What is the most interesting place you've traveled to for your work?

Africa! There are large areas of Africa that are just the way they were before people came; it's like a Garden of Eden. Parts of Africa are just filled with animals - zebras, giraffes, wildebeests and more. You can stand in one spot and no matter which way you look you see thousands of animals living together in their natural ecosystems.

What do you feel is the biggest problem for wildlife in Canada?

A lot of the things that affect wildlife have to do with governments and money. One of the biggest issues is space. We need to make sure that we set aside room and places for wildlife to live. With activities, such as farming and forestry, we need to be careful that we are not doing it just to make money. We need to think of future generations.

There is an old song called "The Best Things in Life Are Free." Your parents or teachers might know it. Well, the best things in life are not free anymore. Clean air, clean water and the song of a bird and all the ecosystems that birds live in cost money to protect. If we want to have them, we have to spend money. We have been taking and taking from nature. We only spend a little money on helping habitat. So, as the saying goes, we can pay now or we can pay later. If we pay later it will cost a whole lot more.

What tips or advice would you give to kids who want to draw or paint wildlife?

When you are about 10 years-old you can start doing drawings that look more realistic. You do this by working from your eyes. Look at what you want to paint and draw it. You should look more at the object you are drawing then at your drawing. The problem is wildlife doesn't hold still. If you are serious about drawing you should start with a bunch of dead leaves. They won't move around on you. Or bring in other things from outside.

You could collect a bunch of meadow plants, put them in a bottle and draw that. Also, work on copying photos. Remember to keep your eyes on the photo not on your drawing. As you get better, start going outside to draw nature and use photos that you have taken yourself.