Storyteller grounded in data and context

I use writing, visuals, and geospatial media to make complex systems legible and actionable, tracing forest-to-export supply chains, mapping social-ecological metabolism, and following the money and infrastructure behind extraction. I return often to institutions built to protect people and land, and to what happens when that mandate is abandoned, captured, or quietly reversed. I investigate how justice is operationalized, legally, economically, and institutionally, and how stories can either obscure or illuminate pathways toward change.

Read more about me here

Resumé, Biography, Artist Statement, Contact

Author of research proposals and analytical reports

I write reports that draw on both qualitative and quantitative data and are informed by social-ecological systems thinking. My work translates complex evidence into clear, persuasive narratives that support strategic planning, communications campaigns, funding decisions, and equitable policy outcomes. Across climate resilience, international development, and nonprofit contexts, I focus on clarity, rigor, and real-world applicability.

Review my research reports here

Approaching Deforestation Economies in Paraguay, Bound to the Profit Motive

  • APPROACHING DEFORESTATION ECONOMIES IN PARAGUAY

    Research Methods for Mapping Forest-to-Export Supply Chains

    report
  • An aerial view of a landscape with mountains, forests, and patchwork fields in shades of green, yellow, and brown.

    BOUND TO THE PROFIT MOTIVE:

    The Globalization and Commodification of Costa Rica’s Payment for Environmental Services (PES) Programs

    report
  • Book cover titled 'The Collaborative Nonprofit: Polycentric Governance & Cross-Sector Coproductions' by Malcolm Wyer, featuring a network diagram with interconnected nodes and lines on a light background.

    THE COLLABORATIVE NONPROFIT:

    Transformative Governance and Co-production Management

    report
  • Map of Indonesia with text overlay highlighting NGADA WATER ASSOCIATION and a solar-powered water pump system in Kampung Watu, Magilewa & Jere, Flores, Indonesia.

    NGADA WATER ASSOCIATION with GLOBAL WATER 501(c)3

    Solar-Powered Water Pump System Kampung Watu, Maghilewa, & Jere, Flores, NTT, Indonesia

    report
  • A black-and-white mural depicting themes of social injustice, environmental destruction, and political protest. It features figures with expressive faces, a person with a megaphone, industrial factories emitting smoke, an eye in the sky, scales of justice, and damaged buildings, illustrating chaos and societal issues.

    THE THRIVING COMMUNITIES GRANTMAKING PROGRAM (TCGP) LAID TO REST

    Lessons from a Short-Lived Experiment in Environmental Justice Governance

    report
  • X-ray image of a rabbit with highlighted seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides in its stomach. Overlayed text discusses bird toxicity from ingesting these seeds, mentioning neurotoxicity, altered metabolism, endocrine disruption, and immunotoxicology.

    TARGETING NEONICOTINOID-COATED SEEDS FOR BIRD CONSERVATION

    report
  • Diagram showing Bali's landscape features: mountains at the top, plains in the middle, and the sea at the bottom, with labels in Balinese and English.

    THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF BALI PROVINCE:

    UNESCO and Strategies of Resilience

    report
  • A poster about community-supported contamination remediation on the Housatonic River. It features a panoramic landscape at the top, a map of the Housatonic River in a blue shaded area on the left, three black-and-white portrait photographs of individuals in the middle, and text that reads 'Reconfiguring the Framework for PCB Remediation on the Housatonic River' at the bottom.

    COMMUNITY SUPPORTED CONTAMINATION

    Reconfiguring the Framework for PCB Remediation on the Housatonic River

    report

Mapmaker with a focus on scale

Biological and cultural actors perform very differently across community, regional, and territorial scales. Through geospatial mapping, I strive to describe landscapes as layered networks of social, ecological, and economic relationships. I use maps as measured, investigative tools to make complex systems more visible—and more actionable.

Explore my mapping videos here

Metabolic Borneo, Housatonic River Stewards

  • Map showing geographic and climate data of the Mid-Atlantic region including Baltimore, Washington D.C., Harrisburg, Wilmington, and Philadelphia with areas marked in various colors representing exposure levels, habitat loss, and toxic waste sites.

    Mid-Atlantic Exposure & Habitat Loss

  • Geospatial soil map of Vermont farm employing colorful composition with overlapping shapes in shades of orange, yellow, blue, green, pink, brown, and black with some white and gray areas.

