David Douglas in Okanogan Country

Jack Nisbet kicked off the 2013-2014 indoor Highland Wonders educational series with a fascinating presentation about naturalist David Douglas.

Between 1826 and 1833, Scottish naturalist David Douglas visited the Okanagan six different times, including an epic 1833 trip that took him north to the Thompson and Fraser Rivers.

Thank you very much, Jack Nisbet, for opening a porthole into our region’s past, creating a unique opportunity for our community to explore the world as David Douglas saw it, and compare this perspective with our own.‎ What an intriguing presentation!

Jack Nisbet is the author of several books that explore the human and natural history of the Intermountain West, including Purple Flat Top, Singing Grass Burning Sage, and Visible Bones. His work on Northwest fur agent and geographer David Thompson resulted in Sources of the River and The Mapmaker’s Eye. Nisbet’s recent projects focused on Scottish naturalist David Douglas. The Collector follows his adventurous life, while A Naturalist at Work aims to connect Douglas’s observations to the present and future Northwest. “David Douglas: A Naturalist at Work” was also a museum exhibit on display at Tacoma’s Washington State History Museum, where it ran through February 24, 2014.