Little River Canyon 
Field School

Jacksonville State University
246 Martin Hall
700 Pelham Road North
Jacksonville, AL 36265
(256) 782-5697

Keeping a Nature Journal

How to Get Started

What exactly is a Nature Journal? Both the simplest and most complex answer is . . . a nature journal is whatever you want it to be. For parents and teachers it is an interdisciplinary educational tool. Nature journaling includes elements of creative and descriptive writing, observation skills, art, and science including ecology, geology, water quality, weather, biology and taxonomy. Even spirituality can be enhanced through the nature journal. For the student or journalist, it can be an excuse to go outside, to be alone, to expand artistic and writing skills, and to find the calm and the peace that quiet time in nature can promote.

Getting started is as easy and going for a walk. Take along any easily carried notebook and pen or pencil. Spend the time to record observations as they happen. Include notes on date, time of day, weather observations and place.

Observe BIG

Describe the landscapes, the trees, the creek.

Observe small

Pick an object and describe it to the smallest detail.
  

Drawing and Pressing

You don't have to be an artist to collect detailed information. Try making a rubbing by placing a leaf under a piece of paper, with a pencil held sideways, rub the lead back and forth over the paper to reveal the intricacies of the leaf.

Or press a leaf between the pages.

Photographs

In this age of digital photography, it has never been easier to add photographs to your nature journal. Get up close, document the details and have some fun.

Still need some help?

Check out these websites:

Ranger Rick’s Create Your Own Nature Journal
http://www.nwf.org/kidzone/kzPage.cfm?siteId=3&departmentId=152

The Sierra Club, Environmental Education, Keeping a Nature Journal
http://www.sierraclub.org/education/nature_journal.asp

Smithsonian Education – Introduction to the Nature Journal
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/journals

Connecting with Nature.net
http://www.connecting-with-nature.net/journal.html