    Soil Map of Vermont Farm

  • Map showing shipping ports in Paraguay, with roads, rivers, and borders indicated. Major routes like the Paraguay River and Paraná River are highlighted, and key cities such as Asunción, Ciudad del Este, Pedro Juan Caballero, and Encarnación.

    Shipping Ports in Paraguay

  • Energy Production in Miravalles Valley

  • Geospatial map of MERCOSUR Trading block.

    MERCOSUR Trading BLOC

  • A geospatial land use map of Rancho Garza, depicting Guanacaste and Alajuela Provinces of Costa Rica as well as Lake Nicargua.

    Land Use in Northwestern Costa Rica.

  • Map of a Ngada Bajawa region of Flores, Indonesia, including, Aimere, Bajawa, Gunung Inerie, Watu, Maghilewa, Jere.

    The Ngada People, Flores, Indonesia.

  • Four aerial images of a mountainous or hilly terrain with changing color schemes: gray, blue, black and green, showing variations in elevation, terrain features, and vegetation.

    Timelapse of Mountaintop Removal Mining (MTR) in Beckley, WV

  • Map showing different ecological systems in a region with various color-coded areas. The map includes labels for Lake Lila, Shongle Shanty Brok, and detailed legend descriptions for ecological systems such as Montane Spruce-Fir Forest, Shrub-Herbaceous Wetlands, Northern Hardwood Forest, Swamp Systems, Floodplain Systems, and Boreal Conifer Acidic Swamp.

    Ecological Systems Map of Adirondack Brook

  • Topographical map of a region with elevation shading, water features, and various geological details, including lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges surrounding Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

    California's Central Coast

  • Map of northern Mesoamerica showing lights from urban areas and transportation networks, including Mexico City, Mérida, Cancún, Oaxaca, and Guatemala, with the Pacific Ocean and the Yucatán Peninsula.

    Mesoamerica norte

  • EPA Region 5 Environmental Burdens

  • Animated GIF geospatial map examining primary versus secondary forest near Rincon de la Vieja, Costa Rica

    Primary vs. Secondary Forest in Costa Rica

  • Maps of Baltimore showing various urban disadvantages, including language isolation, wastewater issues, coastal flood risk, traffic, health burden, energy and health burdens, job training, unemployment, and overlapping disadvantages.

    Justice40 in Baltimore

  • FEMA Flood Zone in Great Barrington, MA

  • Map of the Ensenada region showing various research centers, wildlife areas, and geographic features in California and Mexico, with color-coded regions and labeled locations such as Audubon California Starr Ranch Sanctuary, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Navopatia Field Station, and WILDCOAST/COSTALAVAGE.

    Sonoran Joint Venture

  • Rising Pond Intervention proposal by Malcolm Wyer in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, showing PCB waste landscape and river bypass design.

    Rising Pond PCB Cleanup

  • Map of Panama showing different regions marked with various colors such as white, orange, purple, and yellow, overlaid with black and white lines representing geographic or administrative boundaries.

    Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs)

  • Map of Borneo showing flatlands and floodplains with various colored areas indicating floodplain regions.

    Peatlands in Borneo

  • A colorful illustration of a green and yellow great green macaw with pink on its face, showing its wings spread wide. Next to it, a map of Central America highlights regions where the species is found, marked with red. Additional maps depict its habitat in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests in green, four management zones in pink, yellow, blue, and orange based on conservation zones, respectively.

    Great Green Macaw Management Zones

  • Map of Panama showing land regions in various colors, with Nicaragua to the northwest, Costa Rica to the west, and the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean surrounding the country.

    Deciphering Forerst Data

  • Lila Traverse Canoe Route

  • An animated mapping GIF showing primary versus secondary forest cover in northwestern Costa Rica.

    Primary vs. Secondary Forest in Guanacaste

  • Map of the United States showing three landfill sites in Massachusetts, New York, and Texas, with data on greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle equivalents, and waste disposal.

    Measuring Emissions

  • A topographic map showing land use and protected areas, including the Housatonic Industrial Mill Complex, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, and areas designated as a reservation with various landmarks like Flag Rock, Squaw Peak, and Devil's. The map features hiking trails marked with red dashed lines, elevation contours, and color-coded regions such as a pink area for a general electric landfill and yellow regions for the reservation.

