Everywhere on Earth life is established on a functional community basis. Each distinctive bioregion is composed of mutually supporting life systems that have organized and sustained over vast expanses of time. Exploring a Sense of Place began in 2001, inspired by Wendell Berry’s observation “You can’t know who you are until you know where you are,” and the disconnect between our human culture and the world it overlies. The recent natural disasters have only emphasized the fact that as a society we have become fluent in our human constructs, yet we remain illiterate in the systems of the Earth. While most of us recognize where we live by its cities, buildings, places of business, even sport teams, how many of us identify with and understand the beauty, wonder and actual functioning of the natural ecosystem which supports us, and of which we are a part? We believe there is wisdom in the idea that rootedness in place is the most important and least recognized need of the human soul. For us, as humans, to endure within these communities, we first need to become aware of their natural patterns and then design and express our presence in a manner which will result in a mutually-beneficial, enhanced relationship. As humans, we identify ourselves primarily through relationship - relationship with family, religion, ethnicity, community, town, state, nation. Two of our most prevailing challenges seem to be our limited identification, often forcing us into adversarial behavior with one another and our profound disconnection from place, which leads us to miss seeing nature as our teacher. Exploring a Sense of Place offers opportunities for reconnection at all levels — Exploring a Sense of Place at home, in my community, in my bioregion, within the larger community of life and in the Universe. All of these are about re-identifying ourselves and reconnecting.

Mission

Our mission is to provide the means by which people anywhere on Earth can reconnect to the natural world where they live. The Exploring a Sense of Place programs and guidebook are the tools for discovering how to do this wherever you are.

Vision

The team’s hope is that by taking the time to really experience the region – its story, geology, weather and climate, watershed, plant and animal life, and the way it naturally functions to support and enhance life – people will not only feel rooted and restored, but will be inspired to discover ways to make our human systems more compatible with and supportive of all life.

Programs

On the San Francisco Peninsula: Exploring a Sense of Place is a year-long course consisting of one Saturday Exploration and one Monday Enrichment Evening per month. The evening speakers prepare us for the Saturday explorations where we go out in small groups into our bioregion, with a concentration on our own watershed. While we provide wonderful guides and materials, these explorations are designed for each person to make his/her own connection. As the year progresses, through every season, in every weather, and through the different ecological zones, we become more familiar with our place. Every month we focus on a different theme, and by using different lenses, we develop skill in using all of our senses. Through facilitated exercises we learn to express our connection with our sense of place. And by experiencing this together, we form community, deepening our roots with those around us.

Campaigns

Events

NOVEMBER 2007

Mon, 5 7-9 pm: Enrichment Evening, Conexions Center

Sat, 10 9 am - 3 pm: Huddart Park: Upper Watershed & Coastal Mountains

DECEMBER 2007

Mon, 3 7-9 pm: Enrichment Evening, Conexions Center
Sat, 8 9 am - 3 pm: Foothills Park, Creativity in Nature (Winter)

*To join a Monday Enrichment Evening or Saturday Exploration, contact us at 650-938-9300 x12 or info@exploringsenseofplace.org.

News

Wants/Needs

Publications/Resources

Exploring a Sense of Place guidebook will help you with your own process of discovery and reconnection with the natural world where you live. This book will inspire you and give you all the practical tools you need to design, develop, organize, and produce an Exploring a Sense of Place program specific to your bioregion.

Inside this book:

• Meaning of sense of place
• Steps to designing your own program with on-the-ground-examples
• Sample course proposal
• Worksheets and tips
• Deepening materials
• Sample flyers, ads, and notebook materials
• Resource books, videos, and websites
  Exploring a Sense of Place guidebook
  96 pages, Illustrated, 8.5×12 in spiral bound, $25, ISBN 0-9786851-0-5

Staff

Karen Harwell, Executive Director

650-938-9300, x15

kharwell@exploringsenseofplace.org

Judy Cronin, Program Director

650-938-9300, x12

jcronin@exploringsenseofplace.org

Joanna Reynolds, Publishing Director

650-938-9300, x16
jreynolds@exploringsenseofplace.org

Brigitte Fleeman, Communications Director

650-938-9300, x17

bfleeman@exploringsenseofplace.org

Board of Directors

History

The team of people who developed the program started in 2001 at the Foundation for Global Community (FGC) in Palo Alto, California, by reading the works of some of the great natural philosophers, such as Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and Wendell Berry. They reflected upon the words of Simone Weil, who said that “rootedness in place is the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.” Inspired by this wisdom, in 2002 the team developed and offered the first experiential program for the San Francisco Bay Area region around Palo Alto, specifically the San Francisquito Creek watershed. Called “Exploring a Sense of Place,” the program is a yearlong, in-depth exploration of the local region, guided by some of the area’s most gifted naturalists. In 2006, with the encouragement of FGC, several projects joined together to become a new non-profit collaborative organization called “Conexions: Partnerships for a Sustainable Future.” Exploring a Sense of Place began an exciting phase with a new location in Palo Alto. In August 2006, the program received a boost when the Exploring a Sense of Place guidebook was published. The guidebook offers inspiration, philosophy and all the practical tools needed to begin an Exploring a Sense of Place program in any bioregion.

Awards/Recognition

Affiliations

In 2006, several projects joined together to become a new non-profit collaborative organization called “Conexions: Partnerships for a Sustainable Future” and is working towards bringing our region into right relationship with Earth's systems and with each other. We develop and promote win-win solutions for the environment, the economy, and for our social systems through our own programs and by working in collaboration with other organizations and institutions. 

Links