Designing with a Sense of Place: Why it Matters
Part One: Understanding Sense of Place and Connection to Nature
In a world where design can feel rootless, driven by trends or detached from setting, reconnecting with a sense of place and a connection to nature offers a more grounded, enduring approach. These two concepts are deeply human. They reflect how we make meaning from our environments and influence how we feel, think, and act, especially in relation to the natural world.
At Camplight Creative, we believe design should reflect these relationships. Before we explore how to apply these ideas, let’s look at what they mean and why they matter.
What Is “Sense of Place”?
“Sense of place” is a layered idea drawn from fields like architecture, geography, psychology, and environmental education. Although definitions vary, most experts agree it combines two key elements:
Place attachment: the emotional bond we feel with specific locations
Place meaning: the stories, memories, and significance we associate with them
Together, they help us feel rooted. As geographer Yi-Fu Tuan puts it, sense of place "touches people’s emotions on a variety of levels through the bonds they form with places."
In outdoor and environmental education, sense of place goes beyond personal nostalgia. It becomes a tool for transformation. Programs like those at NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) help people form lasting relationships with wild places. This process involves more than just being outside. It means being present, noticing what lives around you, learning the names of plants and animals, listening to stories of the land, and feeling a personal connection to the landscape.
When people build these kinds of relationships, they often develop what educators call an "environment of care", a mindset that favors decisions made out of respect for the land and its ecosystems. That is the essence of sense of place: a meaningful connection that shapes how we act.
What Is “Connection to Nature”?
Closely related—but distinct—is connection to nature. This concept describes the extent to which a person sees themselves as part of the natural world, rather than separate from it. Psychologist Wesley Schultz describes it in three dimensions:
Cognitive: understanding ourselves as part of nature
Affective: feeling care and concern for the natural world
Behavioral: acting to support or protect nature
People who feel connected to nature are more likely to take actions that benefit the environment, such as conserving resources, protecting wildlife, or advocating for policy change. And these connections support not just ecological health, but personal well-being. Research shows that time in nature can reduce anxiety, improve focus, boost creativity, and promote overall mental and physical health.
Importantly, connection to nature does not require a remote wilderness experience. It can happen in a city park, a backyard, or even through a memory or story. What matters is our attention and intention that brings in curiosity, care, and presence to the places we inhabit.
Why These Ideas Matter
Sense of place and connection to nature are powerful on their own. Together, they form the foundation of thoughtful, resonant design. When we intentionally create experiences, spaces, and stories that foster these connections, we do more than make something beautiful. We help people feel they belong. We root them in context. We invite care for community, landscape, and the world beyond.
In the next section, we’ll share practical ideas for bringing these values into your creative work—whether you're building a brand, telling a story, or shaping a space.
Part Two: Practical Ways to Design for Place and Nature
Designing with a sense of place and connection to nature isn’t just a feel-good exercise, it’s a powerful tool for creating experiences that are resonant, memorable, and meaningful. But how do you actually do it? Whether you’re an outdoor educator, designer, brand strategist, or creative director, the following tips, rooted in both research and practice, offer a starting point.
1. Start with Direct Experience
The most consistent finding in the literature is simple but profound: direct experience in nature is essential. Long, immersive experiences are best but even brief encounters with natural spaces can be powerful when paired with thoughtful reflection or sensory engagement.
Design tip: Whenever possible, design opportunities for your audience to interact directly with the land. In-person programs? Take them outside. Digital storytelling? Use visuals, soundscapes, or prompts that invite the user to notice their local environment.
2. Blend Emotion with Knowledge
Studies show that combining affective (emotional) experiences with cognitive (informational) ones strengthens nature connection. It’s not enough to just learn about a place. We need to feel something for it.
Design tip: Pair facts with feelings. In your messaging or interpretation materials, don’t just share ecological data. Share why it matters, what it feels like, and how it connects to human stories.
3. Inspire Wonder
Rachel Carson called wonder “the seed” of lifelong environmental connection. Wonder opens the door to curiosity, empathy, and memory. It’s especially potent when guided by an adult or leader who models enthusiasm and awe.
Design tip: Use evocative language, imagery, and questions that invite exploration. In person, take time for silence, stargazing, or watching a sunrise. Online, pose “I wonder…” questions, or share surprising natural phenomena to spark delight.
4. Prepare the Guides
If you're leading others through a sense-of-place experience, your own preparation matters. Research shows that leaders who are self-educated, reflective, and intentional create deeper learning outcomes.
Design tip: Invest in leader training that includes local history, indigenous knowledge, environmental issues, and storytelling skills. Create space for guides to connect with the land themselves before leading others.
5. Engage All the Senses
Sensory immersion deepens memory and emotional connection. Cold air on skin, the smell of pine needles, the sound of wind in tall grass; these experiences shape how we relate to place.
Design tip: Think beyond the visual. Incorporate sound design, scent (in physical spaces), and tactile interactions. Use descriptive language that evokes full-body presence.
6. Make It Personal and Reflective
Meaning sticks when it’s personally relevant. Activities that ask participants to reflect, write, or discuss their own experiences help cement a sense of place.
Design tip: Use reflection prompts, journaling, or discussion circles. Encourage people to define what place means to them or share stories of personal significance tied to nature.
7. Teach the Names of Things
Knowing the name of a tree, bird, or mountain changes how we relate to it. Naming fosters familiarity and respect, building ecological literacy and emotional attachment.
Design tip: Incorporate local flora and fauna into your content or programming. Use interpretive signs, digital ID tools, or storytelling to make these details accessible and memorable.
8. Layer in Culture and History
A full sense of place includes not just the natural environment, but the cultural, historical, and social dimensions of that land.
Design tip: Include indigenous place names, stories from local communities, or historical events tied to the landscape. Collaborate with cultural experts or elders where possible.
9. Use Ceremony and Ritual
Simple ceremonies like giving thanks, offering silence, or marking transitions can add spiritual or emotional weight to outdoor experiences. They help people feel part of something larger.
Design tip: Consider opening or closing a program with a land acknowledgment, a gratitude circle, or a moment of shared stillness. These rituals create meaning and memory.
10. Incorporate Mindfulness
Mindfulness practices such as slowing down, noticing, and being present can shift perception and increase nature connection. Even noticing “mundane nature” (like weeds in sidewalk cracks) matters.
Design tip: Prompt your audience to observe quietly for five minutes, notice three things they’re grateful for in nature, or take a “mindful walk” with specific cues. Use this both in-person and through digital experiences.
11. Play, Explore, and Use Games
Play isn't just for kids. Nature games that involve exploration, movement, or role-playing create joyful, embodied learning—and they stick with us.
Design tip: In outdoor settings, use scavenger hunts, team challenges, or storytelling games. Online or print-based work can use interactive quizzes, puzzles, or creative challenges tied to natural themes.
12. Teach Primitive or Ancestral Skills
Practices like foraging, fire-building, or shelter-making awaken our deeper human ties to nature. These “earthlinks,” as one educator called them, make place matter because they meet real needs.
Design tip: Introduce skills that relate to local ecology like identifying edible plants or making tools from natural materials. Even symbolic versions (like digital tutorials or sharing about ancestral practices) can be powerful.
The Bottom Line
Designing with a sense of place and connection to nature is about helping people belong. It's about creating experiences that invite curiosity, care, and relationship—not just with the land, but with the stories, cultures, and communities tied to it.
At Camplight Creative, we believe these ideas aren’t just for wilderness educators. They’re for anyone telling stories, building brands, shaping experiences, or imagining futures. Because when design starts from a place of connection, it leads to work that’s not only beautiful but also deeply rooted and wildly alive.