I’ve sailed high over Ottawa in a hot air balloon, helped birth a calf (that was coming out the wrong way), slept on a remote island the size of a garage (and almost rolled off in the night), made drawings of the surface of other planets (without going there), sang songs at night to Greek truck drivers, played Santa Claus in a theatre dressed in bright red spandex, ran through flocks of pink flamingos in Morocco, helped save an injured white-backed vulture, meditated in the Indian Himalayas… and
I’m a biologist, an author and an artist who worked for many years as an illustrator and an editor. Now I write and illustrate my own picture books, middle grade non-fiction and eco-fiction. I want to ensure that our planet remains habitable for future generations. You can help me remove our dependence on fossil fuels, conserve animals/plants and habitats, give value to ecosystem services and preserve Earth’s rich biodiversity. My young readers, stewards of spaceship Earth, give me hope...
For the big folks, I am co-founder and Executive Secretary of the Canadian-based charity Biodiversity Conservancy International (BCI) and Editorial Director of the science journal Biodiversity. At BCI we restore ecosystems, provide education programs on the importance of biodiversity.
I have a wonderful literary rep, Stacey Kondla, with The Rights Factory. I am currently working on my 4th book with Orca. Coming soon: a book on the incredible bioluminescent animals (and plants) that make their own light.
Coming next year: a book on how animals use colour to survive. WATCH FOR IT!