A FORMER MacKillop College student now living in Queensland has been recognised in an international book competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Hannah Rowland was named as a finalist in the International Book Awards for her publication Critically Endangered Reptiles.
The author of two other books - Critically Endangered Birds and Critically Endangered Mammals - Ms Rowland said she has previously entered awards, but this is the first time she has been placed as a finalist.
"I became aware of the awards through a colleague of mine who received the award for a book she developed for our workplace," Ms Rowland said.
"Because I'm trying to get my books out there, I entered the second book in the series, to see how far I could go, and the results were revealed over the weekend."
Ms Rowland, who has a background in zookeeping and animal conservation, started her conservation business back in 2017.
Her first book, Critically Endangered Mammals, was published in 2020, followed by the reptile title in the series.
ALSO MAKING NEWS:
Her third book of the series, Critically Endangered Birds, was released in May this year.
Ms Rowland said conservation education is her passion and she wants to help young children learn more about endangered species.
She said writing the series took a lot of time, but was worth it.
"I worked with my contacts and former colleagues from the zoo world, veterinary and wildlife medicine, all of that kind of thing, so we had the right kind of information," she said.
"We collaborated with what's available and up-to-date from the IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature, which publishes the international threatened species list]."
She said one of the hardest things is actually tracking down fun facts and photographs of the animals, as well as references for illustration.
"I have to find references through my resources, either it be the internet with permission from those photographers, or my own contacts who have been able to see some of these species out in the wild," she said.
"They provide me with photograph references and then that goes to my illustrator, who produces the illustrations for the book."
She said being named as a finalist made all her efforts worthwhile.
"I'm pretty happy. It is a pretty big deal. It's been a long journey so far and we're still not quite done yet, there's still more of the project to go, but yes, it's great."
She said the win had also inspired her to continue her work.
"My business is generally about conservation education. That's what the aim of the business is, to inspire the next generation to care about our wildlife and environment.
"The books are aimed at kids around four to 12 years of age so they can learn about species that they may not even see in a zoo.
"These are species that are so critically endangered it is actually hard to track down any info on them at all.
"That's the aim of it. It's for kids to be able to learn about the natural world."
People wanting to know more about Ms Rowland's work can go to her Facebook page Conservation Collection AU or Instagram account, conservation_collection.au.
The International Book Awards are sponsored by American Book Fest.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Facebook
- Follow us on Twitteramp;source=gmail&ust=1688186840000000&usg=AOvVaw1oLZDVMg3D0Sp8VdEcl23M" Twitter
- Follow us on Instagramamp;source=gmail&ust=1688186840000000&usg=AOvVaw1FzZNytd9ijutrgfeWs5rZ" Instagram
- Follow us on Tiktok