    Connecting Conservation

  • A detailed topographic map showing various land parcels, property boundaries, and natural features. Marked areas include Orchard Clearing, Field Restoration, and multiple landowner names. Contour lines indicate elevation changes, and there are color-coded water bodies and forested regions. Roads such as Old North Road and New Marlborough Road are also visible.

    Parcel Analysis in Massachusetts

Advocate for sustainable agriculture

I believe that sustainable agriculture practices—like agroforestry, Integrated Pest Management (IPM,) silvopasture systems, farmer collectives, and soil health technologies—must be linked directly to smallholder profit, advanced by remaking value chains through government and private investment in sustainable production.

Review my project reports here

Illustrated Reforestation Compendium, Bound to the Profit Motive, About Rancho Garza

  • Geospatial map of farm showing prime farmland soil and Hudson Valley Core Forest.

    Soil and Forest Analysis

  • Infographic titled 'NAMA Climate-Smart Livestock Practices' showing a layered farm landscape with trees, livestock, and various farm activities, along with text describing practices such as financial incentives, training, silvopastoral systems, and integrated tree species for sustainable livestock management.

    Climate-Smart Livestock Production

  • A section drawing of a multistrata homegarden in Costa Rica: emergent stratum, canopy stratum, lower tree straum, shrub stratum, ground herb stratum.

    Multistrata Homegarden

  • Wildlife Corridors

  • Four steps to the Inga Tree Method of Agroforestry: canopy establishment, pollarding & mulch return, alley cropping, and slope anchoring.

    Agroforestry: The Inga Tree Method

  • Diagram showing the installation of solar panels, water pumps, and water tanks in a village, with a line graph illustrating distance between the locations.

    Solar-Powered Irrigation Pumps

  • A map of Borneo showing various types of palm oil industry sites, including Palm Oil Concessions, Industrial Palm Oil Plantations, Smallholder Palm Oil Farms, Crude Palm Oil (CPO) Mills, and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Mills, distinguis

    Palm Oil Plantations in Borneo

  • Infographic titled 'The Cattle Grazing Carbon Cycle' showing how extensive, low-investment cattle grazing affects carbon emissions and sequestration. It includes illustrations of cattle internal digestion, soil and plant processes, and labels indicating methane emissions, carbon dioxide sequestration by plants, and the impact of grazing on soil porosity and biodiversity.

    Limiting Extensive Agriculture

  • Aerial view of a green rural area with open grassy fields, trees, and small houses, some with red or white roofs, surrounded by lush vegetation.

    Sustainable Cattle Grazing

  • Coordinated Irrigation Schedules

  • Person wearing gardening gloves harvesting broccoli from a garden with leafy green plants.

    Organic Fertilization

  • A person holding a chainsaw near a tree trunk surrounded by green foliage.

    Pollarding, Mulching & Living Fences

  • Text explanation of dispersed legume shade, covering canopy establishment, living fence integration,_understory planting, litter and pruning return, and root-zone nitrogen fixing, with purple icons and bullet points.

    Silvopasture: Dispersed Legume Shade

  • A man wearing a blue, red, and white sports jersey with various sponsor logos, including 'Costa Rica' and 'KCRL', standing outdoors in front of a rural background with trees, cows, and a barn, framed by a wooden border with a yellow plaque reading '2025'.

    Sustainable Ranching

  • World map showing REDD+ projects in orange and REDD+ supporters in purple across various countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, and some African and Asian nations. Text explains REDD+ as a mechanism to create incentives for developing countries to protect and manage forest resources, involving financial value for carbon stored in trees, with developed countries paying developing countries for their standing forests.

    Forest Transition Curves

  • Chart showing the increase in applied weights of various anti-malarial drugs from 1984 to 2011 and the crop yields of wheat and oilseed rape from 1984 to 2011.

    Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

  • Map showing Costa Rica in 2010 with forest cover in purple and PSA project locations marked with orange dots. The map includes a legend, scale bar, and a highlighted text box noting that about 20% of Costa Rica's territory, or 1 million hectares, received PSA funding.

    Payments for Environmental Services (PES)

Let’s talk

I’m eager to contribute my energy, perspective, and craft to meaningful, mission-driven collaboration.

Contact me

malcolm.wyer@gmail.com