The area where I live is older than bones, and still relatively intact from when the continents were a unified landmass called Pangea.

And I bet where you live has a wild history too, Reader.

Last Monday, I hiked the White Rocks Trail with an incredible group of curious humans to step back, breathe, and invite the wisdom of the natural world.

The land really held us and all our fears, questions and desires, in a way that nothing else can. Nothing else is so ancient and wise, and right within reach everyday.

The trail meets the Appalachian Trail (AT) near its midpoint, named after the Appalachian Mountains, which have risen up and eroded under the mighty flow of the river for millennia. The Susquehanna River is one of the three oldest rivers on the planet, even older than the mountains themselves.

Both the Appalachian Mountains and the Susquehanna River carry names derived from the indigenous peoples who lived there, aka the Apalachee and Susquehannock respectively.

Those who lived along the river used rock formations as a celestial calendar through serpents and dots carved into the bedrock. The serpents were precisely oriented so their wavy lines would align with the horizon of the summer solstice sunset.

While some of us might think of the summer solstice as just the longest day of the year, it was a deeply practical milestone for an agricultural and communal way of life. Indigenous communities would gather on river rocks to witness the sun, align their seasonal calendars, and hold ceremonies - most of which we now know was to hold their vast knowledge in memory!

There’s a lot we can learn from these ways of being.

The area I call “my Place” was once Susquehannock territory before suffering a devastating collapse and being massacred to the point of becoming known as the “vanished tribe.”

In that link there is evidence some of them survived and you can learn about current efforts to support the Susquehannock and other local tribes in regaining land and recognition.

EarthCare Resource List You can go to this site to discover who was here before you and find relevant websites to learn more about them. This is an important step in getting to know your Place. Want to take action but can’t afford it? This is a very short grant application, for The ReGen Roots Food Forest Grant: “Supporting the planting of food forests and community orchards throughout the Northeast!” Apply now to fund your food forest project! Have you been taking photos of pollinators and their host plants? We want to feature them in the 2027 EarthCare Calendar! Here are photography submission details if you’re into it! Researchers are weaving Native practices with western methods to revive ecosystems and reclaim food sovereignty. FINALLY. Read this article for more - Braiding knowledge: how Indigenous expertise and western science are converging. Here’s a live event to attend in my local area, at the Earthworm Learning Center on July 13. And if you want me to host a live, in-person event, retreat or workshop, click here to let me know, or just hit reply and tell me what you’d love to experience or learn about.

Today, the land is marked by invisible lines and governing bodies. I live in Carroll Township, in York County, Pennsylvania, the first state on the East Coast above the Mason-Dixon line.

Pennsylvania fought for the North in the Civil War and was one of the first of the thirteen colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. It is one of only two commonwealths (a unique way to set up state government) in the country.

Over the years, with proximity to Ellis Island, NY and many other harbors, this land gave refuge to many men, women, and children seeking safety and freedom as they fled religious persecution, witch hunts, wars, and plagues across Europe.

My state was named “Penn’s Woods” after William Penn, who “brokered” land treaties with indigenous peoples who were already here. Some stories say he was a kind friend attempting to negotiate peace and collaboration, while others say otherwise.

I tend to believe it was both. No one is all good or all bad. No one.

And long before any of this, many eons of megafauna, flora, insects, and fungi cultivated Places together, and are influenced by many generations and migrations of humans we cannot identify.

After a deep dive into the research of my Place, I like to ground back into what is here, right now. It can be overwhelming to learn of all the seasons and cycles of devastation and change that have occurred in our Places.

South of my house, three massive oaks stretch their branches higher than all the other trees in the area. They cast shade on my home during the summer and drop leaves to allow more sun to warm us during the winter.

We call them the 3 Aunty Oaks. I am sure they have been here for hundreds of years, and seen it all.

The soil we stand on, the trees, and Nature are all natural world memory keepers. I love sitting by the oaks, hoping someday I have the fortitude and sanity to remember a fraction of what they hold.

Did you do any research since the last newsletter about YOUR Place?

What’s one thing you learned about the history of where you live, Reader?

Please hit reply and let me know.

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Stay wild,

Kendra

Ps. If you haven’t done any research yet, here’s that link again to find out who lived here before you. EarthCare is a practice we are reviving that indigenous peoples always knew and held.

And if you want me to host a live, in-person event, retreat or workshop, click here to let me know, or just hit reply and tell me what you’d love to experience or learn about.

Written by a human - Kendra Marie Hoffman

“Being naturalized to place means to live as if this is the land that feeds you, as if these are the streams from which you drink, that build your body and fill your spirit. To become naturalized is to know that your ancestors lie in this ground. Here you will give your gifts and meet your responsibilities. To become naturalized is to live as if your children’s future matters, to take care of the land as if our lives and the lives of all our relatives depend on it. Because they do.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants