ATHOL – Dr. Larry Buell of Petersham, well known for his work on environmental issues and with local Native Americans – including the return of native lands in Petersham to the Nipmuc Tribe – has published a book in which he shares the lessons learned as an educator, activist, and active member of his community.
“Ever since I returned here to Petersham in 1969 and got a job at Greenfield Community College in the recreation and eventually the outdoor leadership programs, I’ve had this vision of educating others to live more lightly on the planet,” Buell told the Athol Daily News. “I’ve been fortunate to have tremendous work in my own bioregion, this region of the Quabbin and Franklin County. I know it well. I do know that the land and the culture informs us and informs all the residents.”
Buell joked that he’s considered in elderdom, having turned 80 in March. He said that it’s time for him to give back some of his insights, and so the focus of the memoir is on how his story, his connection to the land, culture, people, and native lands, goes out to help other people going through the same process.
“The famous novelist Wendell Berry said, ‘If you don’t know where you are, you may not know who you are,’” he said. “That’s been a lot of my focus – to try to interpret the landscape to people.”
Buell said what he learned was done through through mentorship, particularly at the University of the Wild. A mentor, he said, could be a person, a philosophy, or a concept.
“Somebody who had just written a book doing an interview, and they said, ‘This book was, for me, the mentor I never had,’” Buell said. “I thought that was an interesting concept, of writing about what I need to know in order to move forward.”
And what has Buell learned?
“Of the things I’ve learned,” he explained, “I think the most important one are the universal laws of nature. It’s sometimes referred to as biomimicry, because if you study the laws of nature – the natives say, ‘When the bird and the book disagree, always listen to the bird.’”
Another insight he has gained over the years, Buell continued, is the concept of community.
“We have become so isolated – and COVID made that so central – that people are craving, craving it because we normally want to be in community, be connected to others,” he said. “Now, that has become real, particularly in our education, where people have to be connected to others in order to learn. It’s referred to as ‘intentional community,’ but what my focus is people who are intentionally wanting to be in community around living more lightly on the planet.”
One of his initiatives in promoting this kind of living is what he calls “WECHI” or Wild Earth Communities, Households International.
“It’s basically people who are living close to the earth and have this connection,” he continued. “Their ecological footprint is not 25 acres, but maybe two or three acres. There’s a network that starts right here in Petersham that has people gathering in this international network; some are in California, some are in London, and there are a number of other people who are connected and want to be connected. They don’t have to buy new land or find people, they’re already doing it.”
Personal practice is the third main concept he also hopes to communicate through his book. Contributing to a positive outcome, he said, is taking good care of one’s self by eating good food, exercising and having positive relationships.
Finally, he concluded, “We need to share. The age of the lone wolf is over. We must now start to share what we know for us, which is our truth; and that comes through lived experience.”
Over the past five decades, Buell has been involved in numerous efforts, including the founding of the Outdoor Leadership Program at Greenfield Community College. He also created the Earthlands intentional community, returned land in Petersham to the Nipmuc Tribe where they plan to establish the Nipmuc Cultural and Education Center, established the Sustainable Petersham Project, and founded the University of the Wild. The UofW boasts an Earth-based curriculum and a partnership with UMass/Amherst, which offers credits through the University Without Walls.
Buell’s book, “The University of the Wild: Vision, Practice, Promise: A New Roadmap for Living, Learning, and Acting for the Earth,” is available at https://igg.me/at/uofwildbook, or by purchasing on-line at the secure website, www.UofWild.org. Dr. Larry Buell can be contacted directly at by email at Larry@UofWild.org, by phone at (978) 855-1420, or via the website www.UofWild.org.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.