Aaron Birk is the author and illustrator of The Pollinator’s Corridor, a graphic novel about urban renewal and biodiversity. The Pollinator’s Corridor is not your standard graphic novel. The heroes don’t wear capes and there is no evil villain (other than pollution and industrialization). The story follows two high school students from the Bronx as they work together on a biology project, which quickly becomes a passionate endeavor. By connecting parks and watersheds with corridors of flowering plants (or ‘pollinator’s corridors’) they help wild plants grow freely in the city, encouraging pollination and urban biodiversity. For such a ‘green’ subject, Aaron brings a multitude of colors into play, both literally and metaphorically.
After reading The Pollinator’s Corridor I was excited to have the chance to meet Aaron in person on his book-signing tour. We met at the Harvard Coop in Boston, surrounded by books, more books, and quiet elevator music. Aaron, a Philadelphia resident, is lean and fit with a genuine, yet humble, way of presenting himself.
