Drawing inspiration from the book No Impact Man by Colin Beavan, I and a group of other passionate University of Oregon advertising students wrote, designed, and illustrated a kids’ storybook to inspire families to take small steps in reducing waste.

Our single most compelling idea (SMCI) was that Little Green Heroes can educate families on how small behaviors impact their environment. We approached this project by framing the issue of plastic waste as a narrative following the journey of a toy soldier who is left outside after being played with. We aimed to remind children—and the parents reading the story to their children—where their toys go when they’re discarded.

Fellow collaborators included Peter Zaharie, Sammy Cohen, Bethany Glick, Jenni Ruiz-Medina, and Andrew Ketah.