Environmental preservation was the dominant theme tonight as the Fitzhenry Family Foundation presented authors L.E. Carmichael and Stephen Leahy with the prestigious Lane Anderson Award for the best science writing in Canada in 2014.
The Lane Anderson Award honours writers in two categories: adult and young reader. Winners receive a $10,000 cash prize for their work.
L.E. Carmichael, a Halifax-based science writer, received the award for her book Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild (Ashby-BP Publishing). The book, aimed at elementary school aged children, uses forensic science (e.g. DNA sampling) to solve crimes against wildlife.
In Your Water Footprint (Firefly Books), Stephen Leahy introduces readers to the Virtual Water Concept and to readers’ awareness of how much water is used in our everyday activities. Leahy is an environmental journalist from Uxbridge, Ontario.
“The Fitzhenry Family Foundation is excited to award two pieces of work that ultimately encourage protection of the earth’s resources and animal welfare,” said Holly Doll. “It’s important to us that Canadians are encouraged to read about science and the environment at both young reader and adult levels.”
The juries based their decision on the relevance of each book’s content to the importance of science in today’s world, as well as the author’s ability to connect the topic to the interests of the general trade reader. Books must have been published in English between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014.
