Cultivating Place

Twenty-five years ago in the Spring of 1994, we moved into Springhill Farm. It did not truly and wholly become our place until about five years ago. The transition from not knowing to intimate familiarity occurred in an incremental fashion with increased awareness and changes resulting from decisions we made and projects we completed over the years. Now we know its detail.

The farm is aptly named for the many springs and streams originating on or crossing through the farm land. This area was last shaped by glacial activity and our farm boundaries define a piece of land perched on the north side of a drumlin ridge of till dominated by sand and stone on the side of the ridge and by clay beneath the bottom hummocky wetland. As the glacier receded lake waters collected leaving behind in time pure patches of beach sand. Today the farm is comprised of five distinct areas: arable hay fields at the top; on the steeper slopes a maple bush and pasture land; a mixed wetland wood comprised of cedar, white and yellow birch, ash, tamarack, elm and pine; with pine and a colonizing deciduous mix emerging on the low hummocky areas.

Why has our full sense of place taken so long to form? Well, 90 acres is a significant chunk of land and time and relationship does not happen instantly. To know every tree, to feel all the soils, to leave a mark and to know the wildlife takes time and effort. To develop respect for it all and a sense of responsibility requires intimate association, as otherwise we are just passing through.

A conscious and deeply felt sense of place can be enigmatic in translation. In a more casual way maybe familiarity alone is sufficient. In other words, maybe thinking too hard about place is not necessary. Maybe we just need to feel it.

So, can place be anywhere? Why not, but then what are the traits of place and our relationship with it enabling a sense of place? While familiarity is crucial, it is by no means the only factor of importance. Indeed, a sense of place is built upon many foundation elements linked in tandem with psychology, physical definition and purpose.

As I write this short essay, pen in hand at my drafting table, an interesting notion has come to mind. Typing into the computer at a different location would have produced a very different essay result. At one time I used a nib pen as my thinking pen. Then I believe the pen helped define place for me as I could sit anywhere, think and scribble notes. The feel and comfort, maybe ritual associated with the pen ensured a sense of place whether in the garden, at the kitchen table or beside the wood stove in winter. Obviously other factors were involved, but the pen provided focused almost magnetic substance.

I was thinking earlier about place on the move. In one sense as we move about we float through a landscape, a building, a park and in transience may be thought of as placeless. But, no, our sense of place can be, is internalized. Our sense of place is first and foremost a psychological construct and is therefore an extension of us. It is our sense of self extended. We see and sense the world from within. We look out upon our surroundings. We feel warmth, a soft breeze or smell odours. We navigate, recognize and respond through and with our senses. Beyond our internalized sense of place we recognize and employ a vast array of props to extend the physical and sensual notion beyond into spaces of our living, the places of our comfort.

What are some of the props aiding us in recognizing and sensing place? Lets start close in and work our way out and begin with clothing. I suggest clothing represents a buffer between our inner selves and the world around us. More than any other prop, clothing has two functions enveloping us with an intimate sense of enclosure, but simultaneously displaying for others to see and understand our place in the world. Clothing communicates a message, is part of our language and helps define our place in the world as viewed by ourselves and others in turn reinforcing our internal sense of who we think we represent and the place we occupy. Beyond clothing, take your pick. Props are anything we employ to create a sense of place ranging from the subtle of a change in texture to the stronger and much more obvious complete enclosure to the notions of roots and legacy and further still in the realm of ownership and ‘the commom’. We may share a sense of place with others, but ultimately our sense of place is internalized and reinforced with props including the interpretation of circumstances around us.

This past year, unknown to me at the time of doing, a project was completed and it provides a good example of creating and recognizing a sense of place. Previous to last year I looked at our garden as a feature in the wider landscape. The rabbits and deer agreed, freely roaming through it eating as they went. To put a stop to their destructive habits we erected fencing to enclose the garden and keep the wildlife out. We achieved our purpose, but at the same time created a place in the landscape defined by edge, the fencing. I had not anticipated the change as I was focused on Bambi and Peter, but should have with the addition of structure. 

Our farm is enclosed by hedgerows, woodlot and old fencing. Here again the enclosure provides a sense of boundary we can easily identify. In addition, over the twenty-five years of our occupation of this land and with the projects we have undertaken our detailed knowledge of the land has increased and with it our sense of place. Now we share a history with the changes, all part of place reinforcement.

So, yes, I think place can be anywhere intimately familiar and identifiable with and in association with various props and circumstances. The list is endless and only requires a little effort to understand why our sense of place is so fundamental for us as extensions to ourselves.