A Landscape of Well-Being

The process of removing cultural material to museums can augment the “nature–culture divide” by physically separating “culture” from “nature.” In this article, I consider ways of disrupting this artificial divide through the example of a journey through my local park and an examination of the displays and collections at the nearby museum where several items from the park are now housed. By describing locations like my local park more broadly as “landscapes,” which are the collaborative products of humans and nonhumans, I hope to further disrupt the “nature–culture divide.” I also argue that experiencing “nature” and “culture” has benefited my own well-being at a particularly difficult period in my life. Reconnecting museums, their collections, and activities with the landscapes where artifacts originated could help improve the well-being of others.