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Transcript

Seattle Walks · Street Smart Naturalist

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is David B.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Williams and the podcast of my newsletter,
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Every week,
• 0:10
  I share my observations and adventures with the human and
• 0:13
  natural world around Seattle,
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode focuses on the book launch of my new book, Seattle Walks.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: To learn more about my work, please go to my website, geologywriter.com.
• 0:27
  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
• 0:30
  previous four years of newsletter,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Podcast 12 of The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Seattle Walks,
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: The Book Launch,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: February 20,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: 25.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to announce that the new,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: updated version of Seattle Walks is now available in bookstores.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the skinny on it.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the fall of 2023,
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Nicole Mitchell,
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: the director of the University of Washington Press,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: contacted me about creating a new updated version of Seattle Walks.
• 1:04
  We had been talking about it off and on for several years and
• 1:07
  going on walks together,
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: so I knew I wanted to do it.
• 1:10
  Part of my impetus was that since the press published the first
• 1:13
  edition of Seattle
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Walks in 2017,
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: the world has changed significantly.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: During COVID-19,
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: we were forced to stay home or close to home,
• 1:24
  which led to many people discovering or rediscovering their own neighborhoods.
• 1:28
  Plus,
• 1:29
  people began to meet neighbors and the plants and animals that
• 1:32
  coexist with them.
• 1:34
  Many also began to seek out the human stories and to develop
• 1:37
  new connections with
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  SPEAKER_00: those who came before,
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  SPEAKER_00: not just previous denizens of recent decades,
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  SPEAKER_00: but also those whose stories stretch back thousands of years,
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  SPEAKER_00: the native inhabitants.
• 1:49
  I was one of those people who spent far more time exploring
• 1:52
  Seattle than previously
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  SPEAKER_00: and who began to strengthen the connections I had made to place.
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  Those many stories also increased my appreciation for the
• 2:00
  amazing cultural and
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: natural history stories of Seattle.
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  SPEAKER_00: They crop up in so many places.
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  from hidden gems like the early laundries of South Lake Union
• 2:10
  or synagogues
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  converted to churches in the Central District to ones that I
• 2:14
  had long thought about
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  SPEAKER_00: but had not truly understood,
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  SPEAKER_00: such as the historic path of the Duwamish River.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: With Nicole's support and encouragement, I began to update Seattle Walks.
• 2:25
  I knew that I wanted to go to neighborhoods that hadn't been
• 2:27
  included in the original,
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  SPEAKER_00: which motivated me to go out and explore,
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  SPEAKER_00: dive into the research,
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  SPEAKER_00: and ask friends to test the walks.
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  SPEAKER_00: All of this was fun and enlightening.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not only have I incorporated new information in the walks,
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  but I've incorporated new ways of seeing the world and trying
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  to focus on diversity,
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  SPEAKER_00: equity,
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  SPEAKER_00: and inclusion.
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  SPEAKER_00: I ultimately added three new walks in Georgetown,
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  SPEAKER_00: in the Central District,
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  SPEAKER_00: and in the Cascade-South Lake Union neighborhood,
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  SPEAKER_00: and removed two of the original 17.
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  I decided to cut Magnuson Park primarily because the
• 3:02
  redevelopment of the park has
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: led to so many people discover it on their own.
• 3:06
  I also cut Where You At because it overlapped several other
• 3:10
  downtown walks.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: These walks, though, will remain available on my website as PDFs.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that all 18 books...
• 3:19
  18 walks in my book will enable you to see Seattle in a new
• 3:23
  light and acquire a new
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  SPEAKER_00: appreciation for how the city has changed through time,
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  SPEAKER_00: how the past influences the present,
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  SPEAKER_00: and how nature is all around us,
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  SPEAKER_00: even in the urban landscape,
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: which many people consider the least wild place around.
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  SPEAKER_00: I trust that you will make many discoveries on your own as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: Plus, walking is an act of defiance and resistance.
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  SPEAKER_00: By getting out in your neighborhood and new ones,
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  SPEAKER_00: you get to meet other people,
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  SPEAKER_00: find essential stories of place,
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  SPEAKER_00: get healthier,
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  SPEAKER_00: move at your own pace,
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  SPEAKER_00: consider how others,
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  SPEAKER_00: human and more than human,
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  SPEAKER_00: live,
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  SPEAKER_00: be part of your community,
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  SPEAKER_00: and enjoy this amazing city of Seattle.
• 4:01
  And it's a great opportunity to get away from the chaos of
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  world news and revel in
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  SPEAKER_00: being present in the moment.
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  Walking continues to be central to my life and a way to develop
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  deeper connections
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  SPEAKER_00: to my home city,
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  SPEAKER_00: the place where I intend to reside for the rest of my life.
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  I sincerely hope this new edition of Seattle Walks will bring
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  you the same joy,
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  SPEAKER_00: sense of discovery,
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  and deeper awareness of the complex history of the city as it
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  has brought me.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
• 4:37
  a weekly newsletter and podcast focusing on the human and
• 4:40
  natural world around Seattle,
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about my book,
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Seattle Walks,
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  SPEAKER_00: please read to the bottom of my newsletter,
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: where you'll find an array of links connected to the book.
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  SPEAKER_00: Plus,
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: if you'd like more details about my books,
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: walks and talks,
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for a newsletter and podcast,
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
• 5:04
  And don't forget to slow down,
• 5:06
  pay attention,
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  and enjoy the world around you.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now get out and go for a walk and have some fun.