Deepen Your Sense of Place
A practical and creative approach to uncovering connection, meaning and story.
A sense of place can enrich how we experience the world.
Having a sense of place can help us feel more connected to where we are, find more meaning in everyday experiences, and strengthen our relationships with ourselves, our communities, and our surroundings.
You may arrive seeking a more personal connection, or looking for tools and experiences that help others connect.
Wherever you begin, seeing through a sense of place lens can offer fresh insight into the world around you and open a path toward new possibilities, new ideas, and the stories that sustain you along the way.
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
Let’s Work Together
Training 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.
Explore Training →
Interpretive Training
Keynote Performances
Keynotes for conferences and events focused on tourism, stewardship, interpretation, heritage, wellness, and community.
Customized journeys of story, song and conversation that connect with audiences to places, purpose, and the deeper meaning behind their work.
Explore Keynotes →
Events, Classes & Retreats
Events 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 →
“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
What if the places where we live, work, and visit felt more like places of belonging?
We might begin to see places differently—not simply as locations, but as sources of meaning, memory, identity, and possibility.
We might feel less disconnected from our surroundings and more connected to ourselves, to others, and to what matters.
We might discover new inspiration for our work, deeper roots in our communities, and a stronger sense of connection to the places we call home.
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 work brings together interpretation, storytelling, creative practice, and a sense of place lens to help people explore the layers of time, meaning, memory, and perspective that places hold.
For more than two decades, I have helped parks, museums, historic sites, communities, organizations, and individuals explore their sense of place and discover the stories, meanings, and possibilities those connections reveal.
The framework, tools, and practices I use have been shaped through decades of in-the-field experience and a lifelong commitment to connecting people and place.
People leave with a stronger sense of place, a clearer understanding of what matters, and practical ways to bring those insights to life in their work, communities, and everyday lives.
“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?
For Interpreters : Create meaningful programs, tours, exhibits, and visitor experiences. Explore Interpretive Training →
For Communities: Bring people together through public programs rooted in story, place, and belonging.
Community Engagement →
Public Events →
For Writers, Creatives and Individuals
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