Hello everyone! I'm a science teacher and am excited about honing my nature journaling skills so I can share ideas with teachers and students. We use science notebooks at all grade levels. They are such a great way to inspire curiosity, creativity and learning! I love using Mod Podge, tape, or contact paper to add pressed leaves, bits of sand, flowers, etc. into my notebook. (A great, easily-accessible activity for kids too!)

Hello All.  My name is Ellen (there seem to be a few of us I see).  I have recently retired settling on the New England coast.  I spend a good deal of time exploring my new environment and wish to chronicle my sights and feelings.  I hope that by doing so I may inspire my children and grandchildren to take time to see more and and take more care of our natural world.  That being said, I am thinking I will take the approach of dating, weather observations and location hen add sketches and pertinent observations.  I want to go back and remember those moments that has me stopping to watch a bird or snail, see an unfamiliar flower and more.  So I believe I will incorporate ideas from the first and last journal examples.

I just started taking this course, I am a photographer and videographer and I spend most of my time outdoors recording nature. I also paint tropical birds in watercolor, but my painting are very detailed and I put a lot of time in them. I think this class would give me another perspective of what I see, and it will also give me the opportunity to take notes of my feelings or maybe to add some details that I might not be able to capture with my cameras.

1.  What inspired me to begin nature journaling was the John Muir Laws website and I took one of his classes.  I was hooked.  I loved the idea of documenting our experience in nature.  I would have hundreds of journals by now.  But, there is no time like the present!  2. I want to try to journal daily, even if it's a 5-min sketch.  I want to put my daily experience on paper and make it into art and inspire others.

M (9-years): my mom. Mom:  I have two (2) goals: 1) my wish is to strengthen my bond with my daughter through a long-term,  conflict-free activity (nature journaling)  in a conflict-free environment (nature) that we can share through the ebb and flow of our relationship, and 2) to connect my daughter to her natural environment by engaging all of her senses (sound, smell, sight, touch, etc.) so she will eventually discover quiet moments of solitude without loneliness. M: I want my dates to pop out in blue just like Holly Faulkner's. M: Draw a chipmunk and add the moon cycle to my journals.

Love birds, drawing, and learning more about nature. Nature journaling is the perfect marriage of the three!

The last woman’s journal blew me away! The crispness and colors of her drawings made my heart leap, and I realized right away that I want to zoom in on these details as she did. I love the micro nature of her drawings and am now inspired to REALLY study not only nature but drawing as well. She is a wonder!

Hello, my name is May. During my studies, I was introduced to journaling in general. Out of curiosity, I researched about it and came across fascinating journals that document so many topics. When I watched the Bird academy video by Instructor Liz Clayton Fuller, I liked the idea of nature journaling which resonated with my interest about nature. I've always collected leaves, feathers, stones and spring flowers to keep. Sometime I sketch them, add colour and write a note about them. I never thought of keeping a nature journal that document the date, time and weather, nor explain and write about them as the course shows. That's why I decided to join the course and learn about nature journaling. I’m glad I did. After watching the nature journaling approaches in the video in lesson 1, I was amazed of the ways we can document our observations. I can’t say that there is one specific journal that captured my attention to adopt its approach, as each had a process that could be looked at and combined with others then add few touches to come up with my own style. Below are the processes I would like to try in my nature journal: Shayna Muller documentation style of zoom and detailed drawings along with notations. Jewel Alston process of depicting different tones of colour. William Nnuro Jr process of capturing the moment. Margret Corbit of thinking about subject through drawing. D.J MacNeil process that tackled behavior by drawing simple shapes with few detail. Holly Faulknor style that evolved into monthly sheet that contained her observations. Instructor Liz Fuller organized journal that incorporated so many techniques that turned the nature journal into a nice documentation of visual experience. So I might try and give it a go putting it all together to fill the pages of my first nature journal. I haven't done nature journaling in the past. Yet, I have few drawings here and there. The thing that I would add to my journal is a sample of the flower I’m sketching. I attached one of my drawings that included a sample of the flower which I pressed and kept with my drawing as a reference to look at and observe the changings that occur to the dry flower!

I am terrible at drawing and have avoided it since childhood. Almost fearful of it. I am going to give this the college try and see how it goes. I’d really like to be able to keep a nature journal, hopefully those skills are learnable.

