<p>Teachers play a critical role in place-based education (PBE), an approach that emphasizes the use of local elements in teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to explore how science teachers perceive the concept of locality and its integration into science education. The research was designed as a case study involving 92 science teachers working in Sakarya province of Türkiye. The findings reveal that, regardless of whether they actually integrated local elements into their lessons, teachers frequently emphasized the importance of doing so. They highlighted the educational value of integrating local elements, noting benefits for students’ academic achievement, motivation, local awareness, and sense of belonging. Teachers also reported benefits for their own professional development and job satisfaction. Furthermore, although the majority of participants had not previously heard of PBE, more than half nevertheless integrated local elements into their lessons. Teachers who were more familiar with local resources tended to integrate them more effectively; however, such integration often remained superficial, primarily due to limited knowledge of local assets and insufficient theoretical understanding of PBE. In addition, teachers reported challenges related to organizational processes, aligning curricular outcomes with local elements, and inadequate knowledge of local resources, emphasizing the need for support in these areas. Overall, the findings underscore the necessity of targeted interventions, including structured pre-service and in-service training programs, the provision of practical resources, and guidance on linking local elements to curricular objectives.</p>