Explore every episode of the podcast Journaling With Nature

Victoria is a Chilean artist based in Germany. Her botanical art balances scientific accuracy with creative freedom, exploring themes of social masking, neurodivergence, female identity, and belonging.

Listen to hear more about:

• Victoria’s early connection with nature and creativity.  
• Moving from Chile to Germany and how art helped her connect with her new environment.
• Studying botanical art by correspondence. 
• The joys and challenges of working with live plants.
• The botanical artists that have influenced and inspired Victoria.
• The differences between traditional and contemporary botanical art. 
• Working from pressed herbarium specimens. 
• Victoria’s relationship with ‘perfectionism’.
• The tools used by botanical artists.
• Colour mixing ‘recipes’. 
• Victoria’s body of work exploring identity and the experience of social masking.
• The reason why Victoria feels an affinity with orchids. 
• Victoria’s online course Botanical Watercolors: Learn to Paint Realistic Flowers.
   

You can find Victoria on her website (www.victoria-beyer.com) and on Instagram @victoria_botanical and @victoria.beyer.artist.

Learn from Victoria in her online course Botanical Watercolors: Learn to Paint Realistic Flowers. 

Sign up to Victoria’s mailing list to receive a 10% discount on her artwork, an art catalogue and more!

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

International Nature Journaling Week is coming up again very soon (1-7th June). In this episode we will explore the themes and ways that you can get involved in the celebration.
 
Our overarching theme this year is Conversations With Nature. We will explore ways that we can listen, learn from, and communicate with the natural world. We will have a daily theme to focus our journaling. These daily themes will be:

1. Describing the indescribable
2. Playing with words
3. Exploring nature through poetry
4. Storytelling with nature
5. Listening attentively
6. Sensing the world around us
7. Creating a vision for the future

The website for International Nature Journaling Week is www.naturejournalingweek.com. The best way to stay in touch and not miss anything is by signing up to the newsletter. 

On the INJW website there is a Journal Share page where you can share your work with others and leave encouragement and support for other people’s pages. 

You can connect with others from all around the world on the INJW Facebook group. To share your pages on Instagram or Facebook, use the hashtag #naturejournalingweek.com. 

If you would like to see my daily pages during the week and participate in giveaways, follow @journalingwithnature on Instagram.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Maria is an expeditionary artist whose work has led her to some of the planet’s most wild and remote locations. Collaborating with scientific research teams, Maria uses art as a tool for communication. She is the founder of Art Toolkit, a company that specialises in portable materials for adventurous artists.

Listen to hear more about:

• The links between Maria’s early life and her career as an expeditionary artist.
• The fellowship that allowed Maria to travel the world and make art for a year.
• The similarities and differences between the Arctic and the Antarctic landscapes.
• The process of communication between scientific research team and artist.
• Landscape sketching.
• Active observation.
• Using art to communicate the science of climate change.
• The development of Art Toolkit.
• Micro-adventures in our everyday lives. 
   

You can find Maria’s art and adventures at www.expeditionaryart.com. To learn more about Art Toolkit, visit their website and Instagram @arttoolkit. 

Art Toolkit have a wonderful collection of demonstrations and tutorials over on YouTube. 

Maria and the Art Toolkit team have generously created a discount code for listeners (valid until July 31st, 2025). The code is: NATUREJOURNALING15. You can apply the code at checkout to get 15% off your purchase. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Seeds are magical little packages of potential! Each seed holds all the genetic information needed to grow into a plant that may feed us, provide shade, or offer food and habitat for wildlife. The diversity of seeds is both fascinating and valuable, making them the perfect subject for our nature journals.

I would love to hear about the seeds that you have been exploring in your nature journal. You can leave a comment on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Jennifer is a gardener, author and podcast host. By examining the intersection between gardens and human culture, her work helps to expand how we think about gardens, positioning gardeners as essential knowledge-holders and change-makers of our time.

Listen to hear more about:

• Jennifer’s first garden.
• The lessons a garden can teach us.
• Expanding the definition of gardening and reflecting on what gardening means to us.
• Our biological and cultural ties to flowers.  
• The cultivated spaces that make Jennifer feel at home.
• The feeling of loving a garden.
• Jennifer’s book What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological and Cultural Significance of Seeds. 
• Gardens as places of hope during uncertain times.
• Jennifer’s garden journaling practice.
   

To learn more about Jennifer, you can explore the Cultivating Place website or find her on Instagram @cultivating_place.

Jennifer has written three books that you can order from your local, independent bookstore:

• The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants. 
• Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. 
• What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological and Cultural Significance of Seeds.

Jennifer will be a guest speaker at this 2025 Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference. You can buy your ticket to the conference here. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

We are often very good at encouraging others and noticing things to admire in the artwork of those around us, but it can be more challenging to offer those same gentle words to ourselves. This week, we will practice finding things to love about our own creations and speaking to ourselves with kindness and generosity.

I noticed this when I was sketching with my son. It was easy to find things to love about the work of the other person, but difficult to say these things about our own work. Do you have the same feeling? I would love to know how you respond to this and how you offer gentle encouragement to yourself.

On a recent trip to Sydney, I attended a book event by Amie McNee who is an amazing champion of artists. You can find her book here: We Need Your Art. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

James is an artist and wilderness guide from New York. Driven by a desire to make the outdoors accessible to more people, James created Hike and Draw - a platform where he combines art and education to help people connect with nature in a meaningful way.

Listen to hear more about:

• The rhythm of the seasons in New York.
• How the Scouting movement taught James to thrive in a range of outdoor environments.
• How James developed Hike and Draw.
• How nature connection can combat loneliness.
• The early natural historians that inspire James’ work.
• The difference between and expedition and an adventure and how this relates to nature journaling.
• How a broken leg led James to nature journaling!
• How to be guided by ethics when interacting with nature.
• Nature journaling as a tool for conducting scientific research.
• Finding your niche.
• Socialising your research.
• The power of mountains.
   

You can learn more about James and his work on his website www.hikeanddraw.nyc and on Instagram @james_sisti. 

Get a hardcopy of the book using this link: A Field Guide to Nature Journaling.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Learning some facts can be a powerful tool for understanding and connecting with animals. Following on from our conversation with Lee Putman from Facts and Fine Liners, let’s go on our own fact-finding adventure and see what we can learn about our chosen animal species.

I would love to hear your experience with researching facts about an animal. Did you feel more connected with the species? You can leave a comment on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Lee is an artist and educator based in London. Weaving together fine art and storytelling, his compelling videos open us to the fascinating wonders of the animal kingdom.

Listen to hear more about:

• Lee’s creative history, including the development of his street dance and fine art. 
• Incorporating movement into art practice.
• Creating art that has a positive outlook. 
• Animal activism through art. 
• Storytelling and its influence on Lee’s life and work. 
• Telling the story of animals that might not be typically charismatic. 
• Sketching animals from life.
• Lee’s upcoming online drawing session for the Saturday Sketch Club at the Royal Academy.
• How interactions with other artists can help orientate you within your ‘artistic ecosystem’. 
• Communication through the language of art.

Find Lee on social media over on Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok.

You can find Lee’s beautiful fine art prints in the online store on his website www.factsandfineliners.co.uk.

Be sure to sign up to be part of Lee’s online session for the Saturday Sketch Club for the Royal Academy: Saturday Sketch Club - drawing animals. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Contemplating Earth as part of a vast solar system, galaxy, and universe offers a powerful perspective. Let's explore ways to use nature journaling to connect with our place in space.

In the episode I chat about the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Listen to episode 175 of this podcast where I talk with Kate Skinner about many things including the book Orbital. 

You can revisit Roseann Hanson’s field trip to Mars here: Virtual Field Trip: Let’s Explore Mars!

I would love to hear your perspective on understanding our place in space through your nature journal. You can leave a comment on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Kirstie is a teacher and nature journaler from Alaska. Her career has led her through a wide range of teaching situations, always with a focus on respect for people and place.

Listen to hear more about:

• Kirstie’s career that has spanned a wide range of teaching situations. 
• The natural environment in Alaska. 
• The vegetable garden as a place of joy. 
• The story of how Kirstie came to nature journaling. 
• Collaborations within the Alaskan nature journaling community.
• Documenting the dawn chorus in your nature journal.
• The benefits and joys of garden journaling.
• The Global GeoArt Blitz
• The study of ethnobotany. 
• The human connection with plants.

To learn more about Seward Nature Journaling and the work Kirstie is doing in her community visit: Seward Nature Journaling.

To find out about the Global GeoARTBlitz, visit Rosann Hanson’s website here.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Nature journaling offers a way to document these events while also capturing our personal experiences and responses.

