In “journaling,” which is “the act of writing in a journal,” you can record the events of the day, as in “keeping a diary,” or you can allow yourself the luxury of recording inspirations and connections between what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling.

If you focus on the interesting and intimate world of nature you can write about these direct experiences. Your responses and reflections about nature become “nature journaling.”

Since you are reading the Wild Ones Journal, chances are pretty good that you already have an interest in, or a love of, native plants. I invite you to go on an adventure in nature by journaling – or writing – about your observations and your responses.

Before You Begin

Some people like to record their observations electronically on a computer. If that’s what suits you – do it that way. I prefer to use pen and notebook. There’s something very satisfying about the physical act of running a pen across a page. By doing this the old-fashioned way you can experience a soothing rhythm not found by pounding computer keys.

Writing tools can be pencils, ballpoint pens, or colored ink pens. There are numerous notebooks available for journaling: lined, spiral note-books, three-ring notebooks, unlined sketch books, hardcover or padded-cover books with unlined pages, or soft-cover books with poems and drawings along the edges of the pages.

The choices are endless. You could even write on separate pieces of paper of various sizes and textures and keep them in an envelope or file folder. Try different tools until you discover what you like best. I alternate between spiral notebooks purchased on sale at the beginning of the school year for 25¢ and slightly smaller but thicker sketch pads with unlined pages.

Getting Started: It’s An Attitude

Almost everyone has a fear of writing! It seems so final to write something down for the whole world to judge and criticize. And deep within us, we all think that everything we write has to be perfectly polished.

These are valid feelings, but ones that we have to push aside! I invite you to jump right in. A journal is a personal log, not a school assignment.

A nature journal offers you an excuse to “just enjoy.” Deliberately set aside a few minutes each day to sit in your yard – among your native plants if you wish – and look around. Take a few deep breaths to unwind from your hectic and loud 21st-century life. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Try focusing on just one flower. Does it have buds newly opening? A bug crawling on it? A butterfly visiting it for nectar? Flowers past their peak bloom?

Writing and/or Drawing

There are several different techniques for recording your observations:

• You can jot down impressions in quick phrases or words, not even trying to make coherent, complete sentences. Later, inside in a comfortable setting with perhaps a cozy cup of tea, you can use those quick notes to jog your memory and write more complete observations.
• Or, you can write everything while you’re in the out-of-doors. Sometimes people discover that once they start the words tumble out so fast that they can barely keep up with their thoughts!
• A third way to capture what you’re seeing is to try to make quick little sketches. Before you insist that you can’t draw, try it. The idea is to practice looking at things in nature. The closer you look, the more you will discover how much you are learning. Remember, this is your personal journal. You are not entering it in a juried art exhibition. For some, the act of sketching is much freer and faster than writing.

Since bird watching is one of my hobbies, I like to sketch birds I see, adding details to help me remember field marks. For me, this process, along with taking notes about behavior, helps me to remember the birds much more clearly.

I also sketch new plants to learn them. Getting really close to my subject, noting details, helps me to remember. Does the flower have five petals or four? Are the leaves narrow or wide? Smooth or fuzzy? All of these exercises help me to focus and become more observant.

What Else?

Sometimes when I’m outside I like to collect little bits of nature to tape in my nature journal: a teeny bit of moss, an interesting leaf, a flower to press and preserve. And, I like to add photographs and pictures cut from nature magazines. These add to my impressions and make the journals thick with “stuff” added to my drawings and words. I need to remind you, do not collect in a nature preserve or other area where this is prohibited!

Why Keep a Nature Journal?

Keeping a nature journal encourages an on-going sense of wonder about the natural world. Our writing allows us to explore and discover. If you can visualize writing as a journey instead of a performance, you will find a whole new way of looking at the world. And in the process, I hope you discover a sense of place and a connection that makes you feel a part of the natural world. With this will come a heightened appreciation for the wonder of life. Enjoy!

Lynda Gibson Johnson is a member of the Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter. Author’s note: I would like to thank author Scott Russell Sanders for inspiring me at a writer’s workshop at Severson Dells, Rockford, Illlinois, July, 2002.

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