Deepen Your Sense of Place
Training, keynotes, community engagement programs and mentoring to connect people and place.
What if the places where we live, work, and visit felt more like places of belonging? What if our place connections helped us thrive more in the world today?
Connecting with the places that surround us, or to those from our past, we find something often missing in busy lives: connection, meaning, belonging.
Something shifts. Places become personal, not just landscapes or cities we pass through. The become stories, relationships, connections. What once felt ordinary becomes a source of inspiration and meaning.
For more than two decades, I have helped parks, museums, communities, organizations, and individuals find and strengthen their stories and connections to places, and gain skills to inspire others to care.
Whether the goal is more meaningful visitor experiences, stronger communities, inspired stewardship, or creative work the invitation is the same:
Find the story that connects.
Everyone has stories of place and belonging,
waiting to be remembered and revealed.
Let’s find yours.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, NextGen Summit, Mount Greylock, MA
Ways we can work together
For parks, museums, heritage sites, learning centers, and organizations.
Practical, immersive training for teams and individuals who want to create more meaningful tours, programs, exhibits, and visitor experiences and more connections between people and places.
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Interpretive
Training
Keynote Performances
For conferences and events focused on tourism, stewardship, interpretation, heritage, wellness, and community.
A customized journey of story, song and conversation that connect with audiences to places, purpose, and the deeper meaning behind their work.
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Events, Classes
Retreats
For communities, organizations, and individuals.
Engaging performances, workshops, classes, walks, and retreats that invite reflection, discovery, and a deeper sense of connection to place, story, and belonging.
Find a public event →
Host a public program →
Work with Erica 1:1 →
Hello, I’m Erica Wheeler
I’m the founder of Sense of Place Consulting and an interpretive trainer, keynote speaker, performer, songwriter and creative mentor.
My approach has been developed through decades of in-the-field experience with parks, museums, historic sites, organizations, communities and individuals across the country and my through my background in the creative arts.
I help people find their sense of place and explore the layers of time, meaning and perspective places hold using my Sense of Place and Story Framework to inspire connections between people and place.
Participants leave inspired and engaged, with practical skills, a shift in perspective, a renewed sense of connection to what matters, and tools they can apply directly to their personal or professional work.
“You are missing out if you aren’t booking Erica for a workshop or training. Her “sense of place” concept featured excellent hands-on exercises in an area so often perceived as intangible, while her keynote was just the dose of inspiration we needed.”
—Chief of Interpretation, Arkansas State Parks and Tourism
“We brought Erica in to help us master the art of storytelling and to learn how to share the meaning of these places even more effectively. When I’d worked with Erica before, it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I was thrilled by seeing the growth in rangers and the inspiration they gleaned.”
— National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington
Let’s bring your stories to life.
Interested in working together?
INTERPRETERS
Create meaningful programs, tours, exhibits, and visitor experiences.
Explore Interpretive Training →
COMMUNITIES
Bring people together through public programs rooted in story, place, and belonging.
Community Engagement →
Public Events →
WRITERS & CREATIVES
Find clarity, strengthen your voice, and uncover the stories or work asking for your attention.
1:1 Mentoring →
Sense of Place Writing →
START WITH A CONVERSATION
Book an Inquiry Call →
“Erica’s workshop rekindled my connection to nature that first inspired me to work in this field, and I left with the tools and resolve to tap more into the power of place as well as the inspiration to help others do the same.”
— Claire Dacey, Naturalist, Educator, Artist, MA