I work as an ecologist and spend a lot of time in the field in pretty cool places. This year, I want to challenge myself to beef up my naturalist skills, and I think nature journaling will help me get to know the flora and fauna in my backyard and in the places I’m working. I imagine my journal will mostly be a catalog of plants and animals that I see both in my neighborhood and in the environments in which I work. I am particularly fond of plants. From the examples, I think I’d like focusing each page on a single specimen with both a sketch and some notes about the species and where I saw it. I have often journaled when I travel and I am excited to add a visual element and a more daily routine to my journaling exercise. Since I’m often gawking at the natural world, a nature journal seems like a great idea.

Drawing something would make me pay attention to detail and deeper learning. I was hoping to learn and identify birds better by drawing them. It is intimidating to look at different journals. I am hoping to establish my own idea and style about nature journaling little by little over time.

My friend is section hiking the thousand mile long Ice Age Trail here in Wisconsin.  I am walking some parts with her.  When our legs start to tire and our goal seems still far away we make up Haiku.  Haiku distraction.  I would love to be able to compile some of those Haiku and add illustrations for her as a gift when she completes the trail.  Feeling a little skeptical about learning to draw and paint but excited too.  Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments - they are very encouraging!

1. Last summer I began spending more time outside on our new deck, intentionally. I started finding bugs and leaves that were interesting to look at, and I decided to try to draw them. I inevitably had questions about them, as I spent time drawing, and ended up googling info about what they were and why they looked the way they did. I was surprised at how much I learned just by observing — and waiting for questions to emerge from my wondering. I was also surprised at the feeling of satisfaction that I got from delving into questions that came to mind. At first I was going to keep a scrapbook of all my tiny scraps of paper with drawings of bugs and leaves. But I guess I could just keep them all bound in a journal...except my big worry is that I make a lot of “first attempt” drawings that are total fails. I’m not sure I want to have them bound in a journal along with the drawings I might be satisfied with.  I like to remember my successes, not my failures. Haha. 

I've been fooling around with nature journaling for years but have not really been regular enough at it to develop a style or a habit.  I appreciated seeing the various journals and way people approached them.  I am hoping to be able to record scientific observations but hope to record some beautiful memories as well. I really liked the images that were popping out of the boxes that Shayna had.  The drawings seemed more immediate and alive that way.

It didn't inspire me much about the journaling about nature. Well, it did in the sense that I can always go to the nature and 'jour" a little bit. And also, about my personal life, family stories, I can also use the journaling method. It does not only apply to nature but also spirituality, life, work, anything you like. Draw it down and start writing about them. It provides a memory and a solid ground to remind you that you have been through a lot and you are wistful/wise. I guess it's a therapy too. It shows you can get something done.

This is an ecological phenomena that I came across in Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron) on a canoe trip.  It was 2011, just about the time I began to draw and paint, so I was just taking photos of cool things like this.  This is on an island in Georgian Bay and the pool was made by wave action working small stones in a pit which I imagine were most effective during the winter storms and similar to ones I had seen in rivers were the current was accomplishing the same job.  The stones scoured out more and more of the base stone and could be seen in the bottom.  As well, the pond above in the picture contained frogs, being just the right environment for them.  The pond was no doubt the result of rain water being contained in a low spot.  I visited this place in subsequent years and noticed that due to lack of rain that year there were no frogs.  I often think about this place and wish I had been nature journaling earlier in my life!

I have always enjoyed learning from nature. I have just recently added sketches and watercolors.  I have often used photographs and video as a way of capturing the moment.  However it does add another level of observation when I uses sketching and watercolors.  I also want to increase my skills in scientific drawings and painting.  So I want to journal with sketches to deepen my understanding of nature, increase my skills as an artists.  I also want to learn how to create a drawing while observing nature directly and not just from photographs.  In looking at the different styles of journals I like combining both text and images including rough sketches.  I also want to take some of the favorite subjects and use my observations to create a detailed drawing including watercolors.  I might do the first level in the sketch pad and create more finished paintings in the album format.    I also like using a nature journal to serve as a memory album for a trip.  I did a little of this on a trip to Alaska this  summer.  One of my drawings is included below.  I may also use it to grow my observations for a particular theme like life in a natural aquarium I am keeping in my house using organisms from area lakes, or a study to study the birds (esp blue jays) at my feeder. I also like drawings that tell a story.  In my drawing I found it  interesting that the Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese freely intermingled and flew together at the site of the Sandhill Crane Festival in Fairbanks Alaska.    

I love the outdoors and am fortunate to live near the Wissahickon creek and gorge.  I am a regular hiker through the park and am becoming more involved in conservation of the watershed.  I realized that I am not as familiar with the native plants, trees, birds, geology and mosses  as I would like to be.  Taking pictures or trying to memorize a name is just not doing it for me.  When I heard Liz speak about the process of observing, drawing and asking oneself questions, I thought it was a brilliant, rich way to learn and to record a moment in time.  In addition,  recording my experiences and trips appeals to me as I often feel most open and connected while hiking or traveling.    I am also hoping to reconnect with my love of drawing and creativity that was left behind in my younger days.

This is my first nature journaling experience. I raise African Violets and other plants indoor, have extensive outside gardens, and I love to draw and paint, so combining my two passions seemed like a great idea. I look forward to capturing my flowers and plants as they move through the seasons, so some of my journal will be the same plants at different seasons. I like all the journals for a variety of reasons and will seek to find my own style as I move forward.  Since I am a retired English teacher, I imagine that I will include  the words of  H. D. Thoreau in my observations along the way.

My short time at journaling has mainly been philosophical, reflecting on my parent’s lives and my extension of them.  They instilled in me the love of anything outdoors. My extensive hiking adventures have been recorded with narrative and photos but no illustrations. In addition, I have recorded quotes from a wide range of books that have appealed to me. It is my intention to learn to capture what I see in nature with pen & pencil and maybe attach a certain quote that I  have found meaningful.

I've always kept a written journal, but haven't done any sketching since my teens. I have also always been an avid amateur naturalist (and a licensed collector for my university's natural history museum), but I hate using a camera because it makes me feel removed from what I am observing. Nature journaling seems like a way to blend both passions, and keep a visual record that will spark memories of the moment being observed, in a way that demands you to be a part of that moment. Maybe it is the difference between looking and seeing? One of the journals was so beautiful, and reminded me of a book I came across as a teenager (The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden). But I think I want to meld my written and sketched journals - adding birds at my feeder, what I see in my garden, the katydid on the window screen, mushrooms gathered on the most recent hike, etc. will add another dimension to how I process the events of the week. It will be a fun way to make sure I remember to slow down and look around me, and it won't matter much if there is not much skill to start with.

Comment on Question #2 - "...which ideas or approaches do you want to try?"  I loved the gorgeous use of color in some of the journals.  It was intoxicating--so I want to try that in my journal.  (I am new to journaling.)  I also noted that not trying to use up the entire page with drawing(s) or text was better.  Leaving clean white space allowed the drawings to really jump off the page.  I noted that some people used somewhat sloppy printing.  I think that after making a beautiful painting, the quality of the printing should be on par with the art work--but maybe that takes too much time...I'll soon find out! Comment on Question #3 - "...have a different idea that you like to share?"  I think it might be fun to try to incorporate 3-D pop up images occasionally.  It would be fun to try it.

It is amazingly coincidental that it was a trip to the Galapagos that inspired me to start painting and journaling!  One of the other passengers was an artist who sketched and painted quickly while the rest of us were clicking away with cameras.  While admiring her work and discussing her process, I came to realize that she was seeing things so much better than the rest of us were as she noticed textures, colors, shadows, etc.   I have since taken a few lessons and now travel with my Peerless paper watercolors and a sketchbook and the sketches bring back much richer memories than photos.  I am inspired by the videos to try more animals even if they don't want to pose for me!  I do love the ease of my Peerless paper watercolors and would encourage others to try them for the vibrant colors and portability!

