September Artist of the Month – Sarah Roberts
We caught up with author and conservationist Sarah Roberts for our September 2020 interview.
About Sarah Roberts
From sharks to Grizzly Bears, Sarah has worked with lots of different species in field research and guiding before moving into eco-journalism. Her passion for storytelling and increasing awareness on conservation issues led her to start a YouTube channel (Sarahsrealjob) in 2014, documenting her adventures in the field. Her first children’s book on plastic pollution, ‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’, was published by Scholastic UK, selling tens of thousands of copies internationally in multiple languages.
Sarah is also the Founder of the outreach education project ‘Creature’, a content creator, a public speaker, an Ambassador for Blacks Outdoor Retail , an Ambassador for LADbible’s Trash Isles campaign and has worked with the likes of BBC, CBBC Newsround, Blue Peter and Scouts UK. Sarah has just recently returned from her latest expedition in Iceland, documenting climate change and investigating exciting new technology that may help reduce carbon emissions. She'll be releasing a short film on this soon called ‘Iceland's Green Machine.'
What a visit from Sarah entails
Sarah is accustomed to working with all age groups from early years to university level, though she predominantly visits primary schools. She can deliver keynote speeches, whole school assemblies, half day or full day workshops and is happy to accommodate any class size.
‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’ workshops are suitable for EY, KS1 and KS2 and may include:
· An Interactive Story Reading / book signing
· Ask the Author
· Lessons on plastic pollution in the environment and the food chain
· Where did plastic come from?
· Understanding Sustainability
· Real wildlife footage, photos and props (including shark and Grizzly Bear footage and real close animal encounter stories)
· Arts and Crafts
Any extra requests may be catered for with enough advance notice. All workshops are tailored to the UK Science National Curriculum and include topics within: 'Materials and their Properties', 'Working Scientifically' and 'Animals and the Food Chain'.
Feedback from Sarah’s previous visits
“It was a brilliant day – lots of staff thought that Sarah was the best author we have had in! She introduced her book/herself in assembly but took time to talk about other things/animals that were related – the children absolutely loved her and were so engaged by her talks of animals and just incredible general life experience. She worked really hard all day and the activities she did with the children were appropriate to the age group but also stretched them in terms of thinking and knowledge. She seemed to get a lot from our children and they found facts in their brains that us teachers didn’t necessarily knew that they knew.
Would highly recommend Sarah again and would love to have her back again in a heartbeat. We also sold out of the books that you sent which is a very good sign from both pupils/staff alike!”
St Michael at Bowes C of E Junior School
“The visit went so well, the children absolutely loved it. Sarah was so good with them, she was really child friendly and made so much time for them. They particularly liked the bear story and how involved they could get in it.
It was also great she could stay behind for the book signing. I think the staff got as many books as the children did! We really enjoyed it and are very much considering whether we would like to get her back again next year because it was so fantastic.”
Ridgeway Infants School
“Thank you soooo much for a fab event on Tuesday. You did a brilliant job and the kids loved hearing about Stanley!”
National Literacy Trust responding to ‘Get Blackpool Reading’ event.
“We had a fantastic day with Sarah. The children were thoroughly engaged and I had excellent feedback for all of the classes. She is so inspiring! Thank you for all of your support and a huge thank you to Sarah for a super day!”
Ightenhill Primary School
Read about Sarah and her author visits on his author page here
Interview with Sarah Roberts
When and why did you join Authors Abroad?
I joined Summer 2019 (shortly after Stanley was published by Scholastic).
How have you been coping with lockdown and life during covid-19?
I arrived back in the UK from a film shoot in Iceland with Berghaus and Blacks just as the borders were closing. The first month of lock down was actually a great little productive cave for me and my camera man to edit our film. The second month was slightly more tough as I watched my exciting year of work fall plans fall apart. From film shoots in the Amazon and Africa, to school visits abroad and book festivals across the UK, they all cancelled in front of my eyes. It was easy to feel pretty lost at this point. I was living at my mum’s in the countryside though, so the third month I avoided cabin fever by wandering around the fields with my dogs, investing in a fire pit and embracing the art of ‘playing out’ with old friends again. By the time we were able to move around in June, I set off to Cornwall, Dorset, Wales, the Lake District and have recently moved to Bristol. I’ve got new UK adventures in the pipe now and have made some awesome new friends all over the UK. Relinquishing all the expectations and plans for this year and going with the flow instead has actually been pretty freeing for me and I have to admit (without wanting to sound too smug) 2020 is fast becoming my favourite year yet!
Do you think that this awful situation has made people value nature more and realise it’s value?
