What is Nature Journaling?
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Are you wondering what is nature journaling? It’s a fun and enjoyable way to get some precious you-time and feel connected to nature for all kinds of self-care and well-being benefits…
Before I started nature journaling myself, I wasn’t sure what it was, what I was supposed to do, or how it worked. Luckily, once I’d researched actually what is nature journaling, I knew it was definitely something I wanted to get involved in, and more importantly, how to get started!
So if you, too, are sat wondering what is nature journaling, and you’re curious about getting started, let me guide you through…
What is nature journaling?
Sycamore seed nature journal pageNature journaling is simply regularly recording your own observations about nature in a book (or electronic record if you prefer).
Nature journaling is a little bit like regular journaling as it involves writing about your own personal experiences, observations, and reflections.
But rather than just being general in scope (about the whole of your life experience) a nature journal focuses in on your relationship with nature.
Your other life experiences might creep in now and then, and that’s okay – this is, after all, a book that’s about you and nature – but they shouldn’t be the main focus of your nature journaling.
Instead, let’s write about our relationship with nature – not just nature in the abstract but nature how we feel it and experience it.
This sounds like it might be a bit ‘airy-fairy’ but it’s not...
It’s just focusing on the things in nature that interest us and attract us – the parts of nature we’re curious about, the nature that we see in our everyday lives, whether that’s the clouds in the sky, the plant on our windowsill, the birds in our garden, the fruit and vegetables in our fridge.
Nature journaling isn’t just writing – it can be drawing, too. The creative aspect was one of the things that first attracted me to nature journaling, as I love to draw from nature. Drawing nature, especially the nature that I’ve experienced for myself, helps me to feel connected to the natural world and that helps me to feel calm yet energised.
It’s not about making pretty pictures though! Drawing in your nature journal is important as a process – it’s the act of seeing and observing and then getting it out of your head down onto paper that allows us to really fully absorb our nature observations and get that feeling of connection with nature that is so beneficial.
Some differences between nature journaling and nature drawing.
Detail from purple-striped orchids in my nature journalSo drawings don’t need to be beautiful! In fact, it’s far better if you’re not worrying about how your finished drawings might look while you’re making them. Simple diagrams and sketches with explanatory notes are perfect for a nature journal. You could also use photos or pressed specimens (if appropriate) if you prefer or in addition to your drawings.
Simple drawings of barley in my nature journalNature journaling is different from keeping a nature sketchbook, though. It’s not just about the drawings and paintings we make in our nature journals, but also the notes and writing that we make around them, explaining our drawings and nature observations and also giving voice to our own experiences and feelings about what we’ve seen, heard, or felt.
Putting you into your nature journal is vital – and your nature journal is yours to work in, in the best way for you! There’s no one right way to nature journal – you literally can’t get it wrong!
Writing and drawing about seeing two magpies in an old apple treeOur nature journals can also contain data and observations about our nature experiences, including date and time, temperature, weather, location, counts and measurements that all help us to fully record the nature we’ve observed.
It doesn't matter if you don't know the names of what you've seen. You can leave them unknown or find out the names and identification surprisingly easily online, if you prefer.
We can also record observations about the environment we’re in to give a fuller picture of how nature is managing to exist in certain spaces. We can also include any questions we might have about our experience – things to sit and ponder on, or things to try and find out later.
This can all be really valuable data for how aspects of nature might change in certain locations or over time.
Although, naturally, we nature journal because it feels good to use and enjoyable to do, nature journaling can be very important to the scientific community - who can take advantage of large numbers of citizen scientists recording the data they need over large areas and over long periods of time – particularly for long-term trends like looking at the effects of climate change or other reasons for nature depletion.
Adding your nature journal observations to apps like iNaturalist or participating in other citizen science counts and projects can help with this and also help you feel like you’re making a difference to nature, too.
Weekly nature observations from my garden in my nature journalWe need to record observations in our nature journal regularly. A journal implies daily, weekly, or regular entries – and while we certainly don’t need or want to put pressure on ourselves to journal daily (although you can if you want to), a regular schedule of every few days, every week, or a couple of times a month will help you to feel involved and connected with your nature journal activity and make the most out of it.
Personally, I journal in my nature journal most days, but if I miss one, two, or even a few days, I don’t worry about it. I just pick it back up again when I’m ready and look for something to journal about.
Even a simple seedpod can end up as an interesting subject to nature journal about!Above all, nature journaling is really good for our physical, mental and emotional health. Getting out in nature (to the best of your ability) can help lower blood pressure and help us de-stress. The act of observing and physically recording nature in our nature journals can help us to feel more mindful, in the sense of feeling more connected to the natural world that surrounds us (even if it’s nature in the middle of the city) and more grounded in the world, present in our bodies and not stuck inside our own heads with a chattering mind…
Writing and drawing in our nature journals can help to stimulate different part of our brains and make us feel more energised and alert (in a nice, relaxed way).
Crocosmia nature journaling pageWe can also appreciate all the wonders of nature that we can find around us – and finding wonder and awe in the world helps to live a happier life, more content with our place in the world. And that, let me tell you, is an awesome place to be in life!
Now you know what is nature journaling, I hope that I’ve inspired you to maybe think about joining me to start your own nature journaling.
If you’d like to find out more about getting started with your first nature journal, including how to journal and what to journal about, as well as materials to use, take a look at my free download guide to getting started, here…
I also have a great online nature journaling course which is a series of fun exercises for your nature journal, designed to help you take your first steps with your nature journal and discover different techniques and ideas to develop your personal nature journaling style - find out more about the course here...
Get ideas and inspiration to help you nature journal in your own way through a series of fun exercises designed to help you start seeing the world differently, learning new skills, and have a happier life feeling more connected to nature...
Find out all about my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' course here...
Nature Journaling Month by Month
Useful Nature and Nature Journaling Resources & Other Stuff
Would you like my FREE 'Getting Started with your First Nature Journal' guide?
Would you like to get started with nature journaling too?
Add your email address below to sign up for my 'Nature Notes with Lotti' newsletter, and I'll send you my free PDF 'Getting Started with your First Nature Journal' guide to help you take your first steps in this fun and absorbing hobby.
I'll also send out regular ideas and nature journal inspiration to help you keep journaling, along with news of my own nature art and illustrations.
My 'Nature Notes with Lotti' newsletter usually comes out around once each month (occasionally more often if there's a special offer on, to ensure you don't miss out).
You can unsubscribe at any time using the 'Unsubscribe' link at the bottom of each email.
What's New Here
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Nature Journaling vs Nature Drawing
Dec 17, 24 05:54 AM
Understanding nature journaling versus nature drawing or natural history illustration... -
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November Nature Journal
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Browse the pages of my November nature journal and explore Autumn in Yorkshire with Lotti - plus get ideas for your own nature journaling... -
Peacock Butterfly Illustration
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Beautiful peacock butterfly illustration by Lotti Brown - watercolour and digital - art prints, T-shirts, totebags... -
Book for Bird Lovers - What the Robin Knows
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Great book for bird lovers who want to understand bird language - What the Robin Knows by Jon Young
Explore more recent additions to the site here...
Online Nature Journaling Course
If you'd like to explore nature journaling more, please consider joining me for my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' online course - I've called it this to remind us to nature journal for the process of connecting with nature to feel good and not to put pressure on ourselves to create pretty pages...
It's a series of 20 lessons or exercises that you can do in your own nature journal to help you try out different ideas and techniques to help you get the most out of your nature journaling sessions and understand what style of nature journaling is the best for you personally.
If this sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about the course here...
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