On November 4, 2006, Collard received the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award, presented annually to "an author or illustrator whose total body of work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children.

[2] Collard has written more than 80 books for young people, including Shep—Our Most Loyal Dog,[3] Fire Birds: Valuing Natural Wildfires and Burned Forests, Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival, and Dog Sense.

His articles have appeared in Environmental Action,[4] The Humanist, Florida Wildlife, Islands, Cricket, and Highlights for Children.

The son of biologists, Collard says that he fell in love with the animals at an early age, watching whales with his mother and searching for snakes, turtles, and alligators with his father.

He earned a master's in scientific instrumentation at the University of California in Santa Barbara, after which he worked as a computer consultant for biologists.