Joseph Banks

Hello there. My name is Joseph Banks. When I was a little boy, I loved to be outside. I did not want to play with toys. I wanted to play with flowers. I would run through fields and look at all the different colors—bright reds, sunny yellows, and pretty purples. I loved learning their names and seeing how they grew. Nature was my favorite playground.

When I grew up, my love for plants took me on a big, big adventure. In the year 1768, I got to sail on a giant wooden ship called the Endeavour. My friend, Captain James Cook, was in charge. We sailed across the huge, blue ocean for a very long time. We visited new places with warm, sandy beaches and tall, twisty trees. It was so exciting to see parts of the world I had only dreamed about.

On our trip, I was like a treasure hunter, but my treasures were plants and animals. I found flowers that were bigger than my hands and butterflies with sparkly wings. I even saw a funny animal that hopped on two big feet. I carefully collected them and drew pictures of everything. This was so I could show all my friends back home in England. We discovered hundreds of new things.

I lived to be 77 years old, and I never stopped loving nature. People remember me because I shared so many amazing plants with the world. My drawings and discoveries helped everyone learn more about our beautiful planet.