Rainforest Challenge

715 Sennebec Rd.

Union, ME 04862

Matthew Watier, a current student at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia was, at age 10, part of the conception of the Rainforest Challenge and his contribution to the program was in the area of marketability, as his talents are in the visual arts. By age 14 he had illustrated most of the programs curriculum and created the logo that was adopted by STEP (Students Toward Environmental Protection), the group that was currently running the Rainforest Challenge. Matthew, at the same time, was an active member in high school theater, both as an actor, set designer, consultant and general core member of the theater productions he was involved in.

Matthew continued to plan presentations with STEP, but also worked on his leadership skills in 4-H; planning and coordinating the teen conferences on the Mid-coast and State levels. Matthew was the "resident artist" for all the groups to which he belonged, designing brochures and other paraphernalia for publication on a local, state, and national audiences.

Matthew, after graduation from high school in 1997, went to college to focus upon illustration, especially creating children’s books. But in his need to market himself and the products that he was making; he took great interest in the many aspects of digital art. Now working on a prototype of an interactive digital demonstration, he has once again turned his eye back to the curriculum of the Rainforest Challenge. He has already finished a motivational movie for the program and is now designing an interactive CD-Rom of games to be published for the programmers to use within their presentations for schools.

The rainforest has always been a great muse for Matt’s creative consciousness and he is eager to walk in the rainforest. A more intimate knowledge of that environment is what he wants to have to truly market and produce products that will help in its preservation.

Matt is now a children's book author and illustrator, and you can find more of his work here: http://watier.org/matt_watier/category/illustrated-children-books.