Meet the author aiming to raise awareness of marine pollution in Dorset

Bridport illustrator Nicola Dennis and John Eames, author and former teacher at Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis, have created ‘Metamorfishes, Mutants From Pollutants’.

The book includes a series of illustrations of different species with an incorporated pollutant and its consequences, accompanied by 22 short poems

Nicola and John said: “The strikingly original illustrations with their mock-Latin names draw attention to the many ways in which we abuse our rivers, seas and oceans.

“The short poems are companion pieces which add a gentle satirical humour to provide the reader with accompanying verbal images.

“The key points are then driven home with factual information and advice on how we can all work towards improving our marine environment.

“The purpose of Metamorfishes is partly to raise awareness of the damage being caused to the marine environment but also to be a stimulus to effective action.”

The pair have been awarded a Watermark Award by Wessex Water, which supports environmental projects, and funding from an anonymous environmental charity to make the books available free of charge to all secondary schools in the Wessex Water region.

In doing so, they are supporting the schools which are working towards the Eco-schools Green Flag Award.

John and Nicola are also applying for further funding to extend the distribution of free books to other parts of the country.

Nicola has already designed and illustrated two books for the Dorset Wildlife Trust – ‘Bizzy the Blenny’ and ‘Jolly the Oystercatcher’.

Between them, John and Nicola have also created three other books with a strong environmental message – ‘Leafcutter’, ‘The Butterfly Magician’ and ‘The Magic Makers’.

The book will be officially launched at the Chesil Beach Centre as part of the Great Dorset Beach Clean on Saturday, April 27 at 10am.

John will be reading from the book and representatives from Wessex Water will be presenting the pair with their award.