Thanks for sharing about "The Babushkas of Chernobyl," Helen. I appreciate the invitation to establish connection with the people of Ukraine in a way other than the news.

I definitely share awe for the deep connection that Indigenous people often have with their land. Also, like your questions posed, I believe that connecting with the land and water we're currently on (even if we're not indigenous to it) offers opportunities for mutual healing and caretaking of both us and the land. I think place-based EE can definitely help cultivate those connections, but I also think that care must be taken so there isn't an exploitative approach to that education. One aspect of place-based EE that is coming to mind is how to engage with the people of the land we're on. Rather than appropriating the ways that the Indigenous people of the land have connected with their particular land, I would encourage those of us who are non-Indigenous EE practitioners to start building trust and mutually honoring relationships with the Indigenous people of the land we're on. From there, permission can be asked to share particular stories or knowledge to connect us deeper to the land. I'm definitely not an expert on this - I have been learning a lot from Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy & Action, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, and Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice (all linked below) specifically.