Book
Wading Right In: Discovering the Nature of Wetlands
Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth
TL;DR
A 2019 book about wetlands, written for readers with no science background. It runs to 264 pages from the University of Chicago Press.
Quick Facts
- Authors
- Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- August 9, 2019
- Pages
- 264
- ISBN
- 9780226554358
Wading Right In walks us through the kinds of wetland that drivers pass by without noticing, from floodplain forests to fens and bogs. Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth build each chapter around the people who study or look after a particular place. Koning drew the illustrations herself. The book records that the United States loses roughly 13,800 acres of wetland every year.
Why OGSP Recommends It
One Good Story Project recommends Wading Right In because it helps readers understand wetlands through the people who study and protect them. Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth visit floodplain forests, fens, bogs, marshes, and mires, explaining how each ecosystem works and why its survival matters.
The book is a natural companion to The Call of the Swamp. It places the southern Illinois swamps featured in the film within the larger story of American wetlands, which continue to disappear at a rate of roughly 13,800 acres a year.
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Related Resources
Key Takeaways
- Catherine Owen Koning wrote it with Sharon M. Ashworth and drew its illustrations.
- It covers floodplain forests, fens, bogs, marshes and mires.
- The figure it gives for annual United States wetland loss is about 13,800 acres.
- Koning and Ashworth wrote it for readers who are not scientists.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wading Right In about?
The kinds of freshwater wetland found across North America, from floodplain forests to fens and bogs, told through the people who study or look after them.
Who wrote Wading Right In?
Catherine Owen Koning, who also made the drawings, and Sharon M. Ashworth.
How much wetland does the United States lose each year?
About 13,800 acres a year, a figure the book gives when it explains what that loss costs water quality and flood control.
When was Wading Right In published?
It came out on August 9, 2019.