1. I've always loved observing animals and drawing, so nature journaling is a perfect mix of these two loves. I also love the way nature journals look in how they combine drawings, paintings, and writing. They can tell a story and capture a moment in a beautiful and informative way. As much as spending time in nature is relaxing for me, I have not been doing it enough lately. So, I'm really looking forward to spending more time outdoors while nature journaling. 2. I like the approach of making good use of the page by filling it with multiple sketches of the same subject from different angles or zooming in for more detail. I also like the style where the text flows around the drawings and makes notes on observed behaviors. 3. Since I am also a creative writer with a background in biology, I think it might be fun to add poetry to the journal pages.

Question #1: What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I have always enjoyed art, but have never fully pursued my interest outside of a couple of classes. I realize now that one reason this interest went unfulfilled is because I hadn't found the right medium. The moment I discovered nature journaling, I realized that it combined my love for the natural world with sketching, painting, journaling, observing, reflecting, learning, and remembering.

Question #1: What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I have always enjoyed art, but have never fully pursued my interest outside of a couple of classes. I realize now that one reason this interest went unfulfilled is because I hadn't found the right medium. The moment I discovered nature journaling, I realized that it combined my love for the natural world with sketching, painting, journaling, observing, reflecting, learning, and remembering.

I have journaled for the past year- more of a travel journal and not necessarily only for nature. I would love to incorporate some of the movement and variety found in nature into my process. I love bits and pieces from each of the the journals shown- the broke boxes from the first journal to delineate and give space for notes, the color palettes from the second journal so you can mark not just the image but all of the colors present. I also really like the idea of a month page- where you don't have the pressure of a day to day, but can slowly add on to the page to build a memory for the nature moments you sank into in a particular month.

Reading old journal notes of small, forgotten nature memories brings me so much pleasure. I signed up for this course as a way to gift my future self these moments of joy, as well as to honor all of the ecological tidings that I spend so much time appreciating. Thanks for setting up the course, Liz!

My sister and I wanted to do an art project together - in a remote way.  She is in New Hampshire while I am in Alaska. A goal is to develop a regular drawing practice. I would like to place multiple sketches on one page using graphics to capture an image of the morning. One new idea is to do a quick sketch each day to describe the weather with an illustration. For example, today the clouds and fog are obscuring Mt. Juneau...kind of a scruffy start, but thank you for this opportunity to reflect, learn, and improve!

I want to instil a habit of journaling and thought taking the course, spreading it out step by step over a few weeks would help me do that. I keep extensive written journals when I travel. Those journals and the photos are invaluable, but personal observations are thin...sketches and carrying a field journal will help me dig deeper into what I am seeing and feeling, and also slow me down which is good for me. Watching these videos, I was inspired by the use of white space, and liked the idea of boxes, how written details seems to add to the "art" of the pages, various organizational tactics, and the use of shapes to quickly get details down. I also liked how the images sometimes crossed over two pages. My goal is to improve at quick studies, and can gain skills in capturing movement in the subject.

I have been inspired to strengthen my nature journaling skills. When I travel, I always have a journal, small watercolor set and colored pencils. When I look back on my journals, it's the pictures that I most associate with memories rather than the text. I would like to bring these skills into my middle school science classrooms...help students slow down, observe and make more memories from their environment.

for me, it is trying to return to my love for just being outside.  at 62 i have spent much of my adult life working and raising children.  although i live on a farm, taking the time to just BE in nature is rare--always something to do.  i want to nature journal as a gift to myself--to allow myself to slow down and enjoy the wonder of the world around me. i particularly am drawn to the stories of the nature journalists.  i hope that i can create a bit of my own style while copying the beautiful work shared with me here.

I'm an outdoor lover and active birder. I spend as much time outside as I can. Since I live in the upper Midwest, it is highly seasonal how often I can be out. I actually wrote a nature journal in the '80s that my sister illustrated. Since then, I've seen a couple exhibitions with field sketches and botanical illustrations that I thought we stunning and wonderful. So when I saw this class, I immediately wanted to take it. Yet I've been procrastinating and feeling intimidated. I'm not artist, and I'm the type whose stuff should always be 'good.' So it will be a stretch and challenge for me to try this. But it will also be healthy and give me another reason to explore outside.

I have been writing down birds in a journal for some time but have been very intimidated to incorporate drawings in my  because I can't draw. I was encouraged to find that some of the journalers did not have perfect journals. Seeing the different journalers gave me hope that I can incorporate images in my journal.

