Historical ecology is a practical framework of concepts and methods for studying the past and future of the relationship between people and their environments. Its holistic, ethical, and place-based approach can ‘grow’ regional expertise in managing the future. This chapter offers an overview of the origins and growing integration of several strands that comprise historical ecology, paying particular attention to theoretical contexts and offering examples of practical applications. Historical ecology is not a new discipline so much as a ‘cluster’ or ‘cloud’ of mutually compatible questions, concepts, methods, and values that provide a rich environment within which to find common cause with other initiatives; such communities are taking shape and broadening their inclusivity.