• leslie
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      D92C759E-B811-45D8-B166-08B04070CDC4
      • Barbara J
        Participant
        Chirps: 3
        Incredibly beautiful! This is a painting, not just journaling!
      • Tess
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        Wow, Looks  wonderful. tj
      • byrdluver
        Participant
        Chirps: 1
        That is a gorgeous picture!!! Keep up the good work!
      • Patricia
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        What a breathtaking work. So precise and lovely.
      • Christine N.
        Participant
        Chirps: 38
        How long did you take to render this? Beautiful.....
      • Kim
        Participant
        Chirps: 12
        That is beautiful!
      • Debra
        Participant
        Chirps: 16
        Such a gorgeous piece of art! Wow!
      • K
        Participant
        Chirps: 2
        That is a lovely painting. Very inspiring.
    • Christine
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • Meredith
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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.
    • Brian
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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.
    • Ambre
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • Emily
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      FC6DB98B-ED61-4DA7-B780-17ED694FF37D4440C50C-927F-426A-AF40-A9F8803B15A6
    • Cedella
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      IMG_5906   First Drawing Yellow Warbler
    • Emily
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      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.
      • Christine N.
        Participant
        Chirps: 38
        Journaling can be a prayer-full experience since we use all of our senses and nature is God's general revelation. What got me hooked on biology as a youngster was reading about all the intricacies of the cell and it fascinated me. Journaling in nature is similar in that if we take the time to really observe, we see so much more than the superficial which can, albeit, be beautiful by itself.
    • Eileen
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      Eileen McNally's 1st assignment for Cornell Nature Journaling
    • Lyn
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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.  
    • Gwen
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      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.
    • Lucia
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      image
    • Preston
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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
    • Seth
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      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.
      • Emily
        Participant
        Chirps: 3
        I like the idea of inserting questions in red and addressing them later. Thanks!
    • Trish
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      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.
    • Beth
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      1. I enjoy nature and water coloring. I need to improve my drawing and water color skills. This seemed like a great way to combine several of my interests. 2. I was happy to see so many styles and approaches. It's good to know that there is not single way of nature journaling. I would like to try several approaches until I find what works for me. 3. Not really. I want to experiment.
    • sheree
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      Hi, I am a beginner to nature journaling. I retired about 6 months go and transitioning to what is next in store for me has been challenging.  This course arrived in my email at just the right time. I live on the side of a mountain in the Roan Highlands of Tennessee. I frequently take walks and hike. I have been taking pictures of things I see on my hikes, but this is much more intriguing.  I look forward to all of the courses. My style... I am left handed and started my first page from right to left. It feels right! 34E3CC46-6134-40B1-A125-0605E21C3603I will try to draw and color the leaf in the next day or two.
      • Susan
        Participant
        Chirps: 30
        As a fellow lefty, I can relate! The need to avoid smudging. Nice format to start with!
      • sheree
        Participant
        Chirps: 2

        @Susan Thank you!

