Sense of Place: Facilitating Connections to the Natural World

The Stewardship Network

by

Monday, January 29th, 2024
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
01/29/2024 13:00:00 01/29/2024 14:00:00 America/Detroit TSN Conference: Sense of Place: Facilitating Connections to the Natural World https://conference.stewardshipnetwork.org/session/29-1300_sense_of_place Virtual The Stewardship Network staff@stewardshipnetwork.org

In 2022, Grand-Raisin Conservation Community (GRCC) and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory developed what has come to be known as the Sense of Place project. As conceived, the project would create a readily accessible inventory of what ecologically characterizes and underpins the unique appeal of the Grand River and Raisin River headwater areas in Michigan, which could then be used to help decision-makers, stakeholders, and members of the general public to deepen their appreciation for the natural areas in which they live and work. In practice, GRCC has developed a series of “home walks” that are meant to help attendees connect with the places that they visit in a meaningful way through facilitated explorations that involve the host sharing their personal connections to the land and the history of the natural features and life forms that call it home. Join representatives from GRCC, MNFI, and TSN as we explore the concept of Sense of Place in a community roundtable discussion.

Presenters

Bob Kellum
Grand Raisin Conservation Community
The son of a geologist and an archeologist, Bob Kellum is the living descendent of an impressionable eight-year-old who was taken into the confidence of his family’s land.  Fifty-eight years later, he works to honor that confidence as steward of 300 acres of highly variable land in the ‘Irish Hills’ of south-east Michigan.  His interest in time comes from his sense that its experience is infinitely variable and that the priorities we see clearly with a long view, can bear little resemblance to the short-term priorities we live by.   Bob is a founding member of the Stewardship Network's Grand Raisin Conservation Community, a founding cooperator in the Iron Creek Land Community, a founding member and president of Oh These Irish Hills! and a board member of the Central Algoma Freshwater Coalition.
Rob Luzynski
The Stewardship Network
Rob earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Psychology from the University of Michigan’s Program in the Environment, where he was awarded outstanding student in his major in 2016. As the Community Coordinator at The Stewardship Network, Rob is the primary point of contact for TSN's member community coordinators and is in charge of coordinator support, which includes providing technical and strategic guidance, facilitating peer-learning opportunities, and maintaining relationships with member community coordinators and partners, among many other things. He is also responsible for overseeing the growth and development strategy of the program and works closely with Executive Director Lisa Brush to identify and pursue new partnership opportunities. In his free time, Rob is a musician, arts organizer, and journalist in Detroit, and he enjoys gardening, skateboarding, and playing hockey whenever he can!
Tyler Bassett
Michigan Natural Features Inventory
Tyler is a botanist and plant ecologist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension. He studies the ecology, classification, and management of ecosystems, with a focus on the rare plant species they support. In particular, he has a passion for understanding and restoring the fragmented and fire-suppressed prairie-savanna landscapes of the upper Midwest. He has worked in private, public, non-profit and academic spheres for over 20 years to bring the science and practice of conservation and restoration together to improve outcomes for biodiversity. Communicating both the necessity and process of achieving these outcomes to a range of audiences is an essential step in that process, and one he enjoys. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Western Michigan University in 2000 and PhD from Michigan State University in 2017.