I liked the style of the first one, that felt quite me, but I also like the bird drawings which focussed on capturing specific details rather than the whole bird. I started birdwatching around 18 months ago, as something to do on dog walks, and I quickly started to notice a lot more than just birds by slowing down and spending time looking - I'm seeing insects, butterflies and plants that I have walked past a thousand times, but never notices. And a few months ago I started drawing birds that I'd seen, once I got home, or just birds from pictures online. And I'm really enjoying both, so combing the two into nature journalling really appealed to me.

Holly's colour filled pages appeal to me as well as her determination to produce something daily. I need this inspiration to help me reach my goals. Saturday, April 11, 2020 (Covid days in our world)

I was inspired to start nature journaling in order to share my views as well as inspire others on the beauty of the mother nature. I like the journal by Shayna Muller the most. Also, I am motivated by Margaret Corbit that I could be a better nature journalist with time.

I've just recently started drawing again after not really doing any art since high school. I'm working from home with my two daughters, and we are doing this course alongside my boyfriend's mother (who is an amazing artist and person). I am hoping to become better at sketching live things versus drawing from an image, and I am also looking for my daughters to gain a deeper connection to nature and the world outside around them. One of my daughters wants to be a game warden or work in nature somehow so this is right up her alley. We all love to hike and take walks through the woods, so perhaps this will help us slow down and really take in everything around us.

I enjoyed seeing and listening to each person's approach, style and comments on their process.   I also liked the tips on how to draw using shapes to illustrate birds.  I plan to use the drawing/watercolor  first with observations on the same page , making my own type of field guide.  I also like the the idea of the daily monthly approach for a possible future project. I am inspired to get started.

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I first saw this course last fall, and experimented for a few weeks with nature journaling on my own. But with so much free time during this strange “new reality”, I gave myself the gift of registering for the class – and am so glad that I did! What an inspiration! What a treasure you have created with this course... So much information and so many valuable ideas. Thank you for including the discussion board, and for allowing all of these resources to be available at any time.  I’ve been blogging about birds and nature for 6 years, and am hoping the structure of this course will help me transition to more journaling as well. My goal is to gain the motivation to make nature journaling a consistent habit. Tried to attach one of my early nature journal pages from last fall, but it didn’t work :)

I enjoyed keeping field notebooks in university. I'm hoping to combine my interest in science and love of drawing , I'm keen to add color to my journals, and to develop a journaling habit. I like the idea of showing a larger image of place combined with more focused (smaller?) studies. Now that I am so much at home, it seems like a great opportunity to start this, even if its just in the yard.

I began a nature journal several years ago, but never got into the habit and stopped sketching. I miss it and really want to get into it again. During this stressful time of social distancing, I think meditating on the beauty of nature is exactly what I need to feel more positive. I was really blown away by all the journals! I will be incorporating elements of all of them I'm sure, such as "zooming in," focusing on shapes to help with my sketches, dabbling in color, etc. In the past, I liked to focus on sensory descriptions such as hearing and touch, rather than just focus on the visual.

I've found myself for years, stopping on walks to look at bark, fungi and other bits of nature that are easy to miss. I've taken photographs which I've later sketched, but I love the idea of recording extra information in a journal, where, when, how, why etc. I looked at this course for several months but now having been stood down from work due to Covid-19, I have time to do it and really immerse myself in it. I find drawing very stress relieving and it's really helping smooth the edge of anxiety about the current sad situation. I teach art to adults with mild intellectual disabilities. Just before we got shut down, I had introduced them to nature journaling, which they really loved. I'm hoping to send them home a package so that they can continue their journals at home until we can see each other again. I think it will be a lovely activity to compare our journals when we return. I loved looking at all of the journals and will probably take bits and pieces from all of them. I'm also thinking of having some theme pages, such as mushrooms or feathers not all found on the same day, but dated as I find them.

I have, in my adult life, been doing some sort of nature journaling in each of our 35 family trips (my late husband, my two daughters and a variety of friends) to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the Minnesota border with Canada. Since completing the Master Naturalist class offered by the University of Wisconsin Extension over two years ago I as motivated to become a regular chronicler of the world around me which is rural at my home about 25 miles northwest of Madison, the remnants of a farm settled in the mid 19th century by my late husband's family. This year, with more time on my hands and being a perpetually curious person I decided to attempt to make nature journalling a habit. I am drawn to a blend of Liz's style and Shana's, but more toward Shana's. I am more interest in the record of the observations than in the art of the form. I will likely develop my own style as my journal evolves.

i would like to establish a practice of seeing, observing more closely.  in order to know that is happening, it will be good to have a record of the journey.

