After local fishers noticed a large swarm of fish in an unlikely area in the Gulf of Mexico, a team of divers found the remains of a forest deep beneath the waves. The ancient trees had been undisturbed for more than fifty thousand years before finally being uncovered by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The Lost Forest: An Unexpected Discovery beneath the Waves by Jennifer Swanson takes readers on a deep dive with the scientists exploring the sunken cypress forest.

Today Jennifer Swanson joins us to discuss what drew her to this story, her hopes for young readers, and more. Read on to watch the official book trailer!

How did you find out about the underwater forest? What about this expedition drew you in?

I am lucky enough to be good friends with one of the scientists on this team. Dr. Brian Helmuth was was an expert on my Astronaut-Aquanaut (NGKids 2018) book, and we have stayed in touch since then. When Brian found out that a team he was on was going to be the only one to dive on this newly discovered ancient underwater forest, he called and asked if I might be interested in telling their story. My response, was, “Would I? Absolutely. I’m in!”

Brian said that this forest was over 60,000 years old and made of cypress. Cypress trees do not live in the water, so this area had to be on land many years ago. The fact that this newly formed ecosystem could give clues to the past, plus, also describe how ecosystems form in the ocean, was so intriguing to me. I had to learn more. 

You were able to attend alot of the virtual meetings with the scientists during this process. What was that like? 

It was fantastic! Unfortunately, shortly after their first dive at the end of 2019, covid hit. That meant their second dive scheduled in 2020 couldn’t take place. I had been invited to participate in that one. Instead, I was able to sit in on their meetings where they discussed their findings from the first dive. They talked about what kind of data they had collected and how the samples were being processed. I was able to ask a lot of questions and participate as a member of the team. It was really fun and very informative. 

What was the most fascinating or surprising piece of research you discovered?

I was surprised to learn that the most exciting creature the scientists found in the underwater forest was a shipworm. I don’t know much about them, other than the fact that they eat wooden ships, but shipworms are actually pretty cool. They are one of the rare animals on our planet that can digest cellulose– wood. The enzymes in their stomach break the cellulose down. And it’s these very enzymes that scientists find intriguing. These enzymes might contain chemicals that could one day help humans digest or even break down cells in our bodies. It’s fascinating stuff! 

What was the most challenging part of writing The Lost Forest?

It was challenging interviewing all of the scientists during covid. I had to conduct virtual interviews with each of them, instead of just going to the site for a couple of days. Also, I was not able to go out on the ship with them for the dive. Which not only would have been very cool, but also would have been great to see them in action. But, still I managed and this book turned out very well, despite all of the challenges.  

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

I hope that they will follow their own curiosity and explore something new to them. Maybe it will inspire them to become a scientist, engineer, or even an artist that celebrates ocean life. There is so much to learn from this book, and so many places STEM can take you. 

Watch the official book trailer

Praise for The Lost Forest

“Swanson, who shadowed the scientists, documents their methods and discoveries in an appealing narrative, complemented by photos of the scientists in action. In the process, readers learn such amazing details as the dangers of diving, organizing experiments, gene sequencing, and finding new species.” — Booklist

“A detailed, thought-provoking account of the work of scientists.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Features photographs of the dives to the forest and the surrounding ecosystem. Scientific processes are explained and illustrated, and several at-home experiments are provided.” — School Library Journal

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