Into the Undergrowth

Nature / Essays - As a conservation biologist, Dawn Tanner travels to remote places and has unforgettable moments with rare wildlife. As a mother, she shares many of these experiences and a love of the natural world with her kiddo, Zosh. In Into the Undergrowth, stories unfold from the rainforests of Madagascar and Borneo to the rivers and prairies of the Midwest. Black-footed ferrets, marine iguanas, and orangutans make appearances in these pages. Throughout the book, music and art are centering forces in the face of what can feel like overwhelming environmental change.

While learning, doing research, traveling, and teaching, Dawn recognizes that meaningful conservation often begins at home. By embracing native plants and adding them to our yards and neighborhoods, we build back room for fireflies, bees, wild turkeys, and flying squirrels. Expanding and connecting these smaller patches of habitat makes room for otters, wolves, lynx, and more.

Ensuring that prairie chickens continue to dance in the early morning light and howler monkeys' choruses echo through the rainforest is not just something done from afar. Our green spaces matter. Reconnecting them is a choice. Music and art are keys to staying motivated and building community while doing the work on the ground. Dawn and Zosh live in St. Paul, Minnesota.