WHAT IS A NATURE JOURNAL?

A nature journal is a book or notebook where you can record your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations about the natural world.

WHY KEEP A JOURNAL?

There are a lot of reasons to keep a journal!  First of all, recording observations and thoughts in a book is a good way  to get to know your natural surroundings. Also, sometimes it’s hard to care about something when you don’t know much about it. When you learn about nature, you’ll want to help take care of it.

Journaling can also be an exercise in collecting scientific data. For example, it can include an on-going record of a specific location and how that location changes through the seasons.Your journal could also contain information such as where and when to look for particular wildflowers or birds.

Just as scrapbooking helps us preserve memories of events with family and friends, journaling is a way for to record our feelings about our outdoor experiences. And it’s a lot of fun to look back through them later.

ORGANIZING YOUR JOURNAL

There are no set rules to follow while nature journaling. You might include just one topic in your journal, such as butterflies or rocks. You might keep a record of everything they find in one year. You could organize it by month or by season. Your journal might be a record of one location, such as a park or a backyard.

SUPPLIES

You’ll need to gather a few supplies before you begin journaling. The type of journal you use depends on your own style. You could use:

* An ordinary tablet

* A sketchbook with unlined pages

* A mix the types of paper (lined & unlined) clipped into a 3-ring binder

* A homemade journal using cardstock for the cover and clean paper for the pages.

* A composition book or office journal

* A regular spiral notebook. If using a lined notebook with drawings on separate sheets of unlined paper, they can be cut and pasted into the journal.

* Loose paper clipped onto a hard surface (such as a clipboard) to add to a folder later

 

OTHER SUPPLIES

* Pencils and erasers

* Glue sticks for putting drawings into books

* Colored pencils

*Watercolors (easy to travel with)

* Natural items for drawing, like rubbing a leaf or berry on the paper for color.

* Pen

* Field guides of birds, snakes, lizards, mammals, rocks, trees, etc.

 

WHAT TO INCLUDE

Every journal entry should include:

* Time

* Date

* Place

* Weather

 

Journals can also include:

* What you saw, heard, or smelled. Try to identify the objects, plants, and animals you find. T

* Drawings in pencil, pen, colored pencils, or watercolors. You don’t have to color your pictures — you  can leave them in pencil. Look very closely at the specimens as you draw, and don’t worry if you’re drawings aren’t perfect* Scientific Names/Common names of specimens

* Interesting fact or two about the specimen

* Poetry – a special poem they know or one of their own

* Hymns or Scriptures

* Photographs

* Pressed leaves or flowers

* Leaf Rubbings: Place the leaf under a sheet of paper and rub over it with the side of a crayon.

GETTING STARTED

The best way to get started is to go on a nature walk. Go outside and record the necessary data: time, date, place, and weather. Walk around and observe anything that catches your attention. It might be a bird’s nest, a shiny rock, a beautiful wildflower or a tiny acorn.

After you’ve observed and drawn the object, write a few lines about it. Does the object remind you of a song or a funny poem? You can describe it in detail or write about how it makes you feel. You might draw more, you might write more. Either way is fine.

Now head outside and journal!

 

Photo by Pippalou