1) This class was a Christmas gift from my partner and that is what brought me here. I can say that I really had no idea that nature journaling was a thing. I knew that people go out and sketch nature and, in fact, this is something I'd done as a kid. But I'm 56 now and drawing is not an activity I've done in many years, at least not with any consistency or focus. So I'm inspired to begin this nature journaling process as an opportunity to spend more time in the moment, turn down the volume on outside noise and hopefully rediscover my artistic side.

2) All of the approaches I saw here looked liked great options. I think I will see what happens as I get started, but I like the idea of having drawings plus notes describing the situation.

Julie Zickefoose inspired me to begin nature journaling. This was years ago when I was first exposed to her work, a combination of field notes, essays, sketches, and paintings. I was also awed by some framed field notes at the home of our hosts one year at a Christmas Bird Count wrap-up party. They were a simple combination of scientific notes and sketches. The subjects were not particularly glamorous; a field mouse, a spruce tip. But these pieces hit me in the heart in a way that surprised me. I fear putting pen to page and I hope this course will help me move past that to create my own field journal and hold on to memories of moments in nature.

I love Jewel Alston's journal pages featuring brush strokes of the colours of a scene or subject. I struggle with my memory but can often remember the colour palette of a place. This will likely be my starting point with my nature journal, noting colours and adding detail later. I want to include Latin names as it often unlocks a story or some background on each organism. It adds a research treasure hunt aspect after the moment in nature is over.

Weather fascinates me so I will definitely be including that information in my journal. I may also use the journal as a mental health tracker so will include some notes about my mindset on the page.

Question 1: I’ve always had a connection to nature and being in nature is associated with a handful of my core memories from childhood.  As an adult, with adult responsibilities, I find that I have increasingly more anxiety and I’m always mobilized.  I spend so little time just enjoying or reflecting on experiences.  I hope that nature journaling allows me a space and reason to reconnect with nature on a different level and to be able to learn to slow down and enjoy a moment in front of me without feeling the need to move to the next “thing.”

1) I do not consider myself a good observer.  I flit. In nature, I tally plants or bugs that I know, but don't really stop and see them. I've long admired the work of people who do have the ability to really show what is out there in the world--in whatever medium they choose to use. My hope is that nature journaling will help me focus and notice more. I hope it helps me find a better vocabulary to describe the things I see so that my descriptions feel both clear (here are the characteristics of a big-leaf maple leaf) and individual (here is what makes this particular leaf I'm drawing/describing unique). I'd also like to learn how to draw well enough that the subject I'm drawing is recognizable.

2) I like the idea of seeing the journal as a place to try things rather than a place where I'm trying to achieve some goal. Using up multiple pages trying to improve my attempts to get the sense of one bird is fine. Leaving off the face is fine. Imperfection is fine. I like the idea of the boxes and having fun in unexpected places like using specialized lettering in some areas.

3) Not sure if this was mentioned, but I plan to take a hand lens with me in the field. I like discovering the tiny bits that hide beyond our usual eyesight.

1. I love nature and spending time in it brings me so much peace. With how stressful the world is, I see nature journaling as a form of therapy and stress relief. I also really like that you can open a natural journal, and it can elicit all these memories so vividly. I just think it's a way for me to connect with nature even deeper, put my phone away, and spend time outside. I also teach community college students, and I think this is something they could really benefit from.

2. I really like including the date, time, and any other specific details about the day to try to make it so you can transport back to when you journaled that day and what caught your eye. I liked the first journaler's idea of putting things in boxes but allowing them to peak out of the boxes. I also like a mix of sketches, water colors, etc. The flexibility is important. It's OK if not every feature is captured in the moment. It's more about the action of journaling than about perfection. I also liked the mix of sketching moving animals but also sketching things that are still, like a pinecone or mushroom.

3. I don't have a different journaling idea just yet. I'm sure I will by the time I complete this course and get started nature journaling!

1. I teach AP Seminar, which requires students to research topics and form arguments through a particular lens. Think: artistic, philosophical, scientific, historical, political, ethical, environmental, economic, and so on. This year, when modeling for students, I chose to focus on the ties between mental health and nature. Since I love nature and have also been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I had a vested interest in this topic. Long story short, I learned so much about the positive associations among nature, art, and wellness that starting a nature journal habit seemed a no-brainer.

2. I have a tendency toward perfectionism, but not in a good way. I'm the type of person who will buy a journal or sketchbook, but never fill it because I don't want to mess it up. To combat that, I'm not establishing any rules for myself as I get started. I just want to experiment. I will see where this takes me, but knowing me, I will probably try to create layouts that combine art, scientific info, and poetry, channeling my inner John Muir.

