Climate Literacy in Education Volume 2, Issue 2 (Special Issue) 97 My Friend, The Lake Christina Randazzo, University of Notre Dame / University of Cambridge Artist Statement I firmly believe that culture is shaped by the stories we tell. The stories and narratives of a community influence the beliefs and values that surround one’s relationship with the Earth, so to create a sustainable future, it is crucial to foster a culture of ecologically conscious narratives, especially for younger audiences. However, many children have limited access to nature or the opportunity to engage in stories that encourage a healthy relationship with the environment. My Friend, The Lake seeks to fill this narrative gap and encourages readers to reflect on their connection to the natural world. My Friend, The Lake is a children’s book I created as a capstone project for my minor in sustainability at the University of Notre Dame. This book was inspired by a project I did for my first sustainability class, in which I wrote about my home, Bay Village, Ohio. Bay Village is home to the Huntington Reservation, one of the Cleveland Metroparks, located on the shores of Lake Erie. I grew up playing with my friend, Lake Erie, learning about her at the local nature center, and witnessing firsthand the challenges she faces, such as toxic algae blooms. For this project, I have built from my previous research and personal narratives about Lake Erie—her importance, impact, and the problems that face her today (specifically toxic algae blooms)—and put them into a picturebook titled My Friend, The Lake, for early childhood readers. The story is enriched by colorful photographs that tell the story while providing material for visual learning. The book is self-published Randazzo ú My Friend, The Lake 98 and acts as a piece of ecologically-conscious media for children to read, engage with, and form an awareness of problems facing the Earth—specifically, Lake Erie. My objectives were to: 1. Find out more about issues facing Lake Erie and gain a better understanding of how to communicate these topics. 2. Adapt the story to be appropriate for early childhood reading (ages 4-8). 3. Photograph Lake Erie to enrich the story and compile a book using Canva Pro. 4. Self-publish, print the book using DiggyPOD and distribute it/upload it online with Issue. Challenges Publishing the book ended up being the greatest challenge of this project. There were unanticipated delays and processes I had to navigate to get the book into libraries so that young readers could easily access it. Engaging with the Book I was able to share my book with a kindergarten class and actively engaged them with the material as we read together by asking questions from the following categories. Sensory • “On this maple tree, the leaves are red! What other colors can leaves be?” • “What a pretty flower! What color is this flower? What does the flower smell like?” • “Here’s a family of ducks! What sound does a duck make?” • “These people are swimming in Lake Erie! What do you think the water feels like?” Numbers The number of anything in the photographs can be counted together as a group with the reader pointing as the listeners count aloud. • “Those are a lot of ducks! Can we count together how many there are?” Climate Literacy in Education Volume 2, Issue 2 (Special Issue) 99 Knowledge of Nature • “Do you have a favorite kind of tree? What is your favorite tree called?” • “What season was this picture taken in? How can you tell? What is your favorite season? Why?” • “What a beautiful bird! Do you have a favorite kind of bird? What song do they sing?” • “Do you have any friends like Lake Erie? Reception The children with whom I shared My Friend, The Lake in turn shared many different responses to the final question above, “do you have any friends like Lake Erie?” Some friends were imaginary, and some were not, such as: • The cherry tree in their front yard • The cat in their neighborhood • The toad under their porch • The beach they visited in the summer • The fish in the sea Problem-solving questions One of the goals of this book is that it will get readers thinking about how they can have a positive impact on their environment and community. This is a great opportunity to give them the space to think aloud about their ideas. • “In what ways can we be better listeners with our friends?” • “How can we be kind to our friends and help to take care of and respect them?” The audience with whom I was able to share the book actively engaged with the story and afterward, said that they wanted to go see places like Lake Erie! If possible, a fun follow-up activity to reading this book would be discussing the local environment together and then going for a nature walk. To practice ecological literacy, bring a local wildlife identification book along with you and have fun learning the names of local flora and fauna together! My Friend, The Lake Written and Photographed by Christina Randazzo My Friend, The Lake Written and Photographed by Christina Randazzo Dedicated to my friend, Lake Erie Copyright © 2023 Christina Randazzo All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ISBN: 979-8-218-18005-8 (Hardcover) ISBN: 979-8-218-18006-5 (Electronic) Library of Congress Control Number: 2023912733 Front cover image by Christina Randazzo. Book design by Christina Randazzo. Printed by DiggyPOD, Inc., in the United States of America. First printing edition 2023. Randazzo Publishing I love my home! I love the red maple leaves in the fall... 1 the orange monarch butterflies... 2 the bright yellow sun... 3 the lush green grass... 4 the clear blue sky... 5 and the pretty purple irises! 6 There is a rainbow 7 of colors to be explored! 8 Most of all, I love to visit 9 my friend, The Lake! 10 She gives fresh drinking water to over 11 million people! Without her, many people would have no clean water to drink. Can you imagine having no fresh water to drink? 11 Lake Erie is very important! She is also home to half of the fish found in all of the Great Lakes put together. Great Blue Herons rely on her fish for food, and many people do too! 12 A glacier is a big group of ice that moves slowly across the Earth. When Lake Erie was little, 13 she was a glacier! In the winter, she likes to act like a little kid again! She becomes icy like she was in her glacier days. 14 But that was a long time ago... 12,700 years ago! Now, Lake Erie likes to sit in one place, and I like to sit with her. 15 I love standing on her rocky shoulders and listening to her voice in the waves. 16 In the summertime, I would jump off her rocks and into her arms. 17 Sometimes, other friends would join us as well and we would all play together for hours! 18 Sometimes, her waves go crazy with excitement! Lake Erie has different feelings everyday... 19 Other times, she feels so calm that I can hardly tell if she's awake! 20 Sometimes, she likes to share her colorful glass beads with me... 21 and I have fun making them into art to share with even more friends! 22 Lake Erie helps so many people! 23 But there are problems facing our friend... like toxic algae blooms! They make Lake Erie sick. Toxic algae make up the icky green covering on Lake Erie. 24 Farmers put fertilizer on plants to help them grow big and strong... 25 How do toxic algae blooms happen? but when the rain comes, it can be washed into Lake Erie by mistake! 26 27 When this happens, the algae in Lake Erie eat the fertilizer. They grow bigger and until there is no room, food, or air left for anyone else living in Lake Erie! bigger What can we do to help our friend, Lake Erie? 28 We can listen to her and hear what she needs! 29 Together, we can listen to our friends like Lake Erie, share their stories, and take action to help them! We can gather with our family, friends, and neighbors. 30 What will you do to help your friends like Lake Erie? Will you volunteer at your local nature center? Will you help clean up and protect your local wildlife? Will you share stories like this to help be a voice for friends like Lake Erie? 31 32 How wonderful it is that there are friends like you!