Children's Author Encourages Education, Activism for Environment

The Great Kapok Tree: a Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. © http://www.lynnecherry.com/

American author and illustrator Lynne Cherry spoke about her passion for conservation and her experience writing environmentally themed children’s books at a talk in Washington, D.C., on December 12. Some of Cherry’s best-known works, such as The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest and Flute’s Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush, are frequently incorporated into classroom curricula in the United States and have inspired successful youth-led campaigns to protect forests, rivers, and other wildlife habitats.

Cherry’s desire to engage children in nature and its preservation stems from her own experiences growing up in Pennsylvania and the devastation she felt when the woods near her home were bulldozed down. Feeling a connection to people suffering a similar fate in the Amazon, she researched, wrote, and illustrated The Great Kapok Tree, a book that has inspired children in the United States and elsewhere to raise thousands of dollars to save rainforests.

Many of Cherry’s 30 or so other children’s stories have driven groups of young people to lobby their principals, representatives, and religious leaders to protect natural areas. The Episcopal Church, for example, decided not to develop a 600-acre (243-hectare) swatch of old-growth forest in Maryland’s Belt Woods after a flood of children’s letters helped convince them to sell it to the Trust for Public Land instead.

Cherry believes in the power of children to effect positive environmental change, saying, “Kids can’t vote, but they can do a whole lot more: they can really educate.” She cites a study showing that many Americans get their environmental information from materials their children bring home from school, and says it is therefore imperative for schools to educate today’s youth on these issues. The most important message Cherry wants people to hear is, “Turn off the T.V. and get involved.” In addition to simply voting, she encourages conservation-minded people to attend town hall meetings and run for local office.

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.