Boglin Gets Lost

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
Burns Bog Conservation Society
City & State:
Delta, 
British Columbia
Organization Website:
www.burnsbog.org
Organization's Mission Statement
Conservation and protection of Burns Bog forever.

Submission Information

Impact Essay
Because of Adobe InDesign, the story of Boglin Bear came to life. We, the Burns Bog Conservation Society, are a small not-for-profit organization that exists to protect Burns Bog, a globally unique wetland due to its chemistry, form, flora and large size. When it comes to protecting our environment, educating ourselves, our neighbours and our children to participate in our communities is probably the most important activity we can do. In the case of Burns Bog, it was adults who as high school students were taught about the importance of ecology in a section of the bog that helped stop a proposed development in 1988 from destroying this unique wetland. And, by using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator, we could bring the bog into the classroom. In a story book form, we created, for the first time, an educational tool to reach and engage children from Kindergarten to Grade 3. To make the book more appealing, two summer students used Adobe Creative Suite to convert the hand drawn illustrations of Boglin and his friends from a JPEG file to Adobe Illustrator. Using the Live Trace, the cartoon line drawings could be made to look sharper and more vibrant. This was important because the book was printed, except for its cover, in black and white. As an environmental non-profit, being able to publish a book in black and white, on 100% recycled paper, and have it look professionally done is a huge success. We all need to find creative ways to reduce our use of resources, and this book demonstrates that. The crisp line drawings bring to life Boglin Bear as he gets lost in the bog while minimizing the amount of ink used. Our mission is to educate people about the importance of bogs locally and globally. Bogs store three times more carbon than all of the world’s tropical rainforests and they are home to many rare and endangered species. And, they are being destroyed because they are often thought of as wastelands. Scientific information is important, and so is engaging the hearts of young readers. Because illustrations can be so easily uploaded with InDesign and Illustrator, we are currently up dating and enhancing our teacher’s guide using InDesign. Our plan is to incorporate some of the illustrations from Boglin Gets Lost into the guide to provide a fun book that can be clearly photocopied while minimizing the amount of toner used. This will not only positively impact the printing process to distribute the book, it will also benefit our end users, teachers, who can use less toner when photocopying the materials for their students.
Submission Category
Environmental Impact Print/Photo
Supporting Work Files