Our Environment

Seasonal Highlights

A Sense of Place…
“There is a great deal of talk these days about saving the environment.  We must…for the environment sustains our bodies.  But as humans we also require support for our spirits … and this is what certain kinds of places provide.

The catalyst that converts any physical location – any environment if you will – into a place, is the process of experiencing deeply.  A place is a piece of the whole environment that has been claimed by feelings.  Viewed simply as a resource that sustains our humanity, the earth is a collection of places.

We never speak, for example, of an environment we have known; it is always places we have known- and recall.  We are homesick for places, we are reminded of places.  It is the sounds, the smells and sights of places which haunt us against which we often measure our present”

Alan Gussow

At PEEC, our environment and all that it provides is driven by nature and natural systems, celebrating all of the celestial seasons.  Opportunities for experiencing profound learning and connecting are offered all year long. Nature’s calendar designs our calendar.

Read a little more about the Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox and then celebrate the seasons…celebrate the diversity:

• Naturally – in what you see, hear, smell, touch and taste
• Celestially – in what you can imagine
• Actively – in what you can do at PEEC
• Sustainably – in what you can do (simply) to sustain and conserve

Vernal Equinox – March through May

Every year, around March 20, the sun is directly over the equator, causing night and day to be roughly the same length. The vernal equinox also signals the first day of spring.

Summer Solstice – June through August

Yearly, around June 21, the sun lingers longer than any other day of the year.  Since this is the longest day, it is the shortest night. The end of June signals the beginning of summer and the days begin to get gradually shorter.

Autumnal Equinox – September through November

Once again the sun is directly over the equator, and night and day are again roughly the same length.  Fall is here, the trees are turning, and the birds are beginning to leave for their wintering grounds.  Winter is right around the corner.

Winter Solstice – December through February

Every year, around December 22, winter officially begins.   The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year …or the longest night of the year…when the sun is furthest south in sky.  As the days gradually get longer, we remember that spring is on its way again.