The Soulful Stewardship Method:
The Philosophy

The Soulful Stewardship Method is at the center of my approach and philosophy for inspiring connections between people and place.

In a nutshell: Personal Stories create Meaningful Connections that lead to Caring which inspires Stewardship.

Early in the development of this work, I partnered with national, regional, and local land trusts who knew how key storytelling was to inspiring caring and action. The best way to inspire these stories was to cultivate a sense of place.

My work developed into seminars, workshops and an interpretive training called Sense of Place and the Art of Interpretation.

This work is grounded in the philosophy that everyone has personal stories of connection to places, waiting to be evoked, restored, and remembered.

Using my tools and techniques, people find stories and connections they can use in their professional and personal work.

What is a sense of place?

There are many different ways to define what a sense of place means. It is a broad and sometimes vague term, with a variety of meanings and interpretations.

I believe your sense of place is as unique as you are.

To gain a sense of place or have a feeling of personal connection to a place, is to engage in a lifelong process of learning, discovery, and meaning-making.

”If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.” Wendell Berry

My work with this concept started when I was an undergraduate at Hampshire College (Amherst, MA). I came to see “sense of place” as a meaning-making process. It exists at the intersection of what you know about and place, and your feelings about a place. That integration is where you form your “sense of place.”

In a nutshell: Factual Knowledge + Personal Experiences = Your Sense of Place.

What I’ve learned from my sense of place work so far:

  1. Everyone has stories of connection to places from their past or present. Those stories just need to be remembered, revealed, and expressed.

  2. Everyone can uncover what a place, new or familiar, means to them. Participating in a process of personal story recognition, remembrance, and articulation combined with learning about the nature and history of a place fosters a deeper bond with wherever you are.

  3. People often live disconnected from place. They may just not like where they live or have arrived there by choice or circumstance. This lack of connection can lead to a lack of caring and caretaking. I feel we are living with an epidemic of disconnection, which has aggravated the degradation of places and lives around the globe.

  4. Helping people find their connections to places heals the disconnect between people and place. This inspires stewardship because people are more inclined to take care of places they feel personally connected to.

  5. Gaining a sense of place fosters a sense of belonging and well-being that is often missing in our world today.

The Framework: How to use this approach

Honed through decades of experience with groups, organizations, and individuals, Erica’s Sense of Place and Story Framework offers a journey of tools and practices that can be used in your personal or professional work.

Core components include:

  • Knowledge of Self: Discover your sense of place stories and your connections to the power of place.

  • Knowledge of Place: Explore the layers of time and story a place holds and see the familiar through new eyes.

  • Meaning Making: Cultivate meaningful connections between your experiences and your knowledge for yourself or to share with others.

  • Story Crafting: Gain tools to create a story for yourself or to share with others.
    Develop techniques to create programs that evoke stories in others.

Let’s Work Together

Develop your Sense of Place Stories

Public Writing Classes:
Join a sense of place writing class or retreat

Private Writing Mentoring:
Hire Erica as your writing mentor.

Staff Training at A park,museum, or historic site




Seminars and Community Events:


Hire Erica to teach a class for your group, school or community.
Get in touch.

Hire Erica to Speak at your Event:

  • Sense of Place, Story, and Tourism

  • Sense of Place, Story, and Stewardship

  • Increase Inclusion through Place-Centered Interpretation

  • The Power of Place

    Learn More >>>


Hire Erica for a Leadership Seminar