    • Isabel
      Participant
      Chirps: 34
      IMG_8390   1- I enjoy going on birdwatching trips with friends and learning a lot about nature. Last year I found this beautiful caterpillar and a friend could identify it. I like to learn sketching techniques because I am too slow at drawing. At home I sketch my cats very easily because they sleep all day. 2- I like the "zoom" idea and drawing details on a circle.
    • Bobbi
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      1.  I enjoy drawing and want to add watercolors - I’ve never really used them and want to learn the techniques. 2.  I always have my phone with me and take a lot of photos of various “nature” things.  On a plane trip the other day I snapped some photos of the top of clouds - they just looked like something I wanted to try to draw/paint. 3.  Not sure it’s “different” but I envision using my journal to help me get better at plant ID.
    • Carol
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      Hi- Carol from MO here.  Retired science teacher. 1.  I took a drawing backyard birds course from the Mo Botanical Garden a couple of years ago.  We talked about nature journaling in that class.  It seemed like a natural next step.  Just taken me a while to get back to it.  I'm outside a lot in the garden so there's no reason to not try to get back in the habit of daily drawing.  I like the idea of a seasonal journal.  So I'm going to see what this is like and hopefully pick up some new ideas and habits. 2.  I like the quick sketches- for example of birds at the feeder.  I'd love to learn how to get that much of a sketch in such a short period of time.  The watercolor is also interesting to me.  I took a watercolor class last fall and left feeling as though I wasn't sure really how to structure paintings.  The small watercolors focused on one idea or aspect seems very manageable.  My bird drawing class only used pencil- great way to begin- I experimented with colored pencil, but watercolor may be easier.  I also like how the journalists use text to describe what they're drawing, or to describe the surroundings or questions they may have.  I'll just have to start and see how the journal evolves.  I'm not really sure what I'll try to purposefully incorporate into my journal. 3.  One idea- I think I saw it in one of the examples- is to attach small photos of the sketch.  I like to take photographs and put slideshows together for my granddaughter with music- basically a journal of an event- I did a metamorphosis of a monarch last year.  I've followed bees as they wander around on the flowering plants.  Seems like a journal of some kind to me.  I'd think that some of the photos I take could be used in some way in the journal periodically.  Sometimes I might not have my pencils or notebook, but I usually have a camera even if it's just my phone.  It might be useful.
      • Christina Wray
        Participant
        Chirps: 2
        Hi Carol, I just had an opportunity to visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens last week, sooo beautiful! I’m a midwest girl living in FL, so not only did it give me a taste of fall, but also magically felt like a homecoming.   Christina
      • Christina Wray
        Participant
        Chirps: 2
        1.  There are a couple different reasons I want to nature journal. First, I’ve recently moved to Central Florida, from southern Indiana, so much of the habitats and wildlife is new to, and i think journaling will be a helpful tool to learn more deeply about my new home. Second, I love love love nature illustrations from the 19th and early 20th century, and i think it would be fun to create my own. 2.l really liked Holly’s monthly journal pages as well as Shayna’s box style journal. We recently started camping regularly and i think it would be great to keep a journal of discoveries while camping. Sort of like a “nature’s guest book” for our camper 😀   3. I really like seasons journals where you document a place or specimen in each season on the same page.   I like to paint some of my nature photographs in miniature sometimes, it helps me capture the feelings of the moment than when i took the original photo.   image This is a painting i did from a photograph taken on a sunrise hike to see cockaded woodpeckers.
    • Henry
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      IMG_2697
    • Martine
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I have been painting, journaling my travels and loved nature since forever. Planning a trip to the tropics this winter, I figured that journaling it with images would be fun and informative. As I have never used watercolours, this will also teach me a new technique! EF0EB572-CF8A-45E7-B626-78266B6B9041
    • Anita
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
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    • Berta
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      1) I have been nature journaling for several years now. The main reason why I started, which is also the reason why I continue to do it, is because I want to create a bond with the natural world around me. By spending time in nature, by slowing to observe, listen and smell, I feel like I create a relationship with the landscape around me. Also, as I keep coming back to the same places along the seasons I keep seeing how things change and evolve. 2) I have liked the idea from the first girl in the video about using the journal to study and also to create field guides. 3) Astro sketching! I guess I am a nature journaler both during the day and at night. The sky is full of wonders near and far, simple and elaborate, and I like to sketch them all. From the simple constellations, moon craters or planets to the most complicated galaxies, planetary nebulas or globular clusters. Astronomy + sketching make a beautiful hobby.
      • Nicole
        Participant
        Chirps: 8
        Berta, I have thought about, and love the idea, of "astro" sketching. If you have done this how do you do it? Maybe an example? I have been trying to figure out the color scheme of sketching the night sky. Should black paper be used with white watercolor or color pencil, or do you invert the colors and use black for the stars on the white paper in the nature journal, or something else I'm not even thinking of? Would love to get a better understanding to do this. I want to give it a try and I know my oldest who is into space would love doing this. Just trying to figure out the best and most practical way to accomplish this when we are both sort of "perfectionist" and we like things to look like it looks in real time. (hope that made sense). Thanks!
      • Berta
        Participant
        Chirps: 2

        @Nicole Hi Nicole. I too have a 7 and a 9 years old boys! I hope that they will want to watch the class with me too. As for Astro sketching I recommend the tutorials by Jeremy Perez in his blog “Belt of Venus”   http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000567.html   He just uses pen and paper and a blending stump for the sketches, really simple ! Also Carol Lakomiak has a nice tutorial here:   https://www.rasc.ca/carol-lakomiaks-astrosketching-tutorials-solar-and-dso-sketching   But maybe the simplest way to start is by drawing the constellations with pen on white paper, or with white gel pen on paper previously made dark with Watercolor, or black pages. I hope this helps! You say that you are a perfectionist, and is ok, as most objects in the night sky will stay there for you to observe then and sketch them for hours, so no need to rush it. If your older is into the night sky you could print him every month the sky chart for your latitude from http://www.skymaps.com and challenge him to find all the objects visible by eye listed on the second page.  

      • Nicole
        Participant
        Chirps: 8

        @Berta That is awesome we have boys the same age! Thank you so much for responding and providing the links for the resources. I will definitely be checking those out (already have them all pulled up in my browsers tabs). Thank you too for the encouragement. Hope your boys will watch some of it with you, both my boys like nature journaling but we have to take this course a little at a time as my youngest won't sit through it for to long....haha. Thanks again!

      • Carol
        Participant
        Chirps: 3

        @Nicole When I taught astronomy, I'd have the kids sketch moon phases over several nights.  We started with Galileo's drawings, talked about detail in drawing, practiced with his sketches and photographs, then the kids went out on their own to give it a try.  Really got some excellent sketches!  The moon is relatively easy to start with- nice and big and bright and it changes nightly.  You'll see more detail on some nights (and days) than on others.  Earthshine is gorgeous.  The moon really challenges your attention to detail.  The kids would often remark that the terminus was not a smooth line, but rough and caught the edges of craters.  Another journal to try would be during a total solar or luanr eclipse.  You can see a solar eclipse evolve just by looking at the shadows cast by the leaves of trees during the event.  I would think that would be a fun way to document the event.  Lunar eclipses would give you a chance to experiment with reds in your sketches.  If you have access to a telescope, star clusters or nebulae would be a great subject. Orion has a few to try, and there's a beautiful Messier object just above the spout of the teapot in Sagittarius (in summer) and in the tail of Scorpius.  Lots of neat stuff to try out there!  Have fun.

    • Tess
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      I have journalled before but adding drawings and watercolor really helps to stick with it. While drawing/sketching anything,  you tend to remember it and it sticks with you. Loved all the styles of  the artists in preview. I want  to add color if possible because in bird ID and any types of identification in the field, color matters. So far, my sketching looks like a first grader but i will stick with it. My Dad and Grandma are mentors to me.