I like the idea that you can capture an essence of a visit in a journal so that you can go back and be reminded about the day. Little sketches and written material helps with that. Also, I like to use watercolor and this would be a way to exercise the procedure to a full fledged watercolor painting.

I have enjoyed being in nature and journaling for a long time, though separately, and am not consistent with journaling. Years ago, I started creating "5-minute sketches" in pencil on each memorable hike I took. I'm hoping what I learn in this class will help me to expand my observations, draw better, paint more, and be more mindful/present when I'm in nature.

Being so new to these skills, to add to the discussion seems awkward.  My takeaway is that my journal will likely begin as a hybrid.  Reflecting on Shayna's breakaways of cubes and magnification for added detail.  Jewels reference color chart is an awesome tool.  Then of course the wonderful Art along with notation employed by Liz certainly a goal to aim for. So here we go.

Really love Holly's style with the watercolour! I dabble in watercolour already so this is a good style for me. I love how she has the dates painted in and the notes are great too. Her style has really inspired me to record even the smallest of items such as a pine cone or a mushroom. Very interesting aspects of the journal!

1. I have dabbled with journalling both travel and nature and seen some published ones that have inspired me to do more and more often. 2. I really liked Shayna Muller's journal as she has a way of orgnizing her drawings/notes etc. I liked the idea of sometimes using black and white and sometimes colour. Placing some things in boxes and enlarging part of a plant or animal appealed to me. I like her suggestion of drawing, thinking and writing and later maybe finding out more information. 3. I have usually made a title page of where I am followed by pages of art/words. Underlining certain words is another idea I use.

I have been attempting to learn nature sketching using a book by a very good nature artist.  But I feel like I would benefit from a structured course on the topic.  Right now, being that it is 17 degrees outside I don't imagine taking as journal outside, but can bring back nature objects, shells etc. and use photos to draw. Would like to make my sketches "come alive" - not just be two dimensional on a sheet of paper.

I'd been keeping a journal for years off and on, but it wasn't as artistic as I wanted it to be, so I am hoping following a course, working on drawing or watercoloring, and giving myself a schedule will help me keep on it and grow as a journalist.  Also, go make more opportunities for observation--making the time for it. I liked how some were so artsy, but I don't have those skills now.  I liked the idea of keeping a schedule, of adding observations, backgrounds, and also studying the subject after the fact to include scientific info in the journal. As I was typing this, a Cooper hawk flew onto my tree, so I immediately jumped up and drew it.  It's nice to connect like this.

I am more of a nature photographer - but sometimes carrying my gear feels intrusive, cumbersome, and takes me out of the moment. I have been looking for a way to still capture what I see, but carrying less gear.  I like to look back at my photos to understand trends, patterns, etc, and I can use my journals the same way. For now I want to always keep the date, time location and weather at the top of the page - I like that idea for learning more about what I see.  Eventually, I might like to move to a more stylized journal, but I'm not there yet.

I have kept all kinds of journals throughout my life and this winter I have made the promise to myself to spend at least an hour outside every day. As I have some challenges with walking, the journalling seemed a great idea to spend the time outside, observe and try to learn some new insights and skills.

I like the idea of using it as a reference to help me remember not only what I saw but facts to remember. I like to capture my enthusiasm when I was thrilled at what I saw.

I love keeping a bird journal in writing because I enjoy perusing it and remembering the birds I've seen. I'd like to add sketches because I love drawing, and I'd love to create a keepsake for my son and grandson. My son has become a birder over the years because of me and has developed a passion for it. We hope his little son will develop this too. I strongly desire to develop my art, and I think nature journaling will help me be particularly mindful of details by trying to capture the essence of a living thing, plant or animal, on paper. I want to get good at sketching, doing quick sketches of active birds. My style is so meticulous right now, and I'd love to loosen it up. I've already learned a lot simply by being shown what materials to buy and by looking at examples of other people's journals. I'm a seventy-year-old grandma for the first time which has been very exhilarating! As I embark on my nature journaling, I feel equally excited and challenged.