1. I was inspired to begin nature journaling as a way to develop art skill like sketching and painting. My husband and I spend summers in SE Alaska and there is much opportunity to explore nature. I wanted to have more than just photos. 2. I really identify with the way Liz has kept her journal. It is more than just a book of sketches. Each segment is attached to a memory, recording a time and place of meaning where she may have spent a considerable amount of time or felt a closeness to what she observed that she wanted to preserve.

I am a naturalist and educator, but have the great fortune of being exposed to an art program with a lot of focus on nature. I have worked a few times on nature journaling in partnership with the art instructor and have really been inspired by her work! I'd also like to use it as a way to improve my observation skills, slow down, and direct my learning about what I see in nature. I tend to prefer the nature journals with more images, less writing, and collages of different sketches on the page. I love beautiful lettering and more impressionistic sketches.

What is the Art Watercolor Album for?

Thank you for the free Nature Journaling Course!  The sample journals are inspiring.  I can’t wait until I’m as good as them.  Patience is a virtue.

I have recently started watching the birds at our feeder, sometimes spending hours, noticing small things and thinking I should jot this down. I saw this class in my inbox and thought this would be a great stress reliever and also a way to re-spark some creativity and enjoy nature in a different way. I noticed that I liked something from each person... the way the date was painted, the notations, detail expanded And not worrying about mistakes since it is part of the process and capturing a feeling or memory. I can’t wait to get started.

I just got started with this today. I have always been bird watcher and hiker, and I am also an illustrator and it just seemed like the perfect combo of interests. Plus, we are in the middle of the corona quarantine, the weather is gorgeous, I can only go to my house or outside, so it seems like the perfect time to do it. I suspect a lot of my "field" in my field journal will be in my front and back yards. That's alright though -- we have all of the spring blooms and critters getting into action now. Plus we have tons of trees and the birds around here really like our yard. I suspect my pets and husband's vegetable garden may get featured occasionally in spite of their fully domesticated status.

Just completed participating in the Feeder Watch Project.  My husband and I like feeding and watching the birds.  In addition to bird watching, I used to draw growing up and took a lot of art classes.  I've done photography over the years, but now that I'm retired, I'd like to get back to drawing.  This seemed like a great way to combine my love of nature with my love of drawing.  I haven't used watercolor before, so I'm excited to try!

I'm a biologist, a frequent fieldworker and have always loved to be outside in nature. Would love to explore and learn how to merge my love for watercolours with my love for observing the poetry of every-day tropical life. I'm interested in sketching from landscapes to the animals I see and work with, to be able to have treasured memories for the years to come

Question 1:  What inspired me?    Well, like millions of others I am social distancing.  I am a middle school teacher in rural Colorado and there are only so many hours you can spend in front of the computer screen so I decided to try to enhance my journaling abilities while at home. Question 2: I want to give the "zooming" in aproach a try.  I like this broad/detailed approach.  I have always used colored pencils in my journals in the past, so I am looking forward to working with water colors.

I used to have a small field journal to sketch my bird observations. I haven't done it in over a decade, but when I look back at those journals it transports me back to the time and place. I can picture myself in that location with certain people who are no longer with us. Now that I am working from home due to Covid-19, I wanted to take some time to immerse myself in the nature that surrounds me. I am convinced that by taking the time to truly observe the natural world near my home and the daily changes that are occurring here in early Spring, it will help me through this extraordinarily challenging time for all. Thank you so much for offering this course - the timing is perfect.

I've always been interested in birds and have tried a variety of ways to take in and experience their presence. I'm planning to do more birding, which I've always done informally, and want to be more intentional about learning and experiencing nature. I liked D.J.'s basic sketches which really capture the beauty, shape and positioning of the birds.  And Holly's illustrations were beautiful. While I doubt I can even aspire to that level, her goals and practices of noticing and enjoying part of daily nature walks is something I feel confident I can incorporate into my life.

I've had my eye on this course for a while now, and finally asked for it for my birthday. And? Here I am!  I am outdoorsy and a wanna-be naturalist. I love photographing nature (so proud that one of my photos is in use by my local Audubon Society!), but sometimes I feel that photography reduces, rather than enhances my observational skills. Sketching seems to be not only a practical and creative way to improve one's observation and identification skills, but a beautiful way to "honor" the natural world around me that I love so much. I am a bit nervous. I hope that perfectionist-me can find a way to derive richness and meaning from this activity without being perfect. Or even... good. Thank you.

1. I am inspired to nature journal because I now have a structured way to get started--thank you! 2. I really liked the journal that had the many pictures on one page, and they were all done in a month. I like the idea of reflecting back on that time in your life. It would be good for just every day.