I began nature (or rather, travel) journaling on a CAU trip to India with my old friend, Professor and Dean Porus Olpadwala in 2005.  My wife is an avid, formerly amateur, now professional, travel photographer.  To keep myself occupied and a bit out of the way, I picked up a sketchbook and pencil and began journaling. Now, almost 15 years later, journaling has become a habit, with stacks of pencil, pen and ink, acrylic and even oil paintings to show for it.  I generally do most of my work on the sidelines of exotic photography tours and workshops.  Interestingly, even amongst fabulously talented photographers, my sketches still capture everyone’s attention. There is something in process of capturing scenes by hand that still bears wonder even in the presence of the most incredible digital technology.

1. I used to do a lot of sketching from memory and life, but got out of it as I got busier and busier with photos and film. I observe birds, moss and lichens and nature settings in general. I find myself craving actually using my eyes, hands to draw instead of  taking a photo , which is how I've been illustrating my logs and journals. Photography becomes an animal in itself and has a life separate from the observer. tI'm inspired by Bernd Heinrich's thoughtful sketches, as I've reading his books on ravens. 2. I like all of the journal techniques, but especially like Shayna's as a model - it's diverse in media, and organized in info, and the journalistic style appeals to me, with diagrams and drawings coming out of their frames. 3. So far, no... I'm eager to explore through the examples and exercises in this course.

1. I am inspired to begin nature journaling because I am preparing to start a project I have had in mind for years, that of traveling the prairies with my husband in the teardrop camper he is building for this experience. I'll be writing a book and making art inspired by the biomes we explore. Nature journaling will bring the necessary mindfulness to what I see and feel about the places I travel that will have real staying power. It will draw me into a more intimate sense of the prairie places and help me to convey this to others. 2. I enjoyed seeing the range of the journalers' processes and how each of them relaxed into the journaling as time went by. This helps me relax into the blank page, knowing that through the commitment to frequent journaling, my own handwork and mental/intuitive connections will grow. 3. As I journal, I'll also refer to Writing Wild by Tina Welling (a text used in a Nature Writing class I took for my Masters in Writing). The text and its exercises will draw more of my senses into the processes of sketching, noting, and writing.

What appeals to you about this journaler’s style? The stories behind and style of illustration that can be from simple to complex. What would you think are the goals of this journal? Better illustrations, more detail in behavior of animals and plants (specially birds). What surprised you about the content? How can this be used for cientific porpouse, the fact they are useful in e-bird or Naturalist is exiting because there's a record for the benefit of nature. What elements has this journaler included that you might want to include in your journal? Stories, colors and notes on behavior

1. I was inspired to begin nature journaling because I have been avoiding doing any art for a while, and wanted a way to do more without the pressure of “producing” a finished product. I also wanted something that would get me outside more and spend more time bird watching and walking around, plus have an “excuse” to sit down somewhere and learn to see nature more completely. 2. I love the “boxing” techniques, and mixing images and words on a page to create a unified experience. I like lots of images, not an attempt to do a single “picture” on a page, but still finding a balance between color and white space, words and images, and media. I like the non-linearity of reading such a page or journal. I’m also encouraged by the artists who let their journaling style evolve, which is what I would like to do instead of trying to emulate one of the other journals. I also like the idea of the journal being a way to capture an experience without depending entirely on words. I was a professional writer for my career but am not writing much anymore, so I like the idea of leaning more on images for memories. 3. I would like to be more intentional about combining images from nature (birds, leaves, etc.) with the geometries or patterns that can represent them. I like the artist below who wants to try combining abstract and “realistic” images, although I don’t have much experience with abstract images. I would like to find the patterns in nature like spirals, fractals, and other repetitive mathematical patterns which appear in nature.

1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I am in love with animals. I sit in my woodshed and feed the chick-a-dee's and chipmunks. I feel extremely connected to nature, as I am also a Nature Empath. Nature journaling opened my mind to combining two things I love - watercolour painting and nature. I see it as a way to be mindful in nature and focus on the smaller details that are missed when I take photos which I mostly use for social media. 2. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? I really liked Shayna Muller's style with a mix of Jewel Alston's. I loved the organization but "pop" off the page style of drawings/paintings with descriptions. I loved how they used it as a tool for learning as well as memories. I liked that Jewel also put colours on the side of the page to remind themselves. My goal of nature journaling is emotional - to focus in the moment and be with nature. Its also as a learning opportunity, like comparing sparrows or mushrooms. I liked the idea of a monthly poster for the future as well. 3. Do you have a different journaling idea, not mentioned here, that you’d like to share? I think it would be cool to draw a mushroom and then add its spore print next to it. Maybe even adding a soundscape (the visual appearance of sounds like in the Merlin App) next to the drawing. Could be cool (but messy) to use natural dyes like blueberries or mud to make art :)

1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? I have been painting and drawing my whole life. I have always been drawn to nature (get it?! lol). My family has always encouraged me to keep going and share my art. 2. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? Absolutely love the idea of doing a 365-day journal or a monthly journal! What a grand idea!? 3. Do you have a different journaling idea, not mentioned here, that you’d like to share? I have a degree in animal behavior and I would love to start including observations/ ethograms with my nature sketches.

1. I have always loved spending time outdoors and studying various plants and animals, and I would like to start recording my observations to help me to learn more and to recall the ecperiences I have had. 2. I liked the approach of Shayna Muller. Her observations seemed to be very detailed, and I liked her use of boxes to set off the drawings. I also liked the way she would "magnify" a portion of a sketch to show more detail.

1. I am an abstract artist who recently moved to New York. I have been wanting to develop my sketching and work on doing literal interpretations of the world around me. Moving to a new state is a perfect opportunity to work on my sketching and to develop concepts for my work because I am experiencing a ton of new wildlife.   2. I really enjoyed seeing how different everyone's journal was. I definitely want to use watercolor in my work. I want to balance out landscape impressions with more detailed work like birds and plants.   3. I think I'd like to incorporate some abstract interpretations of what I'm seeing. Abstract is my go to method for art, I'd like to see how seeing a literal object portrayed looks next to an abstract one that emphasizes impression. I think it will mostly just be experimenting and seeing what works and what doesn't.

I sketch in the field from time to time but I really want to become more disciplined about doing it. I often have a hard time focusing in the fiel-so many distractions. I hope this corse will make me more confident, make me take the time for what I consider an important activity, and help me to build a library of ideas that I can refer to for composing finished works.

2. I love the idea of including boxes but letting the image escape the box. I plan on using that with identification information and them more free-flowing text around the images.

As a biology professor, instructor and field biologist I like the approach in which there is a combination of sketches and notes. I have a lot of experience describing field sights and habitat but less experience with sketching plants and animals. When you sketch and take notes you preserve memories but can also use it as a learning process. If you document the details you can go back later and identify anything you were uncertain about at the time. I also really liked the journal that had a drawing a day and then the individual switched to completing a full two pages per month. There was something very aesthetically pleasing about her pages. I might try to do a mix of both of those approaches.

1.  It was my husband who encouraged me about the course.  Once he showed me the email and I looked into it, I was totally hooked!  I have actually done some nature drawings in the past but never thought about nature journaling.  I didn't know it was a thing:)  and I absolutely love being out in nature (especially with him).  My goal is to journal about a birds nest!  I love nests and how birds are such amazing engineers. 2. I would really like to try what the first journalist did with her journal.  I am a teacher so the details and writing she did was awesome.  I really liked how she had "frames" around her drawings.  On one she had drawn a plant or fern and kind of put a box frame around it that created like a shadow box.  What I saw was her drawing in the foreground and the "frame" in the back ground.  It was cool. 3.  I don't have a new or different journal idea just yet.

I've always loved being out in nature. Two years ago, I put my focus into writing about nature. I've written guest blog posts on forest bathing, which promotes a multi-sensory and mindfulness approach to walking in nature. I also teach Tai Chi and Qigong, and am happiest when I can be in a quiet place with nature as my guide.  I have a background in art and took a class in travel sketching but haven't yet applied it. This course is the perfect combination of these things. I liked the first and last journals. Both had details of things out in nature with a short description that had a nice combination of structure and free form. I'll try a combination of these and see how things evolve. This course arrived at the perfect time. I can't wait to get out there and start on my journal.

  First Drawing Yellow Warbler

Hello and thank you all for your journals and histories. I’m a lifelong gardener and writer currently living in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. I’ve long kept written journals by hand and typed, and have inserted drawings, photos, bits of nature, and so on. The interrelationship between observations, thoughts, visual “captures,” and meditations moves and inspires me.  I’m looking forward to this course and to reading and seeing who you all are through your field journals. I’m especially hopeful that I’ll be able to just draw and paint/color freely. I like several approaches shown and want to mainly focus on forming the field journal habit. I like to practice centering prayer/meditation in the morning and evening and then observe out my window and record.  I’d like to take this practice outdoors more often instead of working in my garden then journaling inside.  More will be revealed.

Hi all; 1. I'm Lyn and I started field journalling over 20 years ago as a field botanist.  I love the science of field botany but field journaling gave me an excuse to be outside without counting plants.  Now I teach nature journaling to university students and I was so intrigued that one could learn about journaling through an online course that I had to sign up. 2.  I absolutely adore the idea of a monthly journal especially on one page.  Especially as a low-stakes way of carving out time for field journaling.  I could see doing this one year and then using the month-pages as the images for a calendar for the next year! 3. I'm hoping that this course will give me the impetus to broaden my repertoire of subjects.  I don't draw as many animals as I should and I'm reminded how much practising overall body shapes can help when observing in the moment.  

I liked a lot of the elements in various journals: the idea of capturing birds' general shapes in brief sketches, the one where plants kind of spill out of boxes on the page, the way the one woman did several dates on one page and shaded them so nicely (she was also such an accomplished artist -- the drawings were gorgeous), the idea of capturing your thoughts, experiences during the time you are sketching, including the date and location.

1. I want to improve my watercolor painting. I think this is a good first step. 2. I want to try the basic Date, Time, Location, and Weather box; with a brief description of what is on the page. 3. No

1.) My friend introduced me to Nature Journaling a few years ago, and I am taking this course to get a deeper understanding of the possibilities.  Hopefully the course will encourage me to make Nature Journaling a more regular practice. 2.) All of the journals and the testimonials illustrated the power of this practice.  I feel like I should take inspiration from each of them in some way, but the ones with "less accomplished" illustrations spoke to me the most because they showed me that I should engage with the process instead of a polished end result. 3.) This was referenced a bit by the first Journaler: my friend who taught me about Nature Journaling writes questions in red  that come up in the field and then researches the answers in books and on the internet.  This adds a deep educational element to his practice.

1.  I’m retired and spent a significant amount of time photographing nature.  This is done mostly while kayaking or hiking.  I journal my travels but haven’t done a journal relating to observations I make of species I see while out there.  I have no experience with drawing or painting but think my observational skills will improve with whatever proficiency I achieve.  I like the idea of keeping a record of my times out in nature. 2.  I like both the sketching and water colours so definitely like to try both.