Date of Graduation

12-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Isabel M. Whitehead-Adams

Committee Member

Lisa S. Wood

Second Committee Member

Shane White

Abstract

Storytelling in the environmental sciences provides a creative method of scientific dissemination, contrasting with traditional formats such as research papers, news articles, and journal articles. Though traditional methods of scientific dissemination are valuable, creative storytelling offers another path to improve knowledge retention and consciousness toward the planet, particularly in elementary education. The objective of this creative project was to produce an elementary-level children’s fiction manuscript as an example of how environmental education can be integrated with storytelling. The writing process treated reading level, conceptual comprehension, and the avoidance of oversimplification as constraints equal to character creation, setting, plot, and fantastical elements. Set in a fictional town and written within the magical realism genre, the story follows a young female protagonist and her friends as they confront an environmental issue in their local community and work alongside city environmentalists and analysts. Educational content is distributed across the plot to allow scientific ideas to emerge as the kids investigate. The project resulted in a 13,143-word manuscript, supported by an interdisciplinary review of storytelling in scientific communication, environmental studies, psychology, and education, as well as a reflection on process, peer and professional edits/critiques, and future action. The creative project and study, through demonstration, argues that children’s literature can function well as a means of scientific dissemination, holding both education and storytelling in equal measure.

Keywords

creative storytelling; environmental education; climate change communication; children's fiction; sustainability

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