Two nature journalers who document the effects of extreme weather are Miriam Morrill from @pyrosketchology and Robin Lee Carlson in her book The Cold Canyon Fire Journals. 

If you are interested to learn how to make a cyanometer, you can watch my little tutorial here.

I would love to hear about your experience of nature journaling big weather events. Leave a comment below this post over on the Journaling With Nature website.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Angela is a writer, scientist, and natural historian. Through her writing, she celebrates the power of the local—what can be discovered when we slow down, tune in, and notice the subtle wonders of the world around us.

Listen to hear more about:

• How the 2020 lockdowns started Angela’s writing project that would become her book Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters.
• Angela’s writing process at home and while travelling.
• The natural history authors who inspire Angela. 
• Learning the flora and fauna of a new country.
• Connecting with individual animals in your area. 
• The circle of natural connections.
• The importance of appreciating the local.
• The art of strategic neglect in the garden.
• Angela’s new book Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home.

For more information about Angela and her work visit www.angelaedouglas.com.
Find out more about Angela’s book here: Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters.
Preorder Angela’s new book here: Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home.

Authors that have influenced Angela’s natural history writing: 

• Gilbert White - The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.
• Anna Comstock – The Handbook of Nature Study.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Spirals are all around us in nature, and finding them can be a joyful challenge. This week, let’s go on a treasure hunt by tuning into the spirals in our nearby nature and capturing them on the pages of our nature journals.

I would love to hear about the spirals you found this week. You can leave a comment below this post on the Journaling With Nature website.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

 

Trina is a science teacher at a nature-based school, where she weaves together science and art through nature journaling. By guiding her students in an immersive learning experience, she helps them explore the world while creatively capturing their observations.

Listen to hear more about:

• Teaching science in a nature-based school.
• Modelling nature journaling habits by drawing alongside the students.
• Learning from the expertise of the community. 
• Surveying stream biology during Biodiversity Day.
• Starting a nature journal club in your area.  
• Simple art materials that you can use on-the-go.
• Adapting your nature journal classes to suit children of different ages.
• Inspiring nature writers.
   

Click the link to find out more about the North Central Nature Journal Collaborative. 
You can find out about Trina’s nature adventures over on Instagram @treenswalton.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Imagining ourselves in a landscape can be a calming and peaceful experience. What if we transformed these imagined landscapes into nature journal entries? These entries could serve as a source of calm when needed or even as the first step in bringing our envisioned landscapes to life.

If you try today's prompt, I would love to hear about your experience and what the activity brought you. You can leave a comment below this post on the Journaling With Nature website.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

 

This very special episode is a celebration of the life of Kate Skinner. Kate was passionate about human rights and social justice. She had a deep love of literature and the transformative power of human stories. Her warmth and love was felt by everyone in her life.

Listen to hear more about:

• The freedom of unstructured outdoor play in childhood.
• The values of social justice woven into Kate’s family life.
• Literature in the classroom and the ways Kate engaged her students in learning.
• The importance of landscape in literature and how it shapes characters and readers.
• How good writing can stretch past the limitations of our language.
• Finding lessons and meaning in literature.
• How reading develops empathy.
• Processing deep emotions through communication.
• Kate’s love of teaching.
• How curiosity helps us connect with life and with each other.

Here is a list of the books Kate refers to during the interview: 

Alexis Wright – Carpentaria

Emily Brontë - Wuthering Heights

John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath

Samantha Harvey - Orbital 

Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional

Rebecca Solnit - Orwell’s Roses

George Eliot - Silas Marner

Elizabeth Strout – Olive Kitteridge

Azar Nafisi - Reading Lolita in Tehran

Charles Dickens – David Copperfield

Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperhead

Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden

The celebration of Kate’s life that we talked about during our conversation was recorded. You can watch it here: Celebrate Kate. 

-----------------

Thank you for listening!

Symbiosis is a close biological relationship between two different organisms, where at least one benefits from their interaction. Symbiosis highlights the interconnectedness and interdependence of living organisms and we will explore the different types of symbiosis in today’s prompt episode. 

I would love to hear all about your plans for your nature journal this year and any examples of symbiosis you have noticed in your nearby nature. You can leave a comment below this post on the Journaling With Nature website.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!


 

Juliene is an artist and watercolour educator. Through her engaging classes and vibrant online community, Juliene inspires artists to build creative confidence and embrace the joy of painting. 

