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Tag: nature journals

Ten Reasons to Start a Nature Journal

September 6, 2021 / / 0 Comments

If you have been hesitating to start, here are ten reasons why you should keep a nature journal.

1.  It is an inexpensive hobby. All you need is a notebook, a pencil, and perhaps a few art supplies.

2.  If you record the world around you, you will see how it changes over time.  If you write the date and location on each entry, you will  remember when the blackberries were ripe or when you saw the first violets the year before. You will begin to spot patterns.

3.  Writing and drawing makes you observe more closely and notice details. It will help you remember what you saw, heard, felt, and even smelled.

4.  A detailed nature journal allows you to share your experiences with others. Your journals may become a treasure passed down to another generation or a useful tool for scientific studies.

5.  You will learn the names of natural features (mountains, rocks, lakes) and living things in your community, while building your vocabulary. You get to know your neighbors in nature.

bird drawings
Can you tell the great-tailed grackle from the curved-bill thrasher?

6.  If you are worried about your ability to draw or write, remember that regular practice helps build confidence and skill. You will improve.

7. Nature journals are great places to keep track of your ideas and questions as you process.

Touch Me Not (1915) by Hannah Borger Overbeck. Original from The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

For example, why is this plant called a touch-me-not? Where does it tend to grow? Is it the same as jewel weed?

8. Writing and drawing in a nature journal takes time. It is an opportunity to slow down, to focus, to relax.

9.  A nature journal is personal. It reflects your interests, your creativity, your personality. It can be funny (cartoon animals with speech bubbles), mostly stories (writings), or almost entirely art. You can focus on the big picture (ecosystems, habitats) or the the close up, macro view (what insects live in an acorn?) Or a mix.

You can also focus on one group, such as only birds or only wildflowers.  There isn’t one way to do it. See these examples of nature journal pages to see the range.

10.  Start a nature journal and it might change your life.

Keeping a nature journal is an activity that combines science, art, writing, and an opportunity to get outdoors. What could be better?

Do you keep a nature journal? What advice do you have?

Related Activities:

  1.  See the International Nature Journaling Week website for tons of information and ideas.
  2. Try making comparisons between similar plants as a way to get started (video has details).

Free nature journal to print mentioned in the video

Their book is full of ideas:

How to Teach Nature Journaling: Curiosity, Wonder, Attention by John Muir Laws, Emilie Lygren and Amy Tan (Foreword)

Or look for books by Clare Walker Leslie:

The Curious Nature Guide: Explore the Natural Wonders All Around You by Clare Walker Leslie

Disclosures: I am an affiliate for Amazon. If you click through the linked titles, covers, or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

STEAM Activities for All Ages: Recording Flora and Fauna

May 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Looking for low cost ideas to add some STEAM to your week? How about bird safaris, plant identification chalk art, and/or making a permanent record of the animals and plants in your neighborhood?

Idea 1:  Birdwatching Safari

Have you seen people putting stuffed animals in their windows or yards? Those are part of Teddy bear scavenger hunts for children. Take the idea to the next level:  walk, bike or drive through the neighborhood looking for birds.

Virtually every neighborhood has birds perching, singing, flying, swimming, and feeding. See how many birds you can spot. Write down what you see or record using voice recognition on your phone.

For more bird-related lessons and activity ideas, visit:

Extensions:  If birds aren’t your thing, consider an insect safari.

Idea 2:  Sidewalk Chalk Plant Identification

On the same vein, have you seen driveways and sidewalks decorated with chalk artwork and inspirational/positive messages?  Wouldn’t it be cool to take those ideas and incorporate a little science? Leave chalk notes about plants you see.

Butterflies love desert marigolds.

In England, “rogue” botanists are using chalk to identify common plants along sidewalks (Guardian article gives details). As they emphasize, when people learn the name of plants they can find out more about them, such as how they provide nectar for pollinators or are food for butterflies.

 

Note:  Make sure you have permission before applying chalk to sidewalks.

Idea 3:  Make a Nature Notebook or Journal

A nature journal is a physical record of your observations.

Below, children’s science author Loree Griffin Burns shares a wonderful nature notebook that her children made when they were younger. She explains what they learned and gives suggestions for making your own.

 

Notice that they used both photographs and drawings.

Curved-bill thrasher and grackle

You can choose either or a combination. Be sure to jot down your observations and date every entry, as well.

Suggestions for starting a nature journal

Idea 4:  Start a Nature Blog

If you are more comfortable with the digital world, then keep you journal as a blog that you can share with friends and family. Some platforms — like Blogger and WordPress.com — can be free.

From the start of this blog in April 2008, the Bug of the Week has been a photographic record of the insects and plants I’ve encountered, mostly in my own neighborhood. Why might this be useful?

Firstly, it helps me remember the names of insects, especially those that I don’t see often. There are more than a million species of insects, so even experts need help.

Blogs can also be a record of life cycles, for example our recent discovery of lady beetles on brittle bush and two weeks later we found lady beetle larvae.

Because I show the insects I’ve photographed that day or within a few days, it is also an archive of seasonality of insect appearance.  For example, this week I noticed two damselflies in the back yard.

This mainly brown one perched on the rim of an old flower pot.

Every minute or so it would launch into the air and grab a gnat. Can you see the gnat snack in its mouth?

About two feet away a bluer version perched on some radish flowers.

With a quick search, in years past I had seen damselflies in August and September.

It is fun to look back over the posts and see what was happening.

Which ideas do you find appealing? Be sure to let us know if you try one or if you have other ideas to suggest.

 

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