Catherine Marie Gilbert
A fascinating look at the largely unrecognized work of David Garrick, whose intense and unflagging dedication to protecting the earth and its creatures is an inspiration for those who wish to make today's world a better place.
David Garrick, aka Walrus Oakenbough, possessed a rare fearlessness in the face of danger in his work as an eco-warrior, journalist and mystic. Garrick participated in high profile activist campaigns beginning in the early 1970s in the counter-culture of Vancouver. He met Paul Watson, known as the founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and the brothers-in-arms shared in life altering adventures including Greenpeace's inaugural whale and Harp seal campaigns and a protest against the BC government's wolf cull.
Garrick was a visionary who understood the need to bring disparate groups of ecologically and environmentally concerned people together to create a powerful voice. His experiences at Wounded Knee in 1973 strengthened his resolve to coordinate Aboriginal concerns within the context of larger environmental issues and he spent the rest of his working years engaging with First Nations in British Columbia and across Canada and into the US.
Deftly woven into this biography are highlights of Garrick's rich mystical life, which began in childhood with visions of unearthly beings and permeated all of his activities. He felt a particular empathy for earth's creatures, which intensified during the 25 years he spent living off the grid on remote Hanson Island. Here his life's work culminated in documenting thousands of culturally modified trees (CMTs), in coordination with local First Nations, and resulted in a ground-breaking report produced by the Western Wilderness Committee. His findings provided support for the Namgis Nation's territorial claims of Hanson Island and played a critical role in halting logging on the island.
Garrick comes alive from Gilbert's use of his deeply insightful and humorous writing, unpublished letters, 150 journals and her extensive interviews with him. The book is illustrated with archival images and Garrick's own drawings.
Walrus lived an ethical and principled life that offers hope and inspiration in troubled times.
