Islands of Grass
- Author Name: Trevor Herriot (photographs by Branimir Gjetvaj)
- Award Year: 2018
- Publisher: Coteau Books
- Publication Date: 2017
- ISBN: 9781550509311
- Author Website: https://www.trevorherriot.com/
- Tags: Shortlist: Non-Fiction Award, Shortlist: Regina Book Award, Winner: Non-Fiction Award, Winner: Regina Book Award
About the Book
From esteemed naturalist Trevor Herriot and acclaimed nature photographer Branimir Gjetvaj, Islands of Grass is a beautiful, well-researched call-to-action and a passionately wrought love letter to the prairie grasslands that are rapidly disappearing in the wake of modernity’s relentless push. Before the arrival of settlers, the Great Northern Plain sprawled across the centre of the continent and rivalled the African savannah for wildlife, with herds of bison and pronghorn antelope numbering in the millions. It was also the home for species of birds and animals that lived nowhere else. Today that range is threatened by human incursion and in some areas there are only pockets of unadulterated prairie grassland left, small islands of a unique environment. In those small plots of grasslands species cling to survival, unable to thrive in any other environment. In presenting the irreplaceable beauty and the complexity of the grasslands, Trevor and Branimir ask the reader to both admire its majesty and consider its value. Full of extraordinary photos supported by the thought-provoking prose of Trevor Herriot, this book will bring the wonder of the grasslands to a wider audience.
About the Author
Trevor Herriot is a prairie naturalist, activist and writer living on the northern edge of the Great Plains in Regina, Saskatchewan. He has five previous titles to his name, most recently Towards a Prairie Atonement, which was published by the University of Regina Press in 2016. Trevor’s work has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction and the Writer’s Trust Award for Non-Fiction. Trevor’s writing has also appeared in the Globe & Mail and Canadian Geographic, as well as several anthologies.