“Sense of Place”: Human Wellbeing Considerations for Ecological Restoration in Puget Sound

ABSTRACT

Sense of place is increasingly recognized as key to human wellbeing in social-ecological systems. Yet there is limited understanding about how to define and evaluate it for restoration. Here, we examine the connections between sense of place and human wellbeing for Puget Sound in the context of ecological restoration for shellfish harvesting and other shoreline activities. Using a mixed-methods approach, including semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops with tribal and non-tribal residents, we examined sense of place in two regions of Puget Sound. Empirical results show that people's senses of place are multi-dimensional and derived from: (1) activities in the near-shore; (2) cultural practices and familial heritage; (3) sensory and emotional experiences; and (4) the maintenance and strengthening of social connections. We also found that three conditions play important roles in enabling and fostering place attachment: access, knowledge, and ecological integrity. Improved understanding of a practice-based sense of place is key to creating and enacting successful, resident-supported restoration activities.

KEYWORDS:

• cultural ecosystem services
• restoration
• sense of place
• shellfish harvesting
• wellbeing

Acknowledgments

We thank the helpful comments by two anonymous reviewers and the special issue editors. Thanks also go to Patricia Clay, Linda Kruger, and Kelly Biedenweg for their internal reviews. Any error or omission is our own. Many thanks to the Swinomish tribal liaison, Larry Campbell, and the Squaxin Island tribal liaison, Aleta Poste, and to all of the workshop participants for sharing their views, memories and place-inspiration with us. Finally, we thank Jacob Tulley and Heather Mills for help with figures.

Funding

This research was funded by an award from the Puget Sound Institute (sub-awards #752491 and #762521) to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Squaxin Island Tribe or the funding agency.

Notes

1. Scholars elsewhere have debated the nuances between the definitions of “sense of place” and “place attachment” (c.f., Farnum et al. 2005 for a summary of those deliberations). While we do not dismiss that there may be different connotations between the two terms, we use them interchangeably here.

2. http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/Goals/Sense_of_Place

3. More detailed information on methods, sampling strategies, and instruments can be found in the technical report to the funder (Donatuto and Poe 2015).

4. A series of treaties negotiated in 1854–1855 by Isaac I. Stevens, then Governor of Washington Territory, reserved the tribes' right of taking fish and shellfish at all usual and accustomed areas [see for example, Article V, Treaty with the Dwamish, Suquamish, Etc. 12 Stat. 927 (1855)(Treaty of Point Elliott)]. A landmark decision by U.S. District Judge George Boldt confirmed and enforced these treaty fishing rights [United States v. Washington, 384 F. Supp. 312 (W.D. Wash. 1974), aff'd 520 F.2d 676 (9th Cir. 1975), cert. den. 423 U.S. 1086 (1976)]. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the treaties reserved the right of tribes to take up to 50% of all shellfish in natural beds, whether private or public tidelands [United States v. Washington, 167 F.3d 630 (9th Cir. 1998), cert. den. 526 U.S. 1060 (1999).]

5. In general, intergenerational knowledge in tribal communities is referred to as TEK, while in non-tribal communities it is called LEK. There is a vast body of literature on TEK and LEK (see Berkes et al. 2000; Charnley et al. 2007; Davis and Wagner 2003). Here, we focus on those types of ecological knowledge that specifically relate to the ways that heritage and knowledge join together in creating place attachments. TEK/LEK share the characteristics of heritage-based local ecological knowledge that is handed down through active teaching on the land, most often taught by relatives.