With its hip and trendy vibe, Capitol Hill is often seen as the epitome of urban living. And, yet, for those who take the time to slow down and pay attention, it also has a wealth of natural history from native oak trees to curbs made of 32 million-year-old granite to seep-fed ecosystems.
On this virtual tour of the hill, naturalist and author David B. Williams will share some of the stories and locations he has found from a lifetime (he grew up on the hill) of exploration. Along the way, he’ll give you a new appreciation of the nature of the city and its wild side.
About the Speaker
David B. Williams is an author, naturalist, and tour guide whose award-winning book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography explores the unprecedented engineering projects that shaped Seattle during the early part of the twentieth century. He is also the author of Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, and The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City. Williams is also a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum. His upcoming book, Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, will be published in April 2021.
