Raised By This Place
ecological identity · spiritual nurturing · embodied storytelling
The Research
Raised By This Place is a research project and creative journey that explores how theater can nurture children’s and adults’ connection to nature and awaken their spiritual awareness, rooted on IRB-approved qualitative research. Nine children aged 4–5 participated in ten theater-based sessions over two months at a university laboratory preschool.
Key findings: Children naturally expressed profound spiritual sensitivity through imaginative play, sensory engagement, and creative expression. Theater activities — particularly embodied storytelling and improvisation — facilitated children's ability to explore perspectives beyond themselves, fostering empathy and environmental consciousness.
The core activities — tested, documented, and refined through the research — formed the pilot curriculum.
🌱 Embodied Storytelling
Children explore ecological narratives through movement, tableaux, and improvisation — becoming trees, rivers, animals — shifting perspective by inhabiting another body.
🫙 Sacred Jars
Children collect natural objects of personal and sensory significance. The jars become tangible representations of memory, gratitude, and emotional grounding — altars of identity.
🌿 Terrarium Creation
Building miniature ecosystems as symbolic acts of care and reciprocity. The terrarium becomes a stage for ecological imagination.
📝 "I Was Raised By This Place" Poem
Guided by sensory prompts, children compose poems connecting place, family, memory, and identity. In research: Apple wrote of being raised by "dogs and unicorns," Echo by "the sound of the sea and my fast heartbeats."
