Jamaican author Kymara Elliott is to make her book Nature and Me accessible to children with disabilities, as she seeks to have an inclusive approach to teaching children how to care for and love nature.

If you asked a 25-year-old Elliott to share memories from her childhood, you would most likely be treated to several stories about her picking up trash on the beach and encouraging people not to litter.

Now, she is seeking to instill these same environmentally friendly practices in every child, including those with a disability.

“I’ve always included the disabled body community because they are important. We do so many things and we do not include them, but they are children too. If you think about able-bodied children having difficulties, just image [children with disabilities],” she told Our Today.

First published in February of this year, the book features catchy poems about different environmental challenges such as global warming and climate change, and the different ways children can contribute to saving the planet.

Elliott noted that she is currently working on publishing an audio book for Nature and Me, that she hopes will be published in April or May of 2023, as well as a braille copy much later next year.

“I want to include every single child who is not able to see or hear, because they are just as important as anybody else,” she stressed.

In addition to this, Elliott shared that she is also working to have her book published in other languages, staying true to her aim of being inclusive.

“I want to be able to get them when they young, to instill certain values and attitudes in them that they will never depart from,” she told Our Today.

Elliott also recalled that she was influenced by teachings around global warming and climate change in primary school that fueled this desire in her to save the planet.

When the pandemic hit, she said she saw it as the perfect opportunity to write her book, dedicating it to her now four-year-old daughter, Adanne Campbell, who inspired her to create a better world.

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“There’s so many fairytale books and science fiction and I’m like, why not do an environment book for kids. Even though there are so many in the market, I haven’t seen any in the Jamaican market. So I decided to use my poetic skills,” she said.

Since then, she has worked with the Ministry of Education, who invited her to share her book with students at the International Literacy Day forum in October of this year.

Elliott has also visited a few schools where she reads the content of her book to students, an activity she hopes to continue.

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