Nature Journaling
Nature journaling is the practice of sketching and writing outside with the goal of learning about nature. Nature journaling is a powerful tool for learning about plants and animals, a great way to document your discoveries in nature, a mindful practice for connecting to nature, and just a great way to spend time outside. We incorporate nature journaling as much as we can into our education programs, from using it as a reflection tool at the end of field trips to introducing it to our high school Nature Club to ending every day of summer camp with nature journaling time.
Co-Director Eleanor Harris is a passionate nature journaler and she runs quarterly nature journaling meetups here at the Clifton Institute to help people develop their nature journaling skills and meet other nature journalers in the area. These meetups are meant for everyone, whether you have been nature journaling for years or have never nature journaled before but want to try it out. You can find upcoming nature journaling meetups on our calendar here. You can also use the filter on our website calendar to search for nature journaling events.
Eleanor is available to give talks and workshops about nature journaling to any interested groups. She is also available to come into schools and lead nature journaling programs for either students or teachers. Get in touch with Eleanor here to request a program.
Eleanor periodically emails a list of interested nature journalers to spend an afternoon sketching together here at Clifton. Email Eleanor to be added to that list.
You can also email Eleanor any time you just want some encouragement to get out and nature journal, advice about how to journal, suggestions for seasonal topics, or anything else that would be helpful!
If you’re looking for inspiration, you can find some of Eleanor’s nature journaling pages in the gallery below, as well as on our Instagram page and on her personal Instagram page. You can download a presentation Eleanor gave about nature journaling to the Piedmont Chapter of VNPS here.
Our favorite books about nature journaling are John Muir Laws’ The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and DrawingandHow to Teach Nature Journaling(which has great prompts for journaling whether or not you are teaching).
John Muir Laws also has an incredible amount of resources, included recorded classes and workshops, on his website. One of our favorite resources there is the Nature Journal Connection, a 40-video series working through the basics of how to nature journal. It’s designed for children, but we find ourselves returning to it again and again as adult nature journalers.
Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie is another great book about nature journaling
Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook by Jean Mackay is a nice option for younger nature journalers.
The Nature Journal Club on Facebook is a great source of inspiration and community.