A Sense of Place

Like many of us, Angela E. Douglas sought a way to deal with the struggles of the pandemic. In her book, Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters, she made a weekly habit of writing a ‘newsletter’ to friends and family here in the states and those across the pond. Not once did she mention the pandemic or the struggles of it; rather she focused on what was going on in her own back yard. She lives about six hours west of me and roughly at the same latitude so many of the plants and birds that she described in her yard can be also found in mine. David George Haskell’s The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, is another one of my favorite books about the sense of place.

As a new teacher, many years ago, one of the earliest lessons that I crafted was all about immersing students in a sense of place. However, I didn’t know that at the time, I thought I was getting them to understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative data, observations and the scientific method.

Obedient plant/false snape dragon

Starting out with a choral reading of an early letter (see there is a theme here) from Jane Goodall to her family in which see describes how she figured out to go early to a sit in a vantage point, and do her best to blend in with the surroundings. Up to this point the chimpanzees that she’d been sent out to study were spooked by her presence. There were no protocols at the time about how to conduct field work, she was breaking ground with her new methodology. I wanted my students to experience that by going out to study their own back yards. Let’s say that over the years I got some very interesting reads, some lack luster, but most importantly there was always something new that they experienced.

Coreopsis Blooms

Gardening can be such a way to develop a sense of place. You dig into the ground and begin to learn about the soil. What nutrients do you have or lack, and how can you mitigate this. What tiny creatures are there - the good, the bad, and the ugly. What levels of light or shade are available? How much rainfall do you get during the growing season, and do you need to invest in rain barrels? Finally, you can begin to seek out the plants you think will survive and thrive in your place. Or maybe you go about it willy-nilly and by trial and error learn what will or won’t work.

A sense of place can be achieved whether or not you own a piece of land. A windowsill garden, patio containers, rooftop gardens, or a spot in a community garden/allotment can be your place. Walking through the nearby parks or greenspaces can get you out communing with nature, the animals, and the people who make up your place.

Sketch of the coreopsis blooms above

Art can also help you to build a sense of place. During the pandemic, I found Sketchbook Skool on YouTube and began to sketch more and more. I sketched lots of morning coffee cups, blossoms that I brought in from my garden, and eventually when we returned to being able to travel little scenes of the inns we stayed in.

En plein air watercolor painting done on the beach on Cape Cod

What I am hoping that you will take away from this essay, is that a sense of place is an important facet of our lives. It is a way to practice mindfulness. Where is your place? Are you in tune with it? If not, how can you become more so? A sense of place brings us peace and a sense of belonging. We all need that comfort. Life can be crazy at times and we need to know there is a spot that can we can all call our own.