My relationship with land started when I was a child – free from technology I found myself running in the backyard, building forts in our cherry tree, and sneaking into the neighbour’s garden to eat his vegetables. I liked the feel of morning grass beneath my feet, the taste of plums and the sense of accomplishment I’d feel when I climbed to the highest branch of a tree. I felt safe, protected, and always curious. Throughout my life my connection to land has been strong, despite falling prey to social media scrolling and Netflix binging. I immerse myself in the land for pleasure, adventure and to ease anxiety and stress. I often find my body will tell me when I have been away from the outdoors for too long, begging me to ground myself.
There is no specific place that alleviates all my worries. Each new mountain, lake, valley, trail, and forest has something to offer – as do the ones I explore often. There is always something to see and appreciate. I like to show my appreciation for the land by connecting physically with the materials it has to offer. Whether that’s through games, walking, swimming, or art making. I often find myself using fallen branches, leaves, rocks, pinecones, etc, to create something special. Sometimes there is meaning behind what I create but most often it’s an intuitive process between myself and the land.
For me, engaging with the land through touching the varied materials from different places is how I ground myself and create memories. I believe all land is embedded with memory we can and can’t see. Evidence of time and others can be seen through erosion, pollution, global warming, or the change of the seasons. We can see with our eyes what the land is going through and can imagine what it looked like before. But land also holds memories invisible to our eyes, completely unique and individual to each person that holds a memory within that place. I think that’s the beauty of living in a community, or a common place is that people today, yesterday, months, decades and centuries ago have all made memories in that place.
