Interview with authors Ann Love and Jane Drake
by Aline Pereira*

Canadian writers Ann Love and Jane Drake are a sister writing duo who have published close to 30 non-fiction books for young readers, several of them award-winning, focusing on the natural world. Environmental awareness, appreciation, conservation and protection are longstanding themes in their work. Their most recent book, departing from their usual themes, is Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy (Tundra, 2007).
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Together you have introduced many topics related to the environment that are relevant to a young audience.The Kids Book of the Night Sky and Snow Amazing, just to mention two of your books, encourage children to relate to and respect nature.Is your love of the natural world linked to the way you were raised?

We were raised in a family that valued the natural world above any other form of entertainment. We graded the days by what we saw ��� a flock of whistling swans, a wolverine at a garbage dump, orchids or morels found hidden in the forest. We were in tune with the seasonal rhythms and celebrated the common and unusual. We never went to amusement parks or fashionable beaches but spent time knee deep in ponds, exploring meadows, walking in the woods or rambling along lonely shores ��� these were our family outings. We carried these traditions of curiosity and caring forward with our own children and their friends. Eighteen years ago, when we launched our writing careers, we drew from the depths of these shared experiences. Over time, we���ve relished learning more and continue to explore the wild world whenever possible.

There seems to be growing unease over our cultures��� rates of consumption. In your book Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage you tackle the subject really well and help children learn the connection between their lifestyle, their garbage, their planet and how their choices make a difference. You make it clear that action equals impact. How did the book come about?

We started to recycle household waste in the 1970���s. Eventually curb-side recycling programs took off in big cities ��� people got used to it, liked it, wrote about it. Recycling became part of our everyday lives. One day, we asked ourselves, what are people making with all that recycled material? We quickly found out that recycled plastic pop bottles are broken down into fiber and used to make winter fleece mitts, hats and shirts. Fabulous! Then we heard that the plastic in peanut butter jars was good for making running shoes. Amazing! We thought, what other neat things are happening ��� so we decided to write an update on the garbage story!  

Do you believe it is urgent for global education to prioritise solidarity in relation to the environment? Tell us about the importance of the 3 R���s of the environmentally conscious movement (in addition to the traditional 'Reading, ���riting and ���rithmetic' ): Refuse/Reduce, Reuse, Recycle���

When the environment is featured in the curriculum, kids gobble it up. And they feel empowered when they can read and write about it and do the figuring too. There seems to be a groundswell in early 2007 making the environment a priority. The bizarre weather, images of starving polar bears, documentaries such as The Inconvenient Truth, and so on, have been a wakeup call for governments. And kids are watching and raising their voices too.

What role do ���pre-cycling��� and ���conservation��� play in the search for solutions to our problems, in addition to recycling and protection? Do you believe that teaching children about flexibility and resilience is also part of the environmental answer?

Pre-cycling and conservation are more than just saying no to a child when they hound their parent for something new. It is a question of changing attitudes and lifestyle. We grew up with parents and grandparents who lived through the Great Depression and WWII. They learned to make do and do without ��� were resilient in adverse circumstances. Their stories are a great role model for modern kids who can then aid a crumbling environment by making a few simple choices. It is no longer a question of not having enough, but being able to say ���enough is enough��� and ���do without��� deliberately!

Could you please talk about the current idea of ���ecological footprint��� and suggest simple things young people can do to develop lighter footsteps that will help sustain our natural world and its resources?

The term ���ecological footprint��� was coined by University of British Columbia Professor Bill Rees. It measures how much Nature we use in the way we live. When our footprint is too large, Nature cannot recover to replace what we use, leaving less for others now and in the future.

One way kids can develop smaller footprints is to think before they buy an item ��� and make choices with Nature in mind. If you are buying running shoes, for instance,  think of what material they are made ��� plant fiber, leather from animal skin, plastic from oil, a mixture of plant/leather/plastic, or recycled material? Choose a pair of shoes that are made from the most Nature-friendly material. There are others things to consider too, such as ��� how far did the shoes have to travel before you bought them? How are they packaged? How will you dispose of them when you are finished? Try to make as many choices with Nature in mind as possible.

Ann ��� you are one of the founding members of Pollution Probe, a Canadian environmental organization. Please tell us a little bit about the work PP does and how it relates to your life as a writer.

I worked with Pollution Probe in the late 1960���s. At that time, there were no environmental studies curriculums in schools, there were no Ministries of the Environment in government, water and air pollution standards were low, there was no household recycling ��� it was pretty bad. At Probe, we tried to raise everyone���s awareness of the natural environment ��� its importance for wildlife and for people. My job was to think up imaginative and sometimes crazy ways to get kids making choices with the natural world in mind. So did many other environmental groups. Altogether we had a lot of success and most people took up the cause. Nowadays, Probe works with companies to help them find ways to respect the environment and still make money. Jane and I continue to advocate for the natural environment as I did in the old Probe days. We are constantly thinking how we can hook kids into Nature through our writing.

Australian writer and environmentalist Tim Flannery, author of the book The Weather Makers and its adaptation for young adults, We Are The Weather Makers (Text, 2005, 2006) , said in a recent interview, regarding his native Australia: ���We are squatting on the country rather than being true ones who have a long term future here through careful caring for our land.��� Would that be true of Canada as well? How do you think Canadians relate to their shared land?

Like Australians, we live in a country where there is still lots and lots of true wilderness left with the wild animals that live in it. There is very little wilderness any more in European countries, parts of United States, many Asian countries, even parts of Africa ��� not to the scale we have in Canada. We have something special ��� and people from afar come here to soak it in.  I think, as Canadians, we are beginning to realize that ��� and to appreciate it and want to care for it more. I really like the work the Forestry Stewardship Council is doing, for instance, certifying sustainable forests and lumber.

In your opinion are children more likely to understand a phenomenon they can observe themselves?��� Are they more likely to take action when the issue is close to home?

In our experience, there are many triggers that excite and engage kids in environmental issues. In the  1980���s NGO���s such as World Wildlife Fund used the ���ahhhhhhhhhhh!��� factor of imperiled animals to turn kids on to saving nature. Pandas, whales, tigers, whooping cranes ��� creatures most city kids would never see ��� were the beneficiaries of school fundraisers from bake sales to poster contests.

In our books we try to use practical examples that put making a difference within the reach of children. In the grand scheme of things, it���s encouraging to know that something as simple as using a cloth shopping bag will actually have an impact.

Some think the secret of working with children is to convert whatever needs to be done into something they especially like doing. Does that apply to the way you approach the subjects in your books? Is that why you intersperse your non-fiction with stories?

We look for ways to engage kids. As writers we try to find hooks to grab their interest and connect them to what we are talking about. Stories are one way, yes, and so are hands-on activities. We have lots of tricks up our sleeves ���  Good stories are more than hooks, though ��� they provide a deep connection to the world and its environment. They give pause for reflection. They resonate ��� they show rather than preach.

In your opinion, how can one approach educating children about the environmental challenges the world faces, and their potential dangers, without scaring them? How do we give them hope?

We aim to fire kids up with knowledge as opposed to scaring them with doom and gloom facts. We are really ���tree huggers��� at heart but as writers we try very hard not to be preachy. Some of our research leaves us wringing our hands about the future of this planet, so we dig and find the research or projects being done that are hopeful and communicate that through our writing.

How much has changed, environmentally, since the publication of your book Take Action: An Environmental Book for Kids in 1991? How different would the book be if you were writing it today?

If we were writing Take Action today, I think we would talk more about energy use and global warming. We did have that in the book, but not as a major part. I think we would also talk more about the link between endangered spaces and endangered species. We talked a lot about over hunting ��� but today, loss of good space to live is more critical to saving most wildlife than shooting.

How did candy (Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy) get into the ���ecology��� mix?

Our publisher, Kathy Lowinger, loves chocolate. She agreed to publish our book Snow Amazing if we���d write her a book that featured chocolate. It turned into a fascinating project ��� a social history of the world from the point of view of sweets.

What other places would you like to travel to and perhaps write about?

Jane wants to see Russia and plans on going there in the fall with our dad, Ann has been drawn north again and again.

What are some of your favorite children���s or young adult books about ecology and the environment?

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, for younger kids; more recently, On Thin Ice by Jamie Bastedo (Red Dear Press, 2006) ��� a great Canadian book for young adults.

What projects are you both pursuing next?

We have just completed the writing phase of a book on invasive species called Alien Invaders. We are still working on a subtitle. We have collaborated with illustrator Mark Thurman again and are watching the book come to life as he adds his drawings and design. It will be available in 2008.

*Aline Pereira is PaperTigers Managing Editor and Producer

Posted January 2007

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