What is nature journaling?
I’ve been asked this numerous times and I haven’t found a more succinct or friendly explanation than that given in Make a Date with Nature: an Introduction to Nature Journaling, written and illustrated by Australian scientist/artist Paula Peeters.
You’ll not only find out what it is, but why do it, how to get started, and how to keep it going. You’ll find warm-up exercises for seeing and drawing, and warm-up exercises for your written notes, along with much more in this slender 29-page volume.
Peeters also recently summarized key journaling ideas onto one hand-drawn page that can be printed and placed in your journal.
She makes these two lovely treasures available on her blog, Paperbark Writer: Australian Nature Meets Science and Art.
The Low Down on the Downloads
To download a free copy of the book Make a Date with Nature: an Introduction to Nature Journaling:
Scroll down past the physical book purchase of the same title until you see a box to enter your email. Having entered it, you will receive an immediate PDF of the 29-page book. You can save the file, and print.
To download the one-page prompt of ideas for journaling:
Go to https://www.paperbarkwriter.com/ideas-sheet-for-nature-journaling/
You’ll find both a large image to copy and a link where the PDF is available, again without cost.
With your own nature journal set up, you can print to the correct size and add this, good old glue-style.
Then enjoy!
Thank you, Paula Peeters, for generously making these available; for your honest, imperfect version of the ideas sheet, posted instead of a perfect, polished one you meant to get to. And thank you for your friendly encouraging manner, letting us know that “anyone can draw and anyone can write.”
Want to see a recent interview with Peeters? The Australian network ABC featured this lovely interview with Paula Peeters and her Paleobotanist husband over their work, in the context of their garden.