1) I love how beautiful nature journals are, and I'd love to get back to painting. I abandoned watercolors over the last year as it all felt a bit too much, and nature journaling seems like a great way to pick up the skill again, at the same time as I focus on being more present in nature. 2) I enjoyed how all the artists had such distinct memories attached to their nature journals. My favorite styles were the ones that combined drawing, color, and words on the same page. 3) I think I might incorporate more growing seedlings in my nature journal, particularly during these winter months in the midwest when it's too cold (for me at least!) to sit still outside.

I love all of nature around me,  am an avid gardener, and want to start cataloging my gardens and the critters they attract.   Hopefully with sketches and journaling I will be able to maintain a record of how the landscape around me changes with the seasons/years.  This class will, I hope, get me started on the right track.

Have been gardening for a long time and decided I wanted to not only watch the garden grow, but to sketch (for now) what I was growing so I can recall during the long winter months.  If these sketches turn out good enough I might share them with my children.  Basic sketching so I can get the idea  of shapes and sizes etc. first.  No different idea yet, but I usually incorporate my own style eventually.  Very novice so will follow what is done until I feel more comfortable.

I believe I have little artistic ability. And I want to change this! As a novice birder and experienced outdoors person, I find joy in the exquisite designs of nature. I am trying to sketch and draw so I may more vibrantly recall all this beauty. Text and drawings! I thought you were "supposed" to draw just a certain way. I guess I put unnecessary walls around my inspiration. I think I'll scrapbook as well as journal, adding found items now & then, as well as my attempts to recreate them. Maybe this will be a measure of increasing skills.  

Like many here, I received this course as a gift (from my husband). My interest in birding has increased since I've been working from home due to COVID. My feeders are a welcome diversion from the day-long computer screen. I have been fascinated by the variety of birds outside my window and hope that this course will improve my attention and ability to identify birds as well as my mindfulness in general.

1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I have loved both art and nature since I was a kid. I've done some nature journaling but really want to take my sketches to the next level. I'm in particular excited to learn more about watercolor technique because I have always found that to be a difficult medium. With the pandemic, I work from home and have developed a lovely backyard nature observation practice and have jotted down what I see each day. I want to now pair that with some sketches! 2. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? I definitely want to incorporate some better watercolor techniques and experiment with different page layouts.

What inspired me to start nature journaling is...years ago, I took some very basic drawing and watercolor classes and tried to sketch things I found around me. I realized that if I remembered the guidelines given by the instructors, without obsessing over perfection, I could actually make pictures! I had always assumed I had no natural artistic talent or ability. But the basic drawing class convinced me that although only a few are great artists, and many others are good artists, even the novice can draw things that look like those actual things they are trying to capture. I remember paying incredibly close attention to some object, natural or man-made, and feeling the flow of energy and joy as I managed to sketch on my drawing pad. Suddenly I noticed things for the first time! I realized how beautiful and interesting the world is, especially the natural world. I realized that beauty and wonder are literally everywhere. I live surrounded by beautiful sights, and yet too often when I walk on a trail, I feel bogged down with my own crappy moods, failing to feel anything or care about the plants, sky, landforms and earth I tread on.  I continually fail to be moved by the sight of deer, bear, wild turkeys, chickadees, or salamanders. But I think I may have a cure for this problem. Taking my journaling supplies out to the woods or the riverbank or the mountain will give me a purpose for being there, and will inspire me to look at everything and think about nothing but what is before me.

I've always been interested in nature, and when I started birding seriously, I thought that nature journaling would be a great way to make my experience more memorable. I learned about nature journaling from an OFO online session. When I saw the art on Liz's instagram page, I was immediately hooked, and tried to find out more. That's how I learned about the course. I feel like I would like to do mainly sketching at the start and maybe a little bit of watercolour, and slowly do more and more colour. I feel like the drawings are more important than the text, and I want my field journal to have memories and be organized.

