It started when I saw two men fire up chain saws and begin dismembering an old tree on my street. Huge, gnarled and majestic, the tree was one of my favourites. Heartsick, I watched the men. Should I try and stop them? Would they listen or would I just end up getting myself arrested?  As a single parent, I didn’t have the option of going to jail.

My response was to write about it.

Thus, my first novel, Tree Fever, was born. Other novels with environmental themes followed. I was captivated with characters who did courageous environmental acts and researched stories for inspiration. I read about Julia Hill who lived in a giant redwood for over two years to save a forest. I read about Zander Srodes who gave “Turtle Talks” all over the world as he tried to save the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. I read about Paul Watson, the man who sank illegal vessels to save whales.

The stories of kids doing heroic acts particularly fascinated me, so I changed genres and began writing what I call eco-fiction for children. Both Howl, the first book in the series (nominated for two awards) and The Truth About Brave both involve kids saving some aspect of the environment ─ they rescue hurt bears, they expose chicken factory farms, they crawl out on thin ice to save a dog. They do these acts even though they are afraid and unskilled.

I’ve decided to help real kids do this too, so I’m developing a program called ‘Earth Heroes’ that catalyzes kids to dream up and implement their own environmental projects and become ‘Earth Heroes’ themselves. If you know of a school that might be interested, please let me know. Thanks. karen[at]personalbest[dot]org