Nature Observation - Nature Journaling

02/07/2023

Check out this nature journal for students!

05/31/2020

This is what having a regular sit spot practice can do for you!

Paul Rule's finds range from tiny water fleas to hedgehogs and bee orchids.

04/28/2020

Here's a fun activity for you from the New York Times:

Release your inner explorer. Here’s a way to relive, commemorate or envision a favorite place in the world by creating an illustrated map.

03/21/2020

John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren have written a new curriculum for nature journaling. It will be available in print in a few months. Since so many families are confined to their homes right now, they have decided to release a PDF version for free. You can get find it here:

by John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren; Foreword by Amy Tan 31 hands-on field activities to connect art, science, math, and critical thinking, while encouraging students and mentors alike to recognize and record the wonder and beauty in the natural world. Expanding on the philosophy and methods of my l...

03/19/2020

I got tired of carrying my bulky palette in the field, so I created a "dot card" with all my colors. Now I can have all my paints right in my sketchbook!

I use an old plastic sleeve as a cover for the paints. Some of them (the M. Graham's) were sticking to the plastic so I rubbed a thin layer of coconut oil on the plastic to keep the paints from attaching - it works great!

I use a waterbrush for painting, and a simple piece of folded paper towel is perfect for cleaning the brush.

03/19/2020

Today I made a sketch and observations using a modified version of PLT's "Planet Diversity" exercise. I like to observe all the life in a column rather than just in a circle on the ground. I'm still working on how to represent the contents of the column on paper. Next time I may draw a series of stacked discs rather than a tube.

What would a "column of life" look like at your favorite spot? What plants and animals do you find inside of it?

04/13/2018

OMG!

This is a leaf mimic butterfly, Zaretis isidora, out of the Neotropics.

04/07/2018

That's a helluva nature journal!

03/31/2018

WOW!

03/18/2018

Curious. Any theories?