David Berger, an environmental writer from Seattle, was graciously sponsored in his residency by Columbia Land Trust. David was a Metcalf Fellow for Marine and Environmental Reporting in 2002, based out of University of Rhode Island on Narragansett Bay. As a native plant steward and advocate in the Seattle area, he has been a leader in saving critical spaces for the public, including the Mt. Baker Ridge Viewpoint and Kruckeberg Botanic Garden. Before turning to environmental writing he was art critic for the Seattle times, a freelancer for many fiction and non-fiction publications, and winner of a Sigma Delta Chi award for excellence in journalism in the “Arts & Criticism” category. David also works as a visual artist, and he currently has two sculptures on display at the outdoor sculpture garden at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.
“I was in Oysterville as an environmental writer. I worked on several things while here. I started a short story, based in New York City. I gathered information about ecological matters concerning Willapa Bay and the Columbia River, including oysters, Spartina, forest restoration and Caspian terns. This gathering included interviewing and getting out into the field, for example visiting oystermen on the mudflats hand-gathering oysters or sitting with biologists while they counted the number and type of fish eaten by Caspian tern chicks. These notes were written up in various ways. I also prepared and presented to 45 people an overview of environmental writing from Lewis and Clark to Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” to the present period of global warming. I also finished some reading. In short, I read, researched and wrote.”
See Also: Columbia Land Trust and Espy Foundation Environmental Essayist Residency
