Serena MangusSerena Mangus (Fort Collins, CO) has a BS in Applied Ecology. As a Volunteer Master Naturalist and Certified Interpretive Guide, she teaches school groups (kindergarten through high school) about local flora and fauna and leads outdoor-education progams for people of all ages. She fell in love with cottonwood trees on a hot day in Zion National Park--lying in their shade, hearing the wind rustle their leaves, hearing the splash of the river--and began to learn all she could about them. She continues to seek out cottonwood trees in all seasons, and one day the idea for this story came to her. Read More Read Less