Sense of Place
Deep Dive Experience
Develop a deeper relationship with a place that matters to you.
A two-day immersive exploration of place, story, and meaning.
July 16–17, 2026 • Online
12:00–4:00 PM (ET) Thursday and Friday
Join me for a two-day virtual immersion into exploring a place that matters to you.
Maybe you have a story you've wanted to shape, a connection you've wanted to explore, or a place that keeps calling for your attention.
Maybe you've wanted to understand why a particular place continues to stay with you—but haven't had the time, structure, or support to explore it more deeply.
This experience gives you that opportunity.
Using my Sense of Place framework, you'll explore one place through personal memory, present-moment experience, and deeper inquiry.
As you weave together story, sensory awareness, observation, research, and reflection, you'll begin developing a richer relationship with that place—and discover the stories and meanings waiting to emerge.
This Is For You If...
There is a place you want to understand more deeply
You have a story, project, or question connected to a particular place
You're interested in exploring the connections between people and place
You want to better understand why certain places matter so much to you
You're looking for a powerful process for uncovering and developing stories, ideas, and insights rooted in place
You want to develop a deeper relationship with a place that continues to call your attention.
You don’t need prior experience to participate, or to be writer, interpreter, educator, or place professional. You just need to come with curiosity about a place that calls to you want to explore more deeply.
You can work with a place you'd like to understand more deeply. It may be from your past or your present, somewhere you know well or somewhere you're only beginning to understand..
The Experience
During our two days together, you'll move through a series of guided practices designed to help you explore one place from multiple perspectives. Starting with personal memories and experiences, you’ll move onto exploring the layers of time and story a place holds, and weaving those discoveries into stories and meaning.
Day One: Explore Your Relationship with Place
Explore your place through three perspectives:
∙ Your own lived experience through personal stories
∙ Your present-moment experience through observation & awareness
∙ The wider stories held within the landscape through research & curiosity
By the end of day one, you'll have gathered a rich collection of memories, observations, questions, and discoveries—a Story Bank that becomes the foundation for everything we'll explore on Day Two.
Day Two: Discover Meaning Within the Stories
∙ Uncover stories that emerge from experiences
∙ Recognize patterns and connections
∙ Begin shaping a narrative that weaves together self, place, and meaning.
By the end of day two, you’ll leave with a deeper relationship to your place, fresh insights to continue exploring, a practical and repeatable framework you can continue developing long after the Deep Dive ends
About This Approach
For decades, I’ve shared the Sense of Place framework with communities, organizations, educators, writers, creatives, and professionals, including work with National Parks, museums, and heritage sites across the country.
This experience brings that work into a guided, accessible format.
You’ll get to experience the tools and techniques rather than just learning about them. This will help you form a deeper relationship with place while gaining a process of discovery that can be used in your everyday life and in your work with others.
Register Now. Join us for the
Sense of Place Deep Dive Experience
July 16–17, 2026 • Online
Thursday 12:00–4:00 pm ET
Friday 12:00–4:00 pm ET
Fee:$497 (Limited to 15 participants)
Questions? Email Erica
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a writer?
You do not. The Deep Dive is for anyone who wants to explore a place that matters to them and develop a deeper relationship with it.
There will be writing and reflection, but this is not a writing class. Writing is simply one way we'll notice, gather, and make meaning.
What kind of place should I have in mind?
Choose a place that holds meaning, curiosity, memory, or an unanswered question. It can be familiar or new, past or present—any place you'd like to understand more deeply.
Any place that keeps calling your attention, a question, or simple curiosity is enough to begin. Your answer might come to you during the workshop, which is wonderful too.
Can I participate if I've attended something similar with Erica before?
Yes. Your relationship with place is always changing, so returning to the practices often reveals new stories, questions, and meanings.
Every time you engage with the practices could bring to life and completely different idea because you have grown and changed since the time before.
