COURSES

DISCOVERING A SENSE OF PLACE

AN EIGHT-SESSION COURSE FOR THE WORKPLACE, HOME OR CENTER OF FAITH

The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths to it are not found but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and destination.

-John Schaar

Purpose:

• To understand the meaning of bioregional perspective, and what it would mean to develop one.
• To consider the benefits of consciously developing an intimate relationship with your place.
• To explore what it might mean to protect the place we live.

Topics Covered

A Sense of Place: Wendell Berry, America's best-known bioregionalist, says if you don't know where you are, you don't know who you are. With a sense of place, your identity is defined - to a significant extent - by the natural features of the place you live. Without a sense of place, what will fill the void? Readings: Living Where You Live by Hannah Holmes, The Sense of Place by Wallace Stegner, Everybody's Ditch by Robery Pyle, The Spirit of Place by Wade Davis, Earth Stories by Joseph Meeker, My Empty Lot by Joseph Kastner.

Responsibility to Place:  There is a difference between living on the land and dwelling in it - understanding its rhythms, its potential, and its limits.  Those who develop intimacy with place over time tend to accept responsibility for it.  Readings: The Land Ethic by Aldo Leopold, Rediscovery of North America by Barry Lopez, Homeplace by Scott Russell Sanders, Notes on Living Simply in the City by Marilyn Welker.

Knowing Your Bioregion:  Your bioregion is a unique place with its own watershed, soils, climate, plants, animals, and history.  How much do you know about it?  Readings: Initiation by Tom Jay, Where Currents Merge by Steve Johnson, Valley of Long Grasses by Peter Boag, Sauvie Island by Florence Riddle, Geology of Portland by Marshall Gannett.

Living in Place:  Living in place means consciously trying to satisfy your needs and find your pleasures in your local bioregion and working to assure the long-term health of the bioregion.  Readings: The Politics of Place by Daniel Coleman, Reinhabiting California by Peter Berg and Raymond Dasmann, Speaking for Douglas Fir by Gary Snyder, Green Cities by Peter Berg, Gardening at the Seam by Judith Larner Lowry, There's No Specialization like Home by John Bullare, Place-Centered Economics by Chris van Daalen, Reweaving Our Soul Connection with Food by Paul Conrad.

Mapping Your Place:  Mapping can be learned by local groups and individuals to give a new sense of place.  Whereas a typical map shows political subdivisions and transportation routes, a bioregionalist's map delineates regions based on watersheds, climate, and plant types, thereby helping people relate to their natural surroundings.  Readings: Mapping the Biosphere by Gene Marshall, Mapping the Sacred Places by Jan DeBlieu, Raise the Gates by Sabrina Merlo.

Community:  A bioregionalist assumes responsibility for the health and continuity of a place, not only its natural features, but also the social bonds of its people.  Readings: The Web of Life by Scott Russell Sanders, Back to We by Amitai Etzioni, To Learn the Things We Need to Know by Freeman House, Community-Based Restoration by Christine Schneider, Cohousing by Diane Meisenhelter, Help Groups by Steve Whitson, Neighborhood Connections Worksheet.

Empowerment:  Knowing a place can inspire and empower one to take action to preserve it or take part in its restoration.  How important is individual and group action in modern society?  Readings: Making a Difference by Katrina Shields, The Power of One by Sharif Abdullah, Church Creek by Steve Yates, Push for Change by Ann Sihler, Leathernecks by The Giraffe Project, Facts About Geese by Angeles Arrien.