Twenty-fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

In response to overlapping crises of environmental and mental health, this paper showcases examples of attuning to place, as empowering practices for communities to enact for the solidarity and wellness of residents. This work explores transformational actions of meaning-making through art, craft, and collective healing, as well as enactments of identity through place-building. Centering scholarship in anthropology, cultural ecology, community psychology, and embodiment theories, this study dives into the generative and healing potentials of inquiry-based experiences, particularly recreation and socialization in wild spaces and activities based on sensorial interactions with natural materials. With implications for policy, education, city planning, public mental health and more, this research poses questions for resource management and cultural curation, as well as environmental valuation, care, and stewardship. Exploring possibilities of transformational experiences through knowledge-building activities with art and in nature, this paper discusses examples of cultural attunements to place, self, and environment that contribute to greater personal and collective well-being. This work infuses ethnographic understandings of belonging and restorative justice, with innovative models in eco-therapy and nature-based healing, highlighting participatory methods and culturally-relevant heritage practices. This paper asks what we can do as societies to re-imagine equitable human-nature relationships and cultivate hope and investment in place? How can we create and integrate meaningful, interactive experiences that help communities heal from loneliness, trauma, or dispossession? How can we tend to place in ways that safeguard traditional lifeways in the face of globalizing technologies? How can we use body-based knowledge to craft healthy futures and sovereign communities?