I was born on the banks of the Susquehanna River... well, in Harrisburg Hospital (Pennsylvania), to be precise, but close enough! I love that river like a birthplace. I still gasp every time I see her.

In my early childhood we lived in the “creekhouse” along Conodoguinet Creek - the first Place I really remember.

In that Place there was a gorgeous Weeping Willow with roots that dipped into the creek which gave me safe passage to climb over the edge and dip my toes into the gentle waters, or search for crayfish.

This maternal tree graciously spread her limbs out over the yard near our little garden patch, and her wispy branches cascaded down, often touching my shoulders softly as I walked by.

In my memory she feels like a mother with long beautiful hair and soft arms (just like my own mother). My tire swing was safely secured on a solid branch, allowing me to glide through the air, while her hair whispered gently through the wind...

Throughout my life I have loved many trees, but this one is the most special to me.

During this time, and for many years after, I was also taken up to the mountains of Perry county, where I searched for slippery salamanders under large rocks and romped through the woods big wild adventures with my cousins (as for the bear story around a campfire sometime).

My paternal grandfather owned this patch of wild land filled with massive healthy hemlocks and trickling creeks. Many of my fondest memories are from this precious Place.

Yet another wildly formative Place of mine was where my maternal grandparents lived in upstate New York with a wider creek filled with flat stones we used to build dams. This Place featured a giant gorge to hike with waterfalls, ferns, mosses and loads of shale full of fossils.

These forests felt enchanted by the fae, the feeling amplified by my childlike wonder, and smaller size, I’m sure. I remember peering into holes, peeking under mushrooms, imagining tiny little fairies going about their business... I still do this when I'm alone on walks in the woods!

And I’ve always wanted to live along a creek again, likely because of the core memories established with creeks at some many Place in my earliest experiences on this planet.

I can’t express enough gratitude for the gifts and privileges of land and time in Nature provided to me by my family. It wasn’t always easy, we are not a wealthy family, but it was an eternal gift they chose to share with me.

Now, I live within a 10-minute walk to my parents Place, up a quiet road behind my house.

They live in the old farmhouse I grew up in with 6 acres of woodland, field and homestead, where I currently tend the gardens with my mom, just like I did there as a kid. We moved to this Place when I was 5 years old. We raised chickens, had a garden, built forts in the woods, watched fireflies rise every June into the night sky, and got plenty of poison ivy and ticks, haha.

​Each summer, at this Place, I help my mom with “grandkids camp,” an opportunity to spread that wild wonder to the newest generations of our family.

With kids less connected to Nature than ever before, remembering and sharing these magic memories are more important than ever to healing our relationship with the planet, others, and ourselves.

And connecting with Nature is the HEART of EarthCare.

Our relationship with Nature is often formed in our earliest memories. In the creeks we played in, the trees we climbed (or cried in), the walks we took through the neighborhood… in all those places, the connection was being forged. And for many of us, that connection still lives, waiting to be remembered.

I’d love to know:

• What are your earliest memories of connection with Nature?
• What Places made you who you are today?
• What is one way you might reconnect with your childlike wonder?

Hit reply and tell me... send me a story, a poem, song, quote, or simply a few sentences.

I'd love to hear about your childhood connections with Nature too.

​
Stay wild and wonder-filled,

Kendra

Ps. This July 4th weekend, as many of us pause from work and gather with the people we love, I invite you to let a few unhurried hours outside nurture your wonder in a way that lasts far longer than any fireworks show.

Take a moment to connect with the firefly show :)

Written by a human - Kendra Marie Hoffman
(age 5 in image)

“We have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole – Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods