A foray into nature journaling
Do you keep a nature journal or are you interested in starting one?
I was excited to join John Muir “Jack” Laws last Sunday as he guided a small group of Point Reyes Bird & Nature festival goers on a nature journaling hike at McClures Beach. He explained that “memory is a creative process” and if you want to remember something more fully, you need to engage your brain in multiple ways. For example, speak your thoughts out loud to process and remember them, and use journaling to slow yourself down and lock in your observations. Along with drawings, use words and numbers and to really challenge your mind, ask yourself, “what am I not noticing?” Jack shared that “deliberate attention binds you to a place”. He instructed us to ask ourselves three prompts as we journaled: I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of.
Finally, Jack encouraged us to collect our observations and then make them personal. What do you notice about your feelings as you’re looking at a flower or tree? What does it remind you of in your lived experiences? Get creative and compose a poem or a song in your journal.
What did I journal about?
As I headed down the trail to McClures Beach, a White-winged March Fly (Bibio albipennis) landed on my hand so I took the opportunity to draw the fly while observing it. As it flew into the air, it revealed a thin dark body part hidden under its wings. How surprising that its translucent wings did such a good job of concealing the appendage. The first subject had chosen me.
The next subject of wonder was the pale watercolor-like petals of the Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus) flower that lined the sides of the trail and were impossible to ignore. Looking closely, the heart shaped pattern of the petals came into focus, and I noticed how much the petals looked like wrinkled butterfly wings. I wondered how and why this plant had so many different colored flowers in one area, for example, a pink-flowered plant right next to a yellow one. I saw one plant with two different colored flowers, but then realized it was overlapping stalks from different plants. I jotted down a question in my journal to remind me to research it later.
Start a nature journal
May is the perfect month to start a nature journal with long days and plenty of birds, flowers, and bugs.
Grab a notebook, pen, and some colored pencils and head outside. Carry them so they are handy.
Write something on the page to break the ice and get started such as the date, place, and weather conditions.
Look for something of beauty or wonder. Get curious. Ask yourself the 3 prompts: I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of. Make the page personal.
Don’t worry if your journal entry doesn’t look beautiful. Mine certainly did not. Keep practicing and your journaling will get better.
I hope you have the good fortune of taking a nature journaling class with Jack Laws. I left filled with inspiration and excitement to keep journaling.
Start journaling and don’t worry if it looks good or doesn’t capture everything. You will develop better journaling skills and your own style over time.