3. Only possibly incorporating poetry.

1. Art and science are always and will always be connected to me. I already nature journal, but I'm looking for ways to make the process quicker, cleaner, and more applicable to traveling and quick studies.

2. Most of my observations are pencil or thin pen. I find myself wanting more color notes than wordy descriptions, and I like the notes+color style most of these journals have.

1. I work at a Bird Sanctuary in Canada. For years, I have connected with nature in a deep and meaningful way. I am privileged to have a photographic memory. However, whenever I try to explain the details of what I saw to others, I always felt I was missing information of concepts. I would intentionally leave information aside. I mainly would nature journal for myself with my feeling. But now, I want to inspire others and better my knowledge of birding, plants and landscapes through a medium.

2. I follow John Muir Laws' tactics of date, time, weather, location, but I did love the ideas of adding colour, or a one word explanation for the feelings an image brings me. I liked the idea of boxing my drawing and adding explanations.

3. All were great!

I grew up and lived all my life in big cities. Then, one year ago, I retired to Arizona. I wanted to be closer to my sister—and to nature. I started journaling as a way to be attuned to nature. At first, I loved it, but I feel I jumped to watercolors too quickly because I soon decided that I didn’t have any real skills as a watercolorist and stopped journalling. That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have stopped. I think I was missing the point of nature journalling. Now, many months later, I want to get back into journalling, taking whatever time it takes for my artistic skills develop. I want to enjoy the process, as well as nature, and just let them both grow on/in me in their own sweet time.

 

 

I’ e always “doodled” but am very much a beginner.  I am a Master Naturalist and am a member of a local bird club.  My husband and I like camping and hiking.  I’m hoping to be more observant and curious about what I see and have started to make small sketches and notes - a start!  Hope to get more knowledge in this course ans experiment.

my biggest problem is timing.  Often the subject moves or leaves or I’m time constrained with a group.   I have been grabbing a cell phone video to help me remember details.  I’m not sure that this is the intent of journaling  but it’s a start.

I was inspired by Ken Kaufman's Field Guide to Advanced Birding. There, Kaufman argues that sketching is a way to expand birding skills. I've been birding for about five years. I've racked up two state records and well-regarded within the community, but I nevertheless feel like I'm lacking some very basic identification skills.

 

I was inspired by every journal shown in the above videos. I like the simpler ones because they feel more achievable for my current skill level, but I hope to get to a point where I can sketch larger habitats and ecological relations. I felt like the Galapagos journals were inspiring.

 

So far, my journal notes the weather and usually fixates on a single bird. I feel like this is pretty similar to some of the stuff I saw above!

I'm excited to begin something new and challenging. I've dabbled just a bit in nature journaling when I was homeschooling my kids, and encouraging them to give it a try. One thing that appeals to me is the meditative nature of this practice: to completely focus on what is before you and then to transfer that image through your hands onto the paper.  It seems like a beautiful way to connect with nature all around us; to focus on what is real and true and timeless, rather than the current state of politics, or tragically, the path of global warming that we are on. I have never considered myself as an artist, so I hope not to get hung up on my lack of artistic skill, and to focus instead on the spirit of this endeavor.

I was inspired to begin this by my retirement.  I spent many many years as a lawyer and then as a judge using analytical skills related to reading and writing.  I have never done anything related to visual arts, in part because of an art teacher in third grade who told me I was too messy.  I want to begin using another part of my brain and nature journaling seems like a gentle way to begin.

I'd like to try an approach that shows the progression of my observational skills and my sketching skills. I also like data so I plan to include written commentary along with my sketches.  I recently moved to a different part of the country (from the desert to the west coast near the beach) and journaling will help me become more familiar with birds and shorebirds of the area, making me feel more at home, I hope.  I grew up in a bird watching family and really enjoy being able to name the birds that I see.

I have wanted to capture and sketch things I observe for a long time. A photo captures part of the picture, but I think adding comments and notes will enhance the experience.  And now is the time to start. I love spending time in nature and feel this will just be a new way to appreciate and remember what I experience.  I am lucky to have a yard that wild turkeys, deer, wood chuck and all sorts of insects visit on a regular basis and am inspired to endeavor to capture some of the fascinating things I observe just looking out the window.

1. I want to become more aware of my natural surroundings by being able to recognize, at least to start, birds, trees, and flowers. I think nature journaling will help me notice and remember the details as I learn to ID what I'm surrounded by.

While I was watching these videos, I also sketched the tree branch I can see from my window, switching my focus back and forth between the computer and the window behind it and the notebook in my lap. I only read and sometimes write; sketching or painting is completely new to me and very exciting - although intimidating.

I like the idea of starting with the drawing and letting it dictate the shape of the text on the page. But when it comes to colour I feel like I have to draw the structure first and corral the paint into shape. Maybe this is something I can loosen up about over time.

As a writer, for me the emotion of the moment is what I want to capture. I love the idea of the magnification zooms, because sometimes that's how it feels to excavate a particular moment internally. And visually, details and patterns always catch my eye.

I’m a songwriter and my inspiration and lyrics often come from my observations of nature. The journaller who makes space to capture the what of all she sees and also how she feels about it all really resonates with me. Very unfamiliar with drawing/painting but open and excited!

I went to an art exhibition and was really moved by the journals on display there. I have always written journals but I am excited - and scared - about starting to draw and paint. It's not something I feel good at. My eyesight is deteriorating and I want to treasure everything I see. I have just moved to a very beautiful part of Wales and  I want to learn more about the birds, animals and plants and observe them in more detail.

Hi fellow students,

I just ordered all my materials for the course. I am looking forward to doing something that is creative, beautiful, and relaxing. I have been reading a lot of nature books. When I saw this course as an option, I thought it would be neat to try and create my own book. Birds and nature inspire me. I want to connect more with the outdoors and learn as much as I can.

My approach will likely start out as being very guided. I will want to use some drawing steps. I like the idea of putting the date and time, but I think I would put it at the bottom, where it is out of the way. I want to use a lot of colour and incorporate both birds and flowers onto my pages.

I might add a new fact somewhere on my page instead of the location. I don't have a lot of different places where I live, so it might be a bit repetitive, and take away from the drawings themselves.

Good luck!

LK

I have always been a nature enthusiast and have been doing bird photography for the last few years. However I've always felt that I lacked a certain appreciation for my subjects, something that photography couldn't fully capture. I want to begin nature journaling to appreciate my surroundings at a deeper level. I want to try focusing more on all of my surroundings, especially plants and I really like the idea of using colors and boxes, and keeping the journal somewhat 'messy' and authentic to the moment of capture.

As an artist I’ve been working on being more present in nature and to practice my skills so this seemed like a logical first step. Shayna’s style really grabbed my eye because I tend to also push towards boxes for structure but I really love how the broken boxes give it air to breathe. My approach will be slightly different because I want to not only capture nature as it is but also my imagination as is it so I’ll be combining reality with creative exploration.

1. My husband bought me a John Muir nature journaling how-to book because he knows that I enjoy admiring other people's artwork and always want to try it myself... before I chicken out.

2. I want to both illustrate the organism I'm seeing *and* write down what it's doing or any related information. I want to learn about what I'm seeing.

3. I'd be interested in maybe drawing the sound wave image from bird calls as I draw the bird. Almost like a memory of what its song sounded like.

I'm a professional writer, but I write things mostly for others, not myself. I love being outside and taking photographs of things I see so that I can remember trips, etc. I think nature journaling will allow me to give myself permission to slow down, really look and savor things that I see. I like the idea of monthly journal pages; not sure yet how often I will work at this. I bought a small watercolor book with bird sketches to paint and I loved it. I would like to make my own pages because that opportunity gave me such great joy that I didn't realize. Haven't really tried painting or sketching on my own and it's nice to see the other journalers give themselves grace with how and when they draw.

For a few months now I've been trying to do a drawing a day in my regular journal and usually I draw the pictures based on still photographs.  My favorite subjects are animals and plants, so attempting a nature journal seems like a natural progression. I also thought doing a nature journal might inspire me to draw from moving subjects and in turn help me observe the natural world more closely. Additionally, I hope the journal can cement memories from my travels, even if they are just local travels. It's nice to think that even when a drawing isn't perfect, it can still preserve a memory.

I like having a combination of words and images on the page.  I've always used colored pencil and I'd really like to try watercolor. I was inspired by how some of the people were quite loose with their journals and not intent on making it perfect.  Also, I like the structure the first woman gave to her journal by drawing the boxes around her pictures after she drew them.

I walk a lot in local parks.  But when I do, I'm nearly always walking my dog and have a limited time.  So I wonder how that will work out.  Will I be able to slow down to take the time to draw/paint?  Like others, I also wonder about my ability to draw well enough.

I really like Shayne Muller's style.  I like the documentary nature of her journal.  The boxes - and open boxes - really helped to organize the pages.  And the magnification lenses also work well for me.  These days I'm forever using the magnifier on my iPhone.  When I was a student in silviculture, I learnt the use of a simple x10 magnifying glass in opening up the world.  Look at a moss's leaves through a x10 and it magically turns into this beautiful shape.  So I want to use that technique.

My mind also jumped to thinking about a stool I would want to carry to be comfortable sitting down.