I am excited to try nature journaling because it seems like a logical extension of my practice of taking pictures or collecting leaves, flowers, and rocks when on walks through nature. I like the approach of using a nature journal when on a trip or having a monthly log with sketches and descriptions.

I have always loved journaling about nature since I was a young child.  Some of my best memories were sitting on the banks of the brook that ran behind our home, and I would just watch the water rush over the rocks, or the ducks paddling along with babies in tow, or the occasional fish scurrying by.  Once I observed a pair of beavers build a small dam.  I didn't have a camera with me, but that vision is etched in my mind forever, just waiting to be put on paper. I love all of the different styles of journals presented in this video.  Each is unique and each offers a wonderful perspective of what was observed.  I like the idea of keeping a color pallet of the colors of the day, and recording the date, time, location, and weather conditions of the day that I journal. Textures are very important in nature.  I think that it would be fun to find a way to incorporate a small piece of what I am drawing, if possible, such as a leaf, flower petal, or feather.

The scissortail flycatcher was the main reason I wanted to write a journal. The pair nested in a tree in my yard, and their behavior was unique to the other birds I have watched. I wanted to document what I was seeing. It became a social activity with other birders coming by for coffee and scissor tail watching. A win-win for all.

I hope to be more mindful of the natural world around me. Journaling will help me stop and observe the natural world . I will begin with pencil and then move to color which seems daunting right now. Some of the journals look so professional!

1. I'm inspired by the beautiful natural journals I saw on social media. And Liz's Galapagos journal really touches me! 2. & 3. I like the collection of sightings for a month! I enjoy watching my feathered neighbors and visitors throughout the year, and had the impulse to draw illustrations of them in their habitats in each season. So this monthly journal really resonates. And the four-season drawings is what I'd like to share.

I guess I have been doing my own crude form of journaling. All of the journals appealed to me. I think the subject decides how I want the page to look. My handwriting is poor. I hope that when I finish the class, I will understand what works best for me.

My inspiration would be my fellow naturalists that do this journaling. I’ve always wanted to try but I am definitely intimidated as I don’t see myself as an artist but want to try.

1.  I started birding about a year ago, and this year have really taken off in trying to go out several times a day and improve my identification skills.  I took the intro courses here and have been trying to focus more on shapes and colours and paying close attention to fine details.  I have also always wanted to do art but get frustrated with myself and the process.  I love nature and animals and always wanted to get better at drawing these, and so nature journaling seems like a great combination of things I enjoy and want to improve on. 2.  I really like the journals that are bright and colourful, and the ones with quick sketches of shapes and details.  I would love to be able to go out and sketch what I see so that I can go back and think about it and be more observant.  I love the idea of being able to go back and remember specific moments.

There are 3 things that inspired me to start a nature journal.  First:  My wife.  She encouraged me to do more drawing/painting of birds and nature and take this course.  Second:  My sister who sent me a nature journal book for Xmas a couple of years ago. Third:  My love for nature and birds.  I have lived in the middle of no where my whole life and feel at one with nature. I liked all of the journals in the first lesson.  The date, time, place and weather is important to me.  I like the drawings and written thoughts in each journal and how different each one was.  The pride and excitement each person had for their journal was inspiring.  I liked the observations they made and how each recorded those observations.  It was interesting to see what each person learned from their experiences and the progress they made.  I also like the questions they had and how they came about the answer, then recording the answer in the journal. Each journal had different ideas and it will be a good start for me.          

1. I really wanted something to help me slow down and enjoy the birds and environment I was in. I spent so much time chasing as many species as possible and was missing the detail. Additionally, I found that drawing birds that I could possibly see on an upcoming trip helped me prepare to identify them. 2. I enjoyed the collection of sightings for a month. Seemed like it allowed for variable time to fill in the pages rather than the pressure of sketching/painting every day. 3. I'm going to be sketching similar species from bird guides on a single page to prepare for a trip. I'm not confident enough to go out in the field just yet and sketch live birds. My history as a photographer would give me severe anxiety.

I've always wanted to keep a nature journal, but I don't have any experience as a visual artist - the last time I took any formal art education was when I was in public school. So I have felt intimidated by the process. However, I love nature, and find so much solace and wonder when I walk in the woods or near the water, and when I see all the amazing creatures that inhabit those places. I feel a deep affinity for the more-than-human world, and want to deepen that by slowing down and observing and learning in an experiential way. I loved seeing the nature journals that didn't seem perfect - half-finished sketches, mistakes, multiple tries. I think knowing that it doesn't have to be a finished piece of beautiful art will be a guiding principle fo rme.

I want to further develop my art and observational skills while out in nature. I like the idea of having a record of those experiences and a place to explore and be curious. I like the journals that focus on travel and the more day to day observations locally specifically the sketch a day or monthly journal page.