6/7/20 1. I've enjoyed drawing since childhood, but don't do it as much anymore as it feels hard to make the time between the demands of work and having elementary aged children. I was inspired to start sketching while hiking and camping a few years ago, which led to an interest in nature journaling. When I did, I loved how it really solidified memories of that time and things I experienced. I felt like it enhanced the way I experienced a hike or camping with family in a way that photos or writing alone did not. However, I wished I had some help improving my drawing skills and learning to watercolor, beyond a couple of nature journaling books I have, so this course really interested me. During quarantine, I started drawing daily with my kids, which has been a great way to improve my skill, keep creativity alive & fresh, find some balance at the end of hectic days managing my kids' education and my work, and also to encourage my kids to be creative. We've also been taking walks around the neighborhood and, going the same places so often, have taken notice of the changes in nature as the seasons progress. As a result, I've been inspired to take a page from my kids' nature program and do a weekly "sit spot" in the same area in my yard and create a nature journal page of what I'm noticing that day. I think that could be a really fun record of the changes throughout the year to look back on. 2. I already use a similar style to the first journaler in the video with the boxes and partial boxes and text all around to note observations and questions, as well as a box with place, date, and weather information, so I plan to continue with that. I liked the color swatches another person included too. The last journal was inspiring with the regularity of the drawings (one each day or a month's worth at a time). I don't plan to journal that frequently and prefer more text with the drawings, but it was beautiful and I'd like to aspire to that level of illustration.

Hi, I'm Kelly.  I read through many of the responses to the question and found that I share many of your interests. I love nature, especially birds.  I enjoy drawing and photography, and I keep travel journals to record my experiences. When I saw the course being offered, it felt like the right time to bring all my interests together and to express my outdoor experiences through a creative lens. I'm not sure what approaches I will take, but I am open to the process of dabbling to find what speaks to me. I can't wait to get started and see where this journey takes me!

6/5/20.  Hello to Liz and All:  After I retired as a school social worker over 10 years ago, I decided to volunteer at a nature center.  I also took a sketching course at the East Lansing Community Center and got a wonderful teacher, Sharon Griffis Tarr.  Sharon invited me to take a weekend nature journaling class.  I was hooked.  I just finished my first book, but it took over 5 years.  I had never drawn before  but can attest to what a wonderful experience nature journaling has been.  You don't have to be a perfect artist but your artistic skills improve if you are inspired by nature journaling.  This class looks like the perfect opportunity to get out and appreciate nature, learn and have tons of fun.  I loved the idea of doing a monthly page of little thumbnails of nature around you.  For me, nature journaling imprints a lovely moment in my memory much better than a quick photo.  I look forward to every second I will spend in this class.  MLS

6/4/2020  Hi! My name is Pat.  I recently retired 4/3/2020 and have from now to the rest of my life to do what I enjoy.  I have been a beginner birder for several years.  I am a watercolorist and photographer.  I remember how much better I see when I take the time to sketch the subject.  I had it on my bucket list to get more invloved in ebirds and this seemed like the perfect coarse.  It brings several areas of interest together and I am hoping will inspire my creativity, help me to better identify the species of birds, and provide a journal of my adventures. Pat

6/03/2020  This covid quarantine is lovely for us creative introverts.  I am lucky to be able to telework and my supervisor is encouraging me to explore some story telling projects that couple library research with artistic map making.  I work primarily on computer.  I am treating myself to this course as a way to disengage from technology and re-engage my skills as a draftsperson, artist, and observer.  I like the nature journaling format because there is no pressure to create a work of art (shiver) it allows for experiments, mistakes, and Growth! to happen. I will draw what presents itself.  My husband is retired and gardens and cooks and so there is amazing subject matter to draw right here in my own home.  We have two rat terriers who cavort and snuggle and will be wonderful models, plus we enjoy primitive camping, birding, and fishing and so I will incorporate some landscapes and observations from the wild in my journal too.  It will be a Life Journal. I appreciate seeing and hearing about the nature journals presented in the video.  The journalers could tell us so much about their observation; even the weird little wiggles had a story, thought, and attempt attached to it.  I do like the idea of setting a Rule for myself such as a drawing every day, or placing a box around my drawings...perhaps just starting with the date and location and weather!   Rebecca on her porch in NM: crickets chirping, wind calm, stars twinkling overhead, moths attacking my computer screen...better get drawing!