When you join a zoom call, what’s the most common thing they ask you to do first?

“Tell us in the chat where you’re joining from..” right?

And we all type in 2-3 little words like Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, US.

But in the land-based circles, we do it a little differently.

We actively desire to ground into the Place we are in, through our bodies and a visceral awareness of the land we’re depending on to be here. It’s part nervous system regulation (much needed on a long zoom call) and part of cultivating a sense of belonging to this world.

The more we feel we belong, the safer we feel, and the more we can heal and serve the world around us without harming ourselves in the process. The more we know and believe we belong here on this planet, the more we will care about her condition, and long to love her back into health, and be a part of the regenerative revolution.

Belonging is central to an EarthCare practice.

On my zoom calls, and even in my 1:1 phone connections with friends or mentors, we will often speak about the weather (which is not petty small talk in my world), or the way the land is changing in this particular season, or even simply where we are sitting and what we are seeing for that call time. We include the place we are in, our environment, as part of the experience.

It is so relieving in a world more and more preoccupied with technology.

And it is part of recognizing we are ecological beings, in relationship with our surroundings.

So today, I want to tell you MORE about my Place.

In doing so, I aim to inspire you to get to know your Place too, which is so much more than just the parcel of property you own (or rent).

Your Place is wherever you live, love, work or worship. It includes the patch of land you have permission (or responsibility) to tend, and it includes the surrounding environments, geographically, socially and economically.

In the next few newsletters I’m going to dive into all the layers, but today we start simple.

Your Summer Solstice gift is early, Reader! Resources for EarthCare in your Place Every month, we publish a beautiful ZINE for the members of the EarthCare Library, and this month we have decided to gift it to you. ​ These EarthCare resources are carefully curated to help you slow down, take notice, and enjoy the summer season, while making a practical impact in your Place. ​→ Read the June *Special Edition* ZINE​

Ok back to my Place.

Dillsburg is the name of the quaint little Pennsylvania town where my address is located.

My partner and I steward (and technically own) a little quarter acre patch of land with an old four bedroom farmhouse from the 1800s, which we call SpiceBush Cottage.

We live here and host guests for Ecological Artist Residencies in our spare bedrooms.

We are tending a wildflower meadow, a few raised beds, a compost bin, a few flower beds around the house, and a porch with potted plants where we sit and sip tea while we listen to birds. We are surrounded by trees (oak, maple, walnut, locust, catalpa, dogwood, redbud, spicebush), and many more native (and non-native) plants.

We live at the base of South mountain, on the north side, so we get lots of shade, rain and cooler weather patterns, despite the fact that this growing region was bumped from zone 6 to 7, which means it is consistently hotter now than it ever was before.

An artesian spring runs year round in the woods nearby, and we source our water from this deep ancient communal well. There’s an old private community camp (Mt. Olivet Camp Meeting) across the main road with mossy cottages, built intentionally around/above this wellspring.

Last year I discovered this area used to be called “Hoffman's Woods” (no relation).

Isn’t that WILD?!!

My house (including my water waste and septic mound) is just uphill from Dogwood Run, a little creek which flows to the Yellow Breeches (known internationally for fly-fishing and abundant trout populations), which flows into the mighty Susquehanna River, into the Chesapeake Bay, into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Chesapeake Bay is a biodiversity hot spot, one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.

When I wash dishes, do the laundry or shower, that grey water flows into my sand mound, filters into the ground water and rejoins the watershed, eventually affecting the Chesapeake Bay.

Everything is connected. Everything we do affects the world around us.

That’s another reason it’s important to know your Place.

And when I’m on a zoom call, asked to share where I’m from, I try to drop in one little sweet fact about my Place. It always brings some life into the digital space.

So, Reader, will you tell me about your Place?

Where is it? Can you describe it?

Just share one thing you know about your Place, without looking anything up.

Next week I’ll share more about the history of my Place (the research-y part) and how you can find out more about the history of yours too.

Stay wild,

Kendra

Ps. Summer Solstice is this weekend! The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

Our European ancestors called this Litha or Midsommer. Celebrations typically include lighting bonfires, creating flower crowns, and gathering to give thanks for the season's harvest.

This year it’s also landing on Father’s Day, National Indigenous People’s Day (in Canada) AND most importantly - one of my best friends and colleague’s birthday - Jimi Eisenstein!

Hit reply to send Jimi a 30th birthday message, and I will personally deliver it when I see him to celebrate his life, his first year of fatherhood, and the land we love, this weekend.

PPS. Don’t forget to grab your Solstice GIFT, the June *Special Edition* ZINE and see what our Library members get to enjoy monthly! Many of the resources are immediately accessible, and the others are found in the Library, so join us for a lifetime membership to get everything!

Written by a human - Kendra Marie Hoffman