1. It was given to as a gift because I am very interested in learning how to journal. 2. They all looked like I would like to try most all of the approaches. 3. Not yet!!~

My inspiration for nature journaling was a bit of a journey.  In probably February or March, my husband and I watched a webinar sponsored by the National Museum of the Great Lakes.  The speaker was the Director  of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Northwest Ohio and was speaking about Bird Migration.  Toward the end of her talk, she recommended  some books, one was The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan.   I know Amy Tan's writing and had to get the book.  It is a beautiful book, and is excerpts from her nature journal observing the birds in her back yard.  It is a wonderful book.  In the preface, she mentioned taking a class from John Muir Laws on nature journaling.  I am no artist, but after watching his introductory video on his website, I was hooked and ordering art supplies from Amazon.  I have so far been mainly sketching and writing about the birds at our feeders and in our yard.  I am surprised at how well I have done on some of my sketches, but a lot are very cartoony, so I am taking the course hoping to improve my art skills.  Also "everyone" seems to use watercolor which I have not used since elementary school. My hope and goal is to learn more about the amazing wildlife that is all around us.  I have already learned to do a better job of identifying the birds in the yard.

I've kept a nature journal for over a year as part of a course on Wildlife Identification and found it a great exercise, but my drawing skills are very basic and so I used words far more than drawing, My sketches needed lots of annotations to show patterns etc. As part of my revision before my assessment I did draw a lot of birds to help me remember the markings etc (they took me a long-time) and I find myself missing the process and keen to learn how to draw properly so I can enhance my journal. I have a safari trip to Botswana with my daughter in August 25 and I'd really love to be able to confidently sketch and use watercolour to create a record of what should be a very special trip.

In my professional career (I am a biologist and environmental educator)  I encouraged many people, both children and adults, to keep a nature journal and sketch to take the time to "really see" the detail of life around them.  I have also done pen and ink Botanical Illustraton.  Now I am learning to use watercolor and want to add more color and detail ... and get myself journaling again.  I enjoyed seeing the different journals and like the styles with drawings and words / descriptions associated.   I have taken two other of Liz's classes and like her teaching style.

I am in a transition period in my life, and I wanted to return to activities that I enjoyed before I started my own family, such as writing and sketching.  My education is in conservation, ecology, and wildlife biology.  I haven't been too in-tune with that part of me for a while, and I would like to reconnect with that part of myself. I love the bright crisp artwork, and I would like to work towards that level of artwork, with lots of detail.  I like the idea of having a drawing and then creating a closeup of part of it to show greater details.

I was impressed by how organized they are and how much detail some of the nature journalers had added.

1.  I've been wanting to work on drawing and watercolour skills, I like to observe birds, and I love being in nature, so I thought that this might be a good way to combine those skills. 2.  As I'm just a beginner at drawing and watercolour, I want to focus on those skills first, but ultimately I will incorporate notes and eventually compile my observations in a monthly overview.  I am open to different approaches, though.

I was originally inspired to try nature journaling because I would like to draw scientific illustration professionally in the future. As I learn more about nature journaling, I think it will be a useful tool to remember my adventures and observations with more detail and information than can be captured in a picture. I took a class in college last quarter that included nature journaling, but would like to learn how to make it more of a habit, and how to come up with ideas of what to capture. Something I would add that wasn't mentioned was adding a note about how you're feeling while journaling. This can help you remember your perspective in the future, and you can see the difference in your observations between good and bad days. It is also important to keep record of your mood during experiments because how you are feeling can affect the outcome.

Two things inspired me to begin nature journaling.  The first is that, on trips, I would rather try to sketch & paint what I see than to take a photograph.  I like looking at the details and the relationships among different objects.  The second is that I take a watercolor class and I think sketching from nature will help me become a better watercolorist. I like that Jewel showed how her journal evolved over time.  It reminds me that I do not have to have everything figured out before I start and that mistakes will happen & it is okay.  Several of the journalers sketched or painted first and then wrote their notes.  That approach appeals to me, too.

I have always wanted to be able to draw.  I love being outdoors and I am passionate about wildlife so creating a nature journal became a goal of mine.  There is so much to study, I want to get better at identifying trees and this will be a great way to do it.  I liked the page where the artist had different ferns on the same page so she could refer to them as needed. While watching the video, I especially enjoyed seeing the journals with color.  I also liked the idea of uses boxes and I liked the journal where the artist had 1 small drawing to represent a day.  Doing 1 small drawing is less daunting then trying to fill a page every day.  I would like to do a travel journal as well but I am still uncomfortable doing art in public spaces.  I am still slow and developing my skills.  It was wonderful to see how happy people were with their journals, it was very encouraging.

I would like to begin nature journaling to reflect on the different birds and places I have been and to be present in the moment. I really like the idea of a monthly journal page and incorporating color.

Living on the  river during the summer I  just enjoy sitting on my deck  in the mornings and watching  nature.    I like the idea of boxes  to go back and  look up more info to learn more about the picture.  I also like the idea of  putting  date and time  of where I was each day.

I’ve become interested in nature journaling because I love being in nature and wanted to kind of document my observations. Although I’m not the greatest sketch or paint artist, it’s really just for me so I can record and then remember interesting things I come across in my garden,  on walks, or someplace I’ve visited.  I like Holly’s style of journaling. I’ll probably incorporate her idea of drawing one observation subject and write a little bit about it to recall the moment to my mind in the future.