Naomi Volain
Cartoonist
Self-Employed
Posted 11-13-24

Instagram
naomivolain.com
plantsgoglobal.com

With two degrees in nutrition, my science-based career has included community and clinical nutrition, medical advertising copywriting, teaching high school science, and informal plant and garden education.

I received many awards for my hands-on teaching methods - locally, nationally, and internationally. They include the million-dollar Global Teacher Prize, as a Top 10 Finalist; the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching; the EPA’s Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (an Honorable Mention); and the Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Bridgeport. Being featured as a BSA SciComm (Science Communicator) in 2021 was a highlight!

I’ve always been interested in the intersection of science and art. I often give my students assignments to draw or use 3-D art to express a science concept. Currently, I teach science through nonfiction graphic comics.

My comics took a detour from plants when I was in treatment for cancer. Many of my recent comics tell the story of my cancer time. Now, I’m switching my focus back to plants. It’s important to me to showcase current botanical science research in my cartoons. I want to create comics with BSA scientists to communicate their work visually. 

I’m in the early stages of researching citrus greening for new comics. I became interested in it when I was a Plant Science Judge at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles this spring. A few of the students did their research on citrus greening solutions, which were brilliant.

I’ve become active in the comics community. Attending an educator’s conference on comics at the 2023 San Diego ComicCon was a highlight; this year I did a comics reading (like a poetry reading, but with the cartoon in view) at an art space in Los Angeles. I’m attending the Non-Fiction Comics Festival in Burlington, Vermont, to meet other cartoonists and inform my work. I’ll be on a panel on graphic medicine at the Comic Arts LA Festival in December 2024.

How Naomi got interested in the botanical sciences:

The Room 318 greenhouse at Springfield Central High School, Massachusetts, is the site of my origin story, where my botanical sciences interest began. I taught science in Room 318. Its adjoining greenhouse was unused and neglected. In my biology classes, my students and I started to do plant labs in the greenhouse. Pots, soils, watering cans, plant trays, and cuttings filled the space under the glass and rusty frames. I became more and more involved in using botany as a way to have students do and learn science. I was learning along with them, having only one semester of botany in my college time. Student enthusiasm about plants was high.

My students and I joined the BSA’s PlantingScience program. It was a major part of my labs and curriculum, and the students loved it. In time I developed a half-year Botany class. I also taught Advanced Placement Environmental Science. I managed to find some way to have students grow and explore with plants in all of my classes.

After I moved from Massachusetts to California, my interest in the botanical sciences continued. I created Plants Go Global, a plant science education website. It’s an educational resource that includes basics about plants – to see, know, sustain, use, eat, grow, and meet plants. As time went on, I started cartooning about plants. I added a comics page to the website.

Doing comics is how I continue to learn and teach about botanical sciences. The comics that teach me the most are research-based. I find a plant research topic I’m interested in, and create a comic from it. This way I can continue to learn and communicate the findings in a very different format.

Naomi's advice for those just starting their botanical journey:

Consider how you’ll communicate your work. Botany research shouldn’t stay out in the lab or the field. The world needs to see what you do. Think visually and interactively. Consider comics as a way to entertain, educate and connect people to your work with plants.

Naomi's other passions:

I do landscaping and gardening here in Southern California. Since coming from the East Coast, I’ve learned about drought- and climate-compatible plants. Many of my garden decisions reflect what’s going on in the environment. I regularly visit botanical gardens. I’m a swimmer and an archer. I compete at archery tournaments to challenge myself. I was a volunteer at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and have applied to be a volunteer at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.

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