I am not finding time to blog about them. In the past two weeks I’ve visited three schools (waves to the super students at Runkle, Upham, and Winthrop elementary schools), delivered one keynote lecture (cheers to the Rhode Island Science Teachers Association), and spent an entire weekend celebrating readers, writers, and planet Earth with people who care deeply about all three.

For this last event, the environmentalists at The Nature Generation and the children’s book-saavy faculty of Salisbury University teamed up to put on an amazing Read Green festival and to award the 2013 Green Earth Book Awards. It was such an honor to cheer the winners of a literary contest for area students, to work with students at Salisbury Middle School, to see Ellen Harasimowicz‘s photos on display at the Ward Museum of Waterfowl Art, to accept a Green Earth Book Award for CITIZEN SCIENTISTS, and to speak with teachers and teachers-to-be at the Read Green conference.

On top of all that Read Green goodness? I got to hear Eliot Schrefer speak about ENDANGERED, his National Book Award nominated YA novel. (Aside: it’s a must-read, folks.)  I met Tiffany Trent, chicken-raiser, beekeeper, and author of the environmentally-themed steampunk YA novel THE UNNATURALISTS. (Yes, I bought myself a copy. Yes, I am excited to read it!) I bonded with author friends old and new, including author Melissa Stewart, photographer/author Shelley Rotner, Icelandic rock star Andri Magnason, and teenaged author/illustrator/environmentalist Olivia Bouler.

I am holding these people and all of my Maryland moments close as I type this morning; it truly was an unforgettable weekend. (I haven’t even mentioned my afternoon with the wild ponies of Assateague! A thousand thank yous to Patty Dean and Ernest Bond for those memories.)  The event that sums the entire Green Earth experience best for me, though, is this one …

On Friday night, at the Green Earth Book Award ceremonies, I was serenaded by Phillip Hoose. Okay, he didn’t sing to me exclusively, he sang to everyone in the room. Still … his rendition of the song he co-wrote with his daughter Hannah, Hey, Little, Ant, captured the mood and the magic of this evening so perfectly that I doubt I will ever forget it. Here’s a sip of that moment for you: a previously recorded audio of Phil and Hannah performing Hey, Little Ant. (Go ahead, click over and scroll down and click again and enjoy it. You won’t regret it. Trust me!)

So … it’s been a whirlwind. And things around here aren’t going to slow down anytime soon. It’s planting season in Massachusetts, and I’m busy starting seeds and bedding asparagus and pruning vines. I’m learning how to manage my bees (yes, they survived the winter!) and my daughter and I are embarking on a new husbandry adventure: chickens. I’ll be visiting with students in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York over the next two weeks, too. Life is busy. Life is good. Spring has sprung. I’m embracing it all. I hope you are, too.

SB&F Prize weekend was a total blast! A blur, but a blast. I’ve posted a few photos in this album on my Facebook author page for those who want a peek at the festivities. I’ve also decided to publish my acceptance speech here on my blog, because in my excitement, I left both the speech and my glasses on my seat when I took the podium. Plus, these are thanks that bear repeating.

                  Thank you to Terry Young and the SB&F Prize committee, to Maria Sosa and everyone at Science Books & Films, to AAAS and to Subaru for making this award possible and for allowing me  to be part of it.

                  Thank you to my friends at Henry Holt, especially my editor Sally Doherty.

                  Thank you to my colleague, photographer Ellen Harasimowicz, who traveled from Central Park to central Mexico with me in search of the pieces of this story;

                  Thank you to my husband Gerry, who supports every crazy book idea—and therefore the endless research trips—I come up with.

                  And thank you to my kids, Sam, Ben, and Catherine, who for the past few years have patiently counted more birds, traipsed alongside more vernal pools, chased after more butterflies, and stalked more ladybugs than they may have wanted to. I’m not sure they know how helpful they were to me and, since they are here tonight, I’m going to take a second to tell them…

                  One of the tough aspects of a book like this was identifying the parts of citizen science and individual projects that would most appeal—or not appeal—to kid readers.  I know what spoke to me, a forty-something adult writer with a scientific bent, but to know what appealed or didn’t to kids, I needed help. And, so, I watched you. Everything you did while we explored Hosmer Street or Wachusett Meadow or Trout Brook was supremely helpful to me. In fact, most of it is in the book. Thank you three for helping me get things right.

                  And finally, a quick but sincere cheer for all of you who read books, especially kids books and extra-especially kids science books. Ours is a tiny corner of the publishing world, but tonight I realize this is actually just fine by me. So long as we can gather every now and again, like this, and talk books, share our passions, swap our ideas, dream about new projects and new ways to excite the rest of the world about science and its stories.                  

                    Thank you all so very much.

And thank YOU for reading. I plan to give away copies of the prize-winning titles in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned!