As a former national park ranger, outdoor instuctor, and museum educator, I have over 25 years of speaking experience. I have given talks to elementary school children, Elderhostel participants, and teachers. I have given presentations while canoeing in canyon country, walking through downtown Boston, and in formal classroom settings. My programs combine an engaging and light-hearted style with themes tailored to each audience, ensuring a presentation that is both spellbinding and informative.
Over the past few years, I have developed a variety of walks and talks focused on natural history. Each one brings together history, observation, and science to, I hope, encourage people to look more carefully at the natural world around them and to reconsider places they may have taken for granted.
Upcoming Walks and Talks
- March 2012 – I am helping a Scottish film crew work on a documentary for the History Channel.
- March 9, 2012 – The Gardens at Town Square – Stories in Stone talk
- April 7, 2012 – Burke Museum – 10:00 to 11:30 AM – Stories in Stone walk of downtown Seattle. Cost: $25
- April 12, 2012 – Burke Museum – Stories in Stone walk for the Fifth Annual Fossil Preparation & Collections Symposium. Not open to the public.
- August 6, August 27, and September 17, 2012 – Road Scholar – Talk on the geology of Mt. Rainier
- September 15, 2012 – North Cascades Institute – Street Smart Naturalist one-day tour of Seattle. More info later.
Contact David for availability and rates.
Walks
- Downtown Rock Hound – Most people do not think of looking for geology from the sidewalks of Seattle, but for the intrepid geologist any good rock can tell a fascinating story. All one has to do is look at building stone in downtown Seattle to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. Furthermore, building stones provide the foundation for constructing stories about cultural as well as natural history. On this 1.5-mile long walk, we will explore stone ranging from 3.5-billion years old to 120,000 years old, fossils as large as a cinnamon roll, and rock used by the Romans to build the Colosseum. We will discuss history, geology, and architecture to give you a new way to appreciate the urban wilds of Seattle.
“If you’d asked me two years ago if I’d be more excited about a type of rock than a type face, I would have laughed. However, the Stories in Stone tour changed that for me! As the Tours Director of the Seattle Architecture Foundation, we frequently partner with subject matter experts, and David B. Williams knows his rocks! I was captivated by his breadth of knowledge and his presentation: he really makes geology come to life. The lower level of the façade of the Exchange Building is clad in Morton Gneiss (a rock more than 3.5 billion years old). Previously, when I tried to humanize the scale of the building, I’d always draw attention to the demure, eye-level, quintessential Art Deco building sign. Now, it’s all about the material! Stories in Stone really opened my eyes to the way stone contributes to the over-all impact of a building. His tour is a fabulous urban adventure and you’ll see Seattle in an entirely new light.”
~ Roberta Miner
Tours Director
Seattle Architecture Foundation
- A Creek Runs Through It – With a watershed of nearly 12 square miles, Thornton Creek drains more ground than any other in the city. Over the last several years, local citizens, schools, and public agencies have radically altered the creek by removing trash and alien species, replanting native species, and constructing a nine-acre pond, home for salmon, birds, and beaver. On this walk, which ranges from 3 to 5 miles, depending on what you want to see, we will visit some of Seattle’s wildest and least known green spaces. We will also see how people can restore an urban creek.
“David Williams is an adept and entertaining guide. His inner-city naturalist walks provided participants a rare and thoughtful view into the oft-overlooked processes of urban ecology, from wide vistas across the Puget Sound to microscopic investigation of the stones beneath our feet. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who wants to see cities in a different light.”
~ Megan McGinty
Climate Challenge Programs Coordinator
North Cascades Institute
Talks
- Stories in Stone: Most people do not think of looking for geology from the sidewalks of a major city, but for the intrepid geologist any good rock can tell a fascinating story. All one has to do is look at building stone to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. Furthermore, building stones provide the foundation for constructing stories about cultural as well as natural history. In this talk, I explore building stone from around the country, ranging from rock used by the Romans to build the Colosseum to a gas station made of petrified wood to a granite quarry that lead to the first commercial railroad in the United States. (I can tailor this program specifically to Seattle.)
- The Man Who Invented Dinosaurs: Life-sized dinosaurs made their world debut in 1854 at the Crystal Palace in London. Incredibly popular, they launched our nearly 200-year-long obsession with all things dinosaur. Fourteen years later, dinosaurs made their debut in America with a standing skeleton at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Both displays were made by artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Hawkins also tried to build a dinosaur museum in New York but was thwarted by the notorious scoundrel Boss Tweed, whose henchmen destroyed two years of Hawkins’ work. In this talk, I will explore the life of Hawkins, showman, sculptor, and friend of Darwin and Huxley. Oh yeah, he was also a bigamist, with two wives living just miles apart.
- The Street-Smart Naturalist: Botany and bugs, geology and geese, creeks and crows; living in a major city doesn’t have to separate us from the natural world. Nature is all around us, if we take the time to look, especially in a place as filled with green spaces as Seattle. In this talk, I weave together personal musings, bits of humor, natural history observations, and scientific data to reveal a side of the city often overlooked by many. (I can tailor this talk to what your group wants to focus on.)
Past Walks and Talks
Centralia College Lyceum Lecture Series, Seattle Architectural Foundation, Architectural Heritage Center, Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door, North Cascades Institute, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle Audubon Society, Washington Ornithological Society, Northwest Geological Society, StoneFest, Bellevue Rock Club, Portland State University, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The Rainier Club, Colorado College Alumni Association, University of Chicago Alumni Association, Elderhostel, Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Site, Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks, Washington Native Plant Society, University of Washington Program on the Environment, Northwest Sustainability Conference, Sierra Club Cascade Chapter, Homewaters Project, Horizon House, Ida Culver House, Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources
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