Derham Giuliani - Nature Observer

The Magazine - September 12, 2013 - Down from the Mountaintop

Years ago I met a man who told me a secret that has stayed evergreen in my mind. Derham Giuliani was a naturalist, a self-taught — and the foremost — expert on the insects and amphibians of the dry lands in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada.

Across four decades, in a labor of patient, painstaking love, he uncovered the hidden lives of the tiny, fragile, and remarkable creatures that live in this vast, harsh, and unremarked-upon corner of the country. Over and over, he made discoveries about them that no one else knew.

Derham lived in what the IRS would classify as poverty, but by all accounts wanted for little. He lived alone, and was happy that way. He observed, he learned, and he taught.

October 2010 - in memory of - A memory – Derham Giuliani

We lost another friend of East Side Books this week. Derham Giuliani was one of those quiet and unassuming people who amazes you with a many faceted life as you get to know him over stacks of books. In Derham’s case, it was usually stacks of books-on-tape that he listened to while traveling hundreds of miles to his “campsites”.

Derham studied nature, insects and butterflies, chipmunks and squirrels, all the little creatures that populate the desert. I know he did field studies for other scientists as well as his own observations, but he never shared or bragged about his official job titles. I do know he was an expert by any definition.

like so many things he made do with what was available in order to do what he really loved, observing the earth’s creatures. I am glad to know he was doing what he loved until he passed away, and I am happy to have known, even briefly, a person who truly followed his passions with his life work. He will be missed.

#nature - #insects - #blog_jr