I have always loved being present in nature, and feeling the calm that it imparts to me, and wanted to find ways to share what I see and feel with others. Photography has only taken me so far in this endeavor, and my writing tends to be either too technical or too personal. After starting to participate in Feeder Watch, I noticed this course, and decided that it aligned perfectly with my goal of communicating what I see in nature to others, and with my return to drawing, a long-lost hobby from my teen years.  I have never tried to paint, so that will be a new experience. My journals will reflect my time in nature, perhaps with first drafts and notes from a walk or hike that are completed when I return home. (Perhaps when I develop some drawing and painting confidence I won't wait until the return home.) I like the idea of adding in  taxonomic information, and capturing date/time/place/weather. I am an avid birdwatcher, still learning a lot about species identification and behavior, but love the idea of including wildflowers, scenes, and other critters in my journal.

I am drawn (haha) to the informality of journaling.  It's very in the moment.  Nature is so varied there is always something new to see, perhaps in a different light or distance.  I'm hoping these lessons get me actively journaling as a habit without the need to go to a certain place in the house or at a certain time.   I like writing and creating art so combining should be fun!  I may add some quick poetry into my journal as well.

I recently started nature journaling as a way to put down my experiences while birding and to learn more about the things I see. Since COVID started in the spring I took up painting and often birds were the subject. Nature journaling was a class offered on the site I was taking classes and I immediately felt drawn to combining my interest in art and nature. Looking at the variety of journals showed me how my journal should be a reflection of what interests me and what I am curious about and that it is really a personal remembrance of special moments and experiences unique to me and not necessarily for others. Entries can have a wide variety of topics or zero in on one subject. It really depends on the day and where my interest takes me. Since birding is usually what takes me out into nature I always include on my page a list of the birds I have seen that day. I will find this interesting in future trips to a certain spot to compare what I see on another day. I have not as yet sketched in the field, but tend to bring things home to sketch and look up pictures online of interesting birds I have seen that day. I hope to learn more about sketching birds and landscapes as I see them.

This course was a Christmas gift from my son.  And as I noted from earlier submissions,  I am not the only one who received this as a gift…. it is a wonderful and challenging gift. During this era of Covid-19, it is a great way to use my time as we isolate here in New York.  Having looked at the various examples of journals, I can see that I am a mere beginner, but hope to be able to capture some of the things which I observe in nature.  I will begin with simple pencil sketches and hope to try using color (pencils or watercolor) as I gain courage.  I think I will start small, and concentrate on our backyard!  And perhaps, with time, venture a bit further afield.  I like the idea of simple sketches including closeups. One journal idea I may zero in on is concentrating on the changes in a very small section of my garden.  I received a book this Christmas of a man who had a project of photographing all the changes during one year in a one square meter section of the prairie near his home, so perhaps I will do the same with my journal and follow the idea of adding something daily, or weekly.....as the one journaler did so artistically!

My father gifted me this course as a Christmas present.  I studied art years ago before raising my family, and this course is my first step in the water after 13 years or so.  I’m looking forward to finding more quiet moments with nature and art, as a way to bring more peace to my life.  I really enjoyed the journals with bold water color styles, and also liked it when artists framed their work.  I like the idea of documenting paired with art, as a way to cement learning and attention to the subject matter at hand.

1. I am a lover of all things nature, animals, plants, fungi, and landscapes. I have always taken photos of these things but I have always felt incomplete when I reflect on the photos. Photos cannot capture how I truly feel in the moment. I have always yearned to paint those photos in real-time but never had the time or a journal! I became inspired to nature journal by nature itself. I want to remember what's around me by drawing it instead of taking digital photos. 2. I want to approach nature journaling as a relaxing and educational outlet. I enjoyed Holly's monthly nature journal because of its simplicity. She drew the observations that were interesting to her. I also enjoyed Liz's landscape art from the Galapagos. I want to paint what I find interesting whether it be animals, plants, fungi, landscapes, identify them, and write down interesting tidbits. 3. n/a