It’s swings and round-abouts really isn’t it?! I think covid definitely had more people spending time outdoors than ever before, especially whilst there was a lack of other options such as shopping, eating out etc. It’s definitely fair to say that 2020 has been the year of walking! That said, although many people have used the time to discover and appreciate more wildlife on our own doorstep, there is still a litter dropping culture that exists in society and unfortunately I’ve seen more litter in my favourite countryside spots than ever before and now masks too! I imagine that there has also been an added pressure on wildlife in these areas.
What made you change from a career in conservation to a children’s author?
I haven’t! For me this is all intertwined. The books are a way of me communicating conservation issues to a wider audience, but my heart is out in the wild and that’s where I find most my best story inspiration. I’ll always split my time between working in the field and creating, pitching and making new content in the form of videos, books and talks. I can’t protect the places I love, if people don’t change their actions on a global scale, so that’s why I work in science communication.
Where did the idea for ‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’ come from?
The idea was pretty much conceived in an afternoon. In 2013, I had been working on a remote tropical island at a shark research facility and had seen plastic washing up on the beaches after storms. I knew it was a problem, but it was only when I started teaching children about plastic pollution that I really started looking into the nature of plastic and the actual figures. I found the topic pretty daunting as an adult and the last thing I wanted to do was to scare the children, so I knew I had to find a more positive angle to explain it. I knew that sea turtles and other animals were confusing plastic bags as jellyfish, but I’m a pretty empathetic person (or a massive over-thinker ha ha) and I like to look at things from all perspectives. Taking a second to think about the bag as a jellyfish, I realised it wasn’t the bags fault that it ended up in the situation at all and that’s when Stanley was born.
What do you enjoy most about visiting schools?
The answers children give. I love the originality in their thought processes and how they are able to grasp topics or enter into environmental conversations that most adults would shy away from. They really do call it as it is. It’s refreshingly fun.
Are children engaging with the environment message – are we going the right direction?
Yes, absolutely! I think that a lot of this comes down to the hard work of teachers and parents. It varies school to school, but I would say on the whole, I’ve seen a huge shift in the way environmental studies is taught and embraced over the last 3 years especially. Children and adults in many different countries are now much more aware of the problems.
What is your most memorable experience from working with wildlife?
It’s pretty hard to pick. I mean, getting bitten by a shark definitely sticks in my memory, but then so does swimming with alligators, meeting rescued hippos or an orca crashing our BBQ! I have a soft spot for the big predators though, that is for sure!
What is the best place you have visited for work so far?
School-wise, I visited Almaty KSI school in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the year and absolutely loved it! The locals were amazingly friendly and the scenery was spectacular. I’d like to go back in summer time to do some hiking at some point!
Would you say your school visits focus more on helping the environment, writing, or both?
I would say it’s all wrapped into one. I’m a story teller underneath it all. That is why I make videos, write books and articles, but for me the point of it has always been to protect the places and creatures that I love. If you book me for a workshop, you can expect a good lesson in science, geography, English, art and creative thinking.
If you could change or add anything to the curriculum what would it be?
I would add more about nature, the environment and playing out.
Have you got any other books planned?
I do, I’m not allowed to speak about them just yet though…
If you could get children you visit to adopt one new habit, what would it be?
I would encourage them to play out as much as possible. It’s no good protecting something just because you’re told to. You have to want to. I think having fun whilst enjoying the outdoors as much as possible from a young age really shaped who I am and how I value nature.
How does it feel that your work has inspired schools to participate in beach cleans or recycle more?
It’s pretty cool, I can’t take credit for the work of the teachers and children though. The beach cleans and recycling projects are all theirs and I’m just so chuffed that they have included Stanley in that!
Quick Fire
Paperback or Kindle?
Ideally a book made of recycled plastic but Kindle for on the road please!
Safari or diving break?
Tough but Diving (in the hopes that there might be some surf near the coast too)
Would you rather be able to speak to animals or teleport?
Teleport (carbon free instantaneous travel- sounds like a dream – constant adventures and I’d see my friends so much more often!)
What Mr Men or Little Miss character would you create?
Little Miss Lost (probably wandering around exploring somewhere)
Starter or dessert?
Starter (depending on how full I am)
If you were Prime Minister for the day, what law would you introduce?
That’s a hard one! I’d probably have a day or two every year where everyone has to go out and clean up, a bit like they do in Rwuanda I think.
Arrange for Sarah Roberts to visit your school
To make an enquiry about Sarah, or any of the other authors, poets & illustrators listed on this website, please phone Trevor Wilson on +44 (0) 1535 656015, or email him at trevor@caboodlebooks.co.uk