I take lots of photos and videos of animals, plants, insects and birds and I like learning about wildlife behaviour and identification. Nature journaling is hopefully a way for me to develop a more storytelling approach to remembering my encounters.  All of the journals had inspiring work, but it was reassuring to see that many journallers had taken a while to evolve their style as I am very much at the start of my journey. I liked all the works, the first example with zoomed-in details is something I would like to try.

I spend a lot of time observing nature (in my yard, on walks/hikes, etc) and find myself taking photos and videos if I see something I want to remember. Nature journaling could be a new way for me to engage and mix some creative skills and reflection into this practice.

I did notice that the journalists were pretty good artists hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

I was inspired by this because I like to journal anyway and bird watch. I have just also started a writing for wellness class in different gardens. I I would like to combine both of these. I liked the style of the first journal and as well as factual information I would also like to include some creative writing or a poem.

I would like to spend more time enjoying and learning about the natural world around me, a journal will help me take the time to observe and reflect, would also like to learn to sketch and watercolor.

In my professional work as a naturalist, I get to bear witness to remarkable nature stories that unfold in both real time and also over the course of the seasons as I take care of the trails and share them with visitors. My nature journal is a space where I can document those stories, ask questions and wonder about the details, and learn more about the lives of the living and nonliving in the natural world. Plus, sitting still with my journal and just watching a spider spin a web or a family of ants break down bits of an old cicada is so satisfying and PRESENT. I think its hard to be present in this fast moving world and nature is a place that offers that gift to me.

I'm a school teacher, so I want my students to experience science beyond a worksheet.  This is a great medium for them to be creative and slow down.   I enjoying doing this myself, as well!

I'm trying to incorporate data representations as well - a brief graph of total numbers of birds seen over time, a data table of temperature, and so on.  You can see how it makes my students reconsider how their lab reports look, and they can use many languages:

I want to try nature journaling as a way to remember and observe and track down the questions that my observations spawn. I like the pages that mix pictures with words. I hope to figure out what medium are best with different subjects and how the mood changes on a page with different mediums. Perhaps pencil will work best for hyper detail. Maybe watercolor wash over it I really do not know now but hope to through experimenting. Also not spending hours and hours on a painting is appealing.

I began college as a fine arts major and have always been happiest when I am creating something and I have explored most every craft out there. I have also always wanted to delve into watercolor painting as I have only dabbled in it in the past. Being fairly recently retired and recently discovering the Merlin app I have had the time to observe and learn about the vast diversity of birds in my own backyard! I also recently read, and was inspired by, Amy Tan’s beautifully illustrated book “The Backyard Bird Chronicles”. Being retired has given me the chance to enjoy all the wildlife around me and to try to be more mindful and in the moment. Nature journaling just seems a natural fit for me and maybe watercolor painting my next great crafting adventure?

I have been birding for some time now, since we moved to our new apartment in a semi-rural area at the beginning of 2022.  The apartment has a large balcony that looks at a wetland.  I bought some bird feeders and bought some binoculars.  I also found an online field guide and started to identify birds from the balcony and during our daily walks.  I have two bird feeders, one for fruits and the other with seeds.  I have enjoyed seeing the birds come and go during the day.  Then in November 2024 my husband and I joined a birding organization and now we are starting with our own birding club in our neighborhood.  On Mother's Day this year (2025) my daughter offered to give me some Bird Academy courses, and we chose the Mindfulness in Nature bundle that includes this on Journaling and Field Sketching.  At first, I was hesitant on the idea of drawing but decided to give it a try.  I got a book on drawing birds and started to draw following the step-by-step process; now I feel more confident and ready to start journaling.  From the samples in the first video, I liked the one that includes boxes for the pictures and that also includes writing.  This is the model I would like to follow, a jornal that includes both pictures and writing from the observations I make.

I am inspired to begin nature journaling, because I think it will help me pay attention to the world around me, to be present. I don't really draw at all, and I am interested in starting something new. I also like the focus on process and evolution and learning- not a final product.

I liked all the journals shared in the video. I loved the idea of a monthly page, but I will experiment a bit to see what feels right. I need to figure out when I'm going to do this and how much time to commit to it.

“Sketching” in the course title appealed to me. I have a tendency to overdraw or overpaint and want to loosen up. I love seeing the personal/individual quality of each journaler’s book. I’ll continue doing timestamps and color palettes in my own journal to capture the changing seasons in my favorite park with more expression and less documentation.

When I am out in nature, or just in my backyard, I often feel that a creature or maybe a tree or flower is speaking to me - of stability, endurance, life cycles, and I just want to try drawing so that I can recall some of these wordless conversations and observations.   I so appreciate the journalers sharing their journals, and I loved how much was included in each page.

1. I actually have been nature journaling since I could write, I never knew it had a name :). Recently, I have been in a walking boot due to a foot injury and have been staying home. I live in a mountain town in north Phoenix and am surrounded by beautiful desert terrain. I started sketching in my writing journal for fun. My colleague sent me the Merlin App and as I explored the website, I found the nature journaling course and got so excited, I bought it right away!

2. I like Liz’s approach because I enjoy writing so much. I will write down thoughts that come up as I’m sketching and tell a story with both.

I’m going to be an ornithologist, and want to be able to draw the birds.  Feels a lot more personal than cameras, connecting with nature.  And Birds are FUN to draw!!

1. I live in a wooded area with many different trees, shrubs, a running (small) creek, and a couple of little ponds nearby. Birds and insects abound. I keep asking what species of trees and birds I see. So, the best way to learn them would be close observation, and for a close observation, drawing would be a good start.

2. Each of the journalists has an individual style and method. There is no "rule" or "format" to this practice.

3. I do not have any idea yet. Perhaps I will start drawing what I see.

I came to nature journaling because I wanted to explore a different approach to expressing myself besides photography.  I felt nature journaling would draw me in closer to the aspect of nature that I was exploring.  It would give me the opportunity to improve my drawing skills and combine researching the topic I am working on and exploring.  I would like to try the style by Shayne Miller of incorporating illustrations and text.  Her work was not over complicated.  This leads me to believe that this is something that I could achieve.  I also liked the closeups that she did and her use of both watercolor and I think pencil. I liked Jewel's use of placing the range of a particular color that she was exploring on the page.  DJ's insight into exploring birds body shapes geometrically gave me a new way to look at birds and other animals as well.  I have a long way to go before achieving  Molly's depth at using watercolor. Her work was beyond my current ability.  I so admire it.

I will have to explore my style in the way I want to present what I am illustrating since I am very much a the beginning of nature journaling.

I came to nature journaling after years of bullet journaling, and I'd like to make a hybrid journal. It would be a great reminder that being in nature should be something that happens every day. I loved the peek at the journals! Two things that stand out are all the sketches, some incomplete, that make up some of the pages. I noticed that more than one sketch of an animal gives a more complete view of it. After all the black and white, the watercolor journals just popped! I admire the control with the paint. I can't wait until I get to that level someday!

1 - I love nature, and nature loves me!

2 - Line Drawings, Shapes, Questions, Colors

3 - Huh?

1. I'm inspired to begin nature journaling because I am happiest when I'm in natural surroundings, and I would like to capture some of what I see in my garden and on trips to gardens and arboretums. 2. Seeing all of the different nature journals helps me to see that there are many ways to create a nature journal. I want to try the field guide journal with writing and sketching, but seeing all of the different styles shows me that there's no one right way to do this. 3. I don't have a different journaling idea yet, but I'm excited to see how it will evolve as I continue exploring how to do it.

I went on Pinterest to look for some more natural journal illustration inspiration. I saved images that resonated with me and inserted them into a notes document, I reflected on each and wrote down what I liked about it. I started recognizing a pattern. There are two types of nature drawing that I’m interested in: observational field sketches and reference study illustrations. The first, I think is the focus of this course. You are out in the field observing and drawing what you see. The focus is on being loose and present, capturing the feel of your subject with gesture drawings and pops of color. The second category is more purposeful and intentional, like you’re making a personal field guide. You draw several species together, point out similarities and differences. These drawings have a more “scientific” field guide vibe to them.

1. I started drawing birds this year out of necessity, more than intention. I've never been one to draw, or do anything artistic, but I started noticing birds last year and quickly became very facinated with all the birds I could find. This year I found myself drawing the birds and not being able to stop. I started out very rough and unrefined, but as I continue to draw several times a week, I am learning. I realized that drawing is helping me feel connected to the birds I see and helping me remember. So i guess I've started Nature Journaling on accident.

2. I think i'd like to try a monthly or weekly journal. I am very busy working full time and a mom to three, so I don't want to set a daily goal that I surely will not achieve. Monthly seems perhaps slight too little, but it might end up being just right in the end.

This course was a Christmas gift from my daughter. She knows that I have been enjoying using watercolors for the past several years. I have filled a number of sketchbooks with internet tutorials, and now feel ready to sort of branch out on my own.  I am interested mainly in painting  plant life..  I don’t think my vision is good enough to capture birds.  I like the idea of making a month by month journal of things observed in my yard.

1. I recently became disabled by a chronic illness and am no longer able to many of the things I used to. My therapist recommended nature journaling as a way to connect with my body, my world, and immerse myself in nature more thoroughly.

2. I love the color and adding a color palette to the entries to remind me of the colors I observed. I also loved the idea of capturing an event (i.e. birds in different positions or spider spinning its dinner) as well as still life.

3. I got something valuable from every journal that was shared. They are all so unique and there are several components from each journal that gave me so much insight.

I go for frequent walks in nature as exercise and meditation. Nature journaling allows me to notice things that I used to miss. It helps me slow down and be in the moment. I can share these moments with family and friends as well. I appreciated all the examples in the lesson. I sketch with pencil and add color later when I get back home, but I'm going to take watercolor pencils and/or watercolor with me from now on. I really liked the idea of recording the colors observed on the journal page with watercolor. I would also like to add detailed drawings of plants. My focus has been on birds so far. Here's a page from my journal.