How a university project, an experience in Borneo and a love for turtles inspired the creation of Little Pago.

Little Pago was born out of a creative project in animation class at university. Each student had to create a character with unique traits, habits and background (see three images from the original Little Pago book). I had been reading some disturbing information about the plight of marine animals in the Galapagos Islands and so as a response I created a vulnerable, little turtle, Little Pago. His life was endangered by human activity and I captured this with a few simple children’s picture books and an animation. 

Many years later when I became a mother, my interest in the environment and sustainability grew. I became so much more aware of how my choices impacted the environment and that of my children’s future. I loved reading stories to them and so it was natural that Little Pago crept back into the recesses of my mind.

It was when we travelled as a family to Lankayan, a remote turtle conservation island in Borneo, that my idea for a children’s picture book felt pertinent.

We shared the incredible experience of waking in the middle of the night to watch - under moonlight - a female green turtle lay her eggs on the beach.

We were also privileged to witness baby turtles hatch from their eggs and scramble along the sandy beach into the ocean for the first time. Witnessing this miracle of nature, I knew then it was time for Little Pago to meet the world.

Returning from Borneo I began to research Australian sea turtles and was dumbfounded by the overwhelming statistics that only 1 in 1,000 sea turtles live to adulthood. Six of the seven sea turtles found in Australian waters are listed as vulnerable or endangered. 

We all know education inspires change and I realised that Little Pago could be the perfect symbol to inspire children to become responsible global citizens.

Utilising my skills as an illustrator, designer and storyteller I created a children’s picture book to create awareness about the plight of Australian sea turtles and the devastating effects that plastic and other ocean pollution is having on their mortality.

The evolution of this book has been so rewarding. Who would have thought that one little idea, about one little turtle, would come into fruition some 25 years later?