1.) I have dabbled with sketching most of my life. Every summer I try to do something new and about seven years ago I decided I would try to keep a nature journal. It was about the same time that I also got reacquainted with the outdoors. I have spent most of my life sitting in offices staring out at neighboring buildings through windows. I decided to make a concerted effort to return to the outdoors as much as possible. When I was a child I would never go inside. At first I focused mainly on butterflies and a few messy landscapes. In time, however, I shifted my main focus over to birds. Even though I have pushed on for seven years, I am still not overly satisfied with my efforts. A large part of this is because I tend to take photographs when I am in the field rather than sketch. 2.) Holly Faulkner's style is probably most like my own. I tend to catalogue birds or animals I have seen rather than report about a specific outing that I have taken. I do like her style very much, but I would also like to try to tell the stories of trips into the forest the way the other journalers did. I would like to get more focused on creating reports from specific trips. Have done some of this, but oo often I will jot down species I run into in a small notebook to log them into eBird later on. I rely too much (probably) on photography to help me identify birds I see in the field.

I have never drawn a thing in my life aside from elementary school art classes and I've always dreamed of being some type of artist. Finding myself with a lot of extra time these days I wanted to try something new. Spending time every week participating in Feeder Watch, this sounded like a nice accompaniment. Art classes keep being put off but I am reminded of advice I once read in a silly newspaper advice column where an older student asked a question - I really want to become a doctor but med school will take 4 years and by then I will be 35. The response was something like "How much time will have passed in 4 years if you don't do it?" It stuck with me because time passes regardless of whether we follow our dreams.

I am a certified California naturalist and I keep a "digital" field journal on my blog (https://chubbywomanwalkabout.com/) with type-written text and photographs.  I'm taking this class because I'd like to get more hands-on with my observations, and learn to focus more on details rather than big-picture images.  I'm hoping that once I get more comfortable drawing in a journal, I can pass what I learn onto my naturalist students. Hard-bound art journals seem too confining and limiting to me, however, and they can also be bulky and heavy, so I've decided to start with small sheets of watercolor paper that I can carry with me in a pack with some watercolor pens, pencils and permanent markers. That may change as I continue on this journey, but it's where I'll start. I also really liked the verbalized notation in one of the videos that mentioned submitting images drawn in the field to iNaturalist.  I thinks that's an awesome idea  and a great way to inspire others and let them know that their nature journals are IMPORTANT to science and USEFUL to others. Here is what my current digital journal looks like:

I was inspired to take the nature journaling course as a primary teacher. I have bird feeders outside my classroom in New Hampshire. By taking the course I can refine my drawing and painting skills. Then I will feel confident to teach my students how to nature journal using watercolors. In the past the students have had nature journals but the drawing were rudimentary. To start my challenge is to draw the  birds at the feeders when they are moving.

I have been nature journaling for many years but have never really thought through the process of what makes a journal interesting and a good reflection of the day or hours spent outside. I'm looking forward to the techniques and discipline of staying the course.

I love to draw and paint but never quite made an actual nature journal. I think my intention is to draw and paint more often. I’m starting to become interested in birding and I saw this course and felt inspired. A recent trip to Belize where my friend and I birded also inspired me. I liked all the journals that were in the videos. I think my style will be some text describing the subject I’m illustrating. I loved how the one journal used interesting graphics for the month and date text.

1. Recreate the biomes and creatures in my sketchbook. 2. The water colors, having so much details in the drawing and observations/ 3. Patience

I love to be outside and observe nature. My desire to journal is to learn how to be more in the moment and to develop drawing skills. The  style of dating the page and location and started with shapes makes sense. I like the drawings with descriptions of what people are seeing and thinking about.

I love nature, especially birds.  I feel I have an artist in me and this would be the best way to discover my talent.  The process seems to be relaxing and low-key.  Journaling can be done anywhere.  I am analytical by nature, so I like the blocking technique with sketches and information about the sketch arranged on the page.  I'm sure over time I'll develop my own technique.

My goals in learning to do nature journals are two: to get back to the drawing skills I had when I was younger and/or improve them. 2. To acquire more accurate memories of my walks and hikes or just the times I sit at the window to watch traffic at my bird feeder.

I liked the thought of capturing my walks and journeys in a nature journal. I have recently been introduced to painting with water color and have always journaled, so I was excited to take this course to help guide me through this and motivate me as well. i loved all the journals and there uniqueness, I got several ideas for the start of my own.