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Meet the Team! |
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Conservation Tales is produced by a diverse team of students and faculty as an Immersive Learning program at Ball State University. The project started in 2016 as a very small team, but continues to grow as we expand the series!
Meet the members of the team on this page! Each "series" in the project has included a variety of illustrators, designers, educators, photographers and scientists, so you can check out each group below! You can learn more about each of us by clicking the icons linking to social media, websites and email. You can also see our growing list of content consultants, sponsors and conservation partners, as well! |
Faculty Mentors
Conservation Tales is written by Tom J. McConnell, associate professor of Science Education in the Department of Biology, Ball State University. Dr. McConnell's teaching and research interests focus on inquiry science teaching. He has a lifelong interest in ecology and the environment. He created the Conservation Tales series to share stories of conservation with young readers to help them lean how they can help through local action.
To contact Dr. McConnell or learn more about his work, click one of the icons below.
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Barbara Giorgio Booher, MFA, is the Art Director for the Conservation Tales books. She teaches courses in drawing and Foundations of Art, and supervises the artistic team for the project. Her artistic endeavors feature a wide range of media, including printmaking, glass, and more. She has collaborated with the science community for other creative STEAM projects.
To contact Barb or learn more about her work, click one of the icons below.
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The Florida Keys Series Team
The Florida Keys series includes 2 books: Corals and Coral Reef Ecosystem - our first about an ecosystem rather than a group of species. These books will be published in both English and Spanish. Look for at two previous titles to also be translated into Spanish. The team also working created a video documentary and a planetarium show about coral reef conservation! |
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The Central America Series Team
The Central America Series currently consists of two books published in May 2022, Macaws and Sloths. This team also published translations of both books in Spanish: Guacamayas and Perezosos! These two books were produced with help from the Macaw Recovery Network and the Sloth Institute. We also had support from Zoo Knoxville, Indianapolis Zoo, and the Cincinnati Zoo. |
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The Midwest 2 Series Team
The Midwest Series created two new books in June of 2021, about monarch butterflies and invasive carp species. These two books will be produced with help from the researchers and staff at Ball State University, the Indianapolis Zoo, and the Indiana DNR. Watch for updates here! |
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The Asia Series Team
The Asia Series currently consists of two books published in June of 2020, Orangutans and Tigers. These two books were produced with help from the Indianapolis Zoo, Black Pine Animal Sanctuary and two different field researchers in Indonesia and Russia!
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The Midwest Series Team
The Midwest Series includes The Cerulean Warbler, Bats, Bees and Salamanders. These four books were the beginning of the Conservation Tales project, and were developed in 2016 and 2017. Come meet the group that started the project!
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The Gulf Coast Series Team
The Gulf Coast Series is a set of three books, Manatees, Seahorses, and Sea Turtles. These books are the result of an expanded team in 2018, and travel to the Gulf Coast of Florida to work with researchers in two locations. Find out more about this team, click the logo at the left.
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The Africa Series Team
The Africa Series is the latest in the series, with just two books... so far! Elephants and Giraffes were produced in 2019 with help from the Indianapolis Zoo and some researchers in Tanzania. Meet the talented team who created the books!
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The Junior Series Team
In 2018, a small team of early childhood educators create two "Junior" versions of previous books. These books are revised for a younger audience, pre-K through 2nd grade. Meet the team that developed this experiment that has been well-received!
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The Conservation Tales team is also supported by Educational Consultants who proofread the books and make recommendations to help our books fit the needs of classroom teachers. Here are the Educational Consultants who contribute to our series.
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Caitlin Zonder is an elementary educator from Avon, Indiana. She has taught most recently in Second Grade, and devotes much of her energy to integrating literacy and children's books into her curriculum. She is a member of a team of teachers who created the nErDCamp Indy professional development program to focus on literacy in the classroom. Caitlin has consulted on several of the Conservation Tales books.
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Kailee Ross is an elementary educator at Ball State University. She has helped review text for the Bees and Seahorses books. Kailee graduated with her degree in Elementary Education in May 2018, and then taught English overseas in 2019 as a Fulbright Scholar .
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Sponsors, Donors and Conservation Partners
Conservation Tales receives support in the form of grants and individual donors. The team also collaborates with community groups to facilitate conservation projects and outreach events. To see a list of the many supporters who help make Conservation Tales possible, click the links below.
Sponsors Conservation Partners
Conservation Tales receives support in the form of grants and individual donors. The team also collaborates with community groups to facilitate conservation projects and outreach events. To see a list of the many supporters who help make Conservation Tales possible, click the links below.
Sponsors Conservation Partners
Publishing services for the books are provided by Airway Publishing.
Printing services are provided by KDP.
Printing services are provided by KDP.
