Conservation storytelling
If nature could speak, what would it say?
Conservation storytelling provides a creative platform for Victoria’s animals and plants to tell the world how important their homes are and why humans should care about them. Telling stories can inform and inspire people to connect with and act for nature, allowing us to think about the environment from different perspectives.
Creative forms like song, movement, art, film, spoken word and written text have an important role to play in describing complex or abstract ideas in ways that everyone can understand. Conservation storytellers can influence pro-environmental values, attitudes, and beliefs by connecting us with little known or under-loved places and species. At Parks Victoria, we believe that everyone can use stories to raise awareness of the things we find special in nature. By practicing your storytelling and sharing with your friends and family, you can give a voice to the environment and contribute to a resilient, knowledgeable, and empathetic future.
Digital Picture Books
Parks Victoria’s picture books use science-informed narrative and illustration to communicate conservation stories to young children. We hope that the heroes of each story will promote a love of and connection to place, and demonstrate ways to care for both habitats and species.
The following picture books were developed through Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)’s Victorian Faunal Emblems program.
Spectacular Splendid Swamps
Hope knows that swamps are more than just mud!
They're rustling, watery wonderlands.
Humans think swamps are soggy, stinky and sludgy.
They chop, change and fill them.
Hope wants the humans to love her swampy home
before it disappears for good.
She’s a little bird on a big mission –
but is she too small to make a difference?
This book was developed through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)’s Victorian Faunal Emblems program.

Sprinkle Streams Ahead
Sprinkle floated across the mossy mountain pool, dreaming of the wide-open ocean.
What types of curious creatures loved their healthy watery homes along the way to the sea?
It was time for an adventure, but would Sprinkle see the salty, sparkly waves before their family called them back to the clouds?
This book was developed through the Department of Education's Strategic Partnerships Program.

The Forest Guardian
When did Arwyn become a fairy possum protector?
Her sturdy trunk sways in the swirling ancient air.
Possums dart and flit through her limbs.
“Our hollows are disappearing,” they whisper.
As the old forest shrinks,
all becomes quiet, still, empty…
Can Arwyn find a safe place
for her fairy possums to nest?
This book was developed through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)’s Victorian Faunal Emblems program.

The Big Bush Meeting
Mayor Banksia knows that fire can be a friend in nature.
Fire makes space for new plants.
It tells seeds when it’s time to sprout
and stops bushfires from burning too big.
But how can this town use fire to stay safe and healthy
when everyone’s homes need fire in different ways?
This book was developed through the Department of Education's Strategic Partnerships Program.

The Mighty Migrant
There are whispers on the flyway of food going missing,
And sticky mudflats and cozy rest stops disappearing.
Rusty, the Red-necked Stint detective, is on the case!
Can Rusty dig for clues and make sure migratory birds
always have a safe place to rest and refuel on their huge journey from the Arctic back to Victoria?
This book was developed through the Department of Education's Strategic Partnerships Program.
