Climate change can be a confusing topic, and Jade Rush wanted to make it easy to understand for kids.
“They’re the ones that are going to be the most impacted by climate change,” she said.
The Bowling Green grad and Mentor native is trying to share her message through a superhero, Evelyn the Environmentalist, with her first book out this week.
“Evelyn is your average everyday girl, but she can fly,” she said. “I actually got that idea from a group of kids that I was reading the book to. They were like, ‘Oh my gosh is she a superhero?’”
Aside from the cape, Rush said Evelyn does things that any kid can do.
“Write letters to different corporations or different people about things they see and maybe want to change,” she said. “There's also planting trees and wildflowers and beach cleanups.”
The idea came to her as a nature lover who studied marketing and environmental science. After participating in BGSU’s version of the TV show about supporting startups, “Shark Tank,” she created a publishing company, Green Adventures, for eco-friendly books.
“The book is made from 100% unbleached post-consumer recycled paper and is printed with plant-based inks,” she said. “There's a wildflower seed page in the back that you can tear out of the book and plant in your backyard or in a pot and you can watch the flowers grow and see how it helps the bees and other insects in the environment around them.”
The idea behind the seed packet is to help kids get started caring for the earth.
The book’s colorful illustrations are by Mentor native Evelyn Jenkins - Rush’s best friend. She’s at Ohio University while Rush runs Green Adventures from their hometown. The pair are already working on a second Evelyn book about the seven “R’s” of recycling, slated for release next year. They hope to complete the trilogy with a book about bees.
