ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Tampa Bay area woman with a talent for drawing, a love of nature and a passion for education decided to combine all three. What she came up with was her own children’s coloring book, “Color Your Way Through Wild Florida.”
From gators to snakes to birds, if it’s found in Florida, there’s a good chance it’s also found in Kelly Quinn’s book.
“During the pandemic, we created the coloring book to bring the nature of wild Florida to kids and families so that they could enjoy it themselves,” said Quinn.
There are more than 70 pages of illustrations featuring animals and habitats native to Florida, as well as facts to go along with them.
Quinn just isn’t striving to educate; she’s working to protect. Ten percent of all proceeds from the book will go to the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
“We’ve explored a number of different avenues to use this book as a tool to bring homes and families and classrooms into the corridor experience,” said Jason Lauritsen with Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The nonprofit organization works to promote and preserve 17 million acres of land across the state.
“I’m very lucky that I get this opportunity to work in conservation and work with so many people and organizations that care so deeply about the same things that I do,” said Quinn.
Quinn said she still gets just as excited spotting an alligator now as she did when she was five years old and hopes that enthusiasm carries over through the pages of the book.
“I hope that this coloring book inspires families and kids to go out and explore their local habitats such as a local state park or preserve,” said Quinn.
For more information on “Color Your Way Through Wild Florida,” go to canvasofthewild.com.
