Bioregions & a sense of place

Bioregions & a sense of place Environmental health & wellness

Karen Noonan Environmental Education Center, Chesapeake Bay Watershed • Project H.O.P.E. Loretto, PA (also Chesapeake Bay watershed)

Jan Mejer - Refuge

Bioregions/eco-regions

ALLEGHENY BIOREGION

PA; Allegheny plateau & ridge valley region,

If you don’t know where you are from, you’ll have a hard time saying where you are going.– Wendell Barry • Trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap • Describe the soil around your home • What were the primary subsistence techniques of the cultures who lived in this area before us? • Name five edible plants in our bioregion & their seasons of availability. • WHERE does our garbage go?? • How long is the growing season here? • Name five resident & migratory bird in this bioregion.

What primary geological events formed the land where we live? • What species have become extinct in our area? • From where we are reading this, point north. • What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom? • Name some animals who share our place. • What developed or potential energy sources are in our area? • What is the largest wilderness area in our bioregion? • From what direction do winter storms generally come from? • What are the major plants associated with our bioregion?

A sense of place • It is a combination of characteristics that makes a place special and unique. Sense of place involves the human experience in a landscape, the local knowledge and folklore. Sense of place also grows from identifying oneself in relation to a particular piece of land on the surface of planet Earth. • Another way of looking at sense of place is contrast: places like strip malls have little sense of place because they more or less all look very similar, often have no name and no one who wants to spend any time there or write anything about them. Whereas places that exhibit a strong sense of place have an identity and character recognized immediately by a visitor and valued deeply by residents.

Mount Rainier

Water ! • http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/seasonal-hikes/spring-destinations/waterfall-hikes

Special childhood place • write a paragraph describing a place that moved,inspired, or profoundly impacted them • DRAW /SKETCH your place • Everyone has a ̳favorite place,‘ a place they escape to in their imagination, or in reality, in times of joy or trouble. You can introduce this assignment by asking students to close theireyesand imagine they are in the place they most love in the world. It can be anywhere and any kind of place, but it must be a real place, and one that they have actually been in • Hort Woods

Eco-justice: Environmental racism *& environmental justice (Chester, PA)

Bioregions & a sense of place