Listen to hear more about:

• The winding career path that led Juliene to becoming a watercolour educator.
• The natural landscape in Montana.
• Learning to love watercolour as a medium. 
• Pivoting from a product to a process orientation.
• Painting murals.
• The #ipaintedthat challenge. 
• Co-creating with watercolour. 
• Juliene's signature course The Colour Mixing Lab.
   

You can learn more about Juliene and her art at www.julienesinclair.com. Juliene is also on Instagram @juliene.sinclair and on YouTube @julienesinclair.

To sign up to Juliene’s signature course and get a 5% discount off the usual price, use this link: The Colour Mixing Lab.


-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

When the world feels like it is in a dark place and things appear out of control, focusing on what brings hope can sustain us. Hope not only offers solace but also motivation to make positive change. Our nature journals can become a place to cultivate hope. Let’s share hopeful ideas and resources this week.

Some hopeful resources that I love:

Jane Goodall Institute

Jane Goodall Hopecast

Doug Tallamy

Ross Gay

I would love you to share your experiences and ideas about nature journaling hope by leaving a comment on the Journaling With Nature website below this episode.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Artist and bird enthusiast Ria Kotze explores her curiosity and passion for nature through creativity. Her story has taken her on adventures to many parts of the world, and now her biggest adventure of all is following her paintbrush wherever it leads.

Listen to hear more about:

• The species that sparked Ria’s birding passion.
• Finding her creative style and following the paintbrush.
• Keeping a perpetual journal and contributing to citizen science.
• Being a lifelong learner.
• The artists and educators who inspire Ria. 
• Sharing nature journaling with young people.
• Ecologically responsible art materials.
• The ways that Ria’s art practice has changed and developed over time.

Learn more about Ria at www.bluefeatherart.com and connect on Instagram @followyouryarn.

Here is a list of inspiring creatives that Ria mentioned during our conversation: 

Lara Call Gastinger
John Muir Laws
Roseann Hanson
Geninne Zlatkis
Sharon Field
Max Romy
Natalie Eslick

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Being in nature offers endless opportunities to be surprised and delighted by all the wonders that we find there. When you are outside, tune your awareness to those things that are new and different, to those surprising moments that make you gasp from joy and wonder.

I would love to hear about the moments that make you gasp with delight. Share your stories by leaving a comment under this episode on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!


 

Nics is a business and personal coach from Edinburgh, Scotland. She is training to be a forest bathing guide and approaches her work and nature connection practice with curiosity, an open heart, and a firm belief in the awesomeness of individuals. 

Listen to hear more about:

• The ways that Edinburgh’s history and culture intertwine with nature.
• Life lessons learned from observing nature. 
• Connecting with others in your community with authenticity and intention. 
• Nature journaling as a mindfulness practice.
• The importance of play. 
• Using different journals and how that can encourage creativity.
• Nature journaling while on holiday.
• The beauty of bees.

Learn more about Nics’ consulting work here: https://www.nxjconsulting.com/.

Connect with Nics on Instagram @nics610 and Facebook Nature CoNxtion. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

This month I am going to be using a prompt list to encourage myself to keep a regular garden journal again. This has been inspired by Inktober which is an art challenge where participants sketch something in ink, every day for the month of October. There is an official list, but I have created my own. I am calling this challenge Inktober in the Garden. Each prompt is just one word related to gardens and gardening and is aimed to get us thinking in different ways about the beauty of our cultivated space. 

Here is the list:

1. Pollinator; 2. Fruit; 3. Scented; 4. Germinate; 5. Wild; 6. Sun; 7. Growth; 8. Mulch; 9. Tendril; 10. Water; 11. Sow; 12. Flower; 13. Soil; 14. Shade; 15. Cultivated; 16. Climbing; 17. Root; 18. Invertebrate; 19. Companion; 20. Textured; 21. Supported; 22. Leaf; 23. Herb; 24. Seed; 25. Insect; 26. Weed; 27. Compost; 28. Tools; 29. Seedling; 30 Pod; 31. Harvest. 

If you would like to join me, you can use each prompt or just dip into the ones that inspire you the most. I would love to see your pages! If you are on social media you can use the hashtag #inktoberinthegarden or you can email me your pages at bethan@journalingwithnature.com. 

If you don’t have a garden, you can use the prompts to get inspired by your local park or green space.
 

I have created a blog post with this information. You can find it here: Inktober in the Garden. 

I am also excited to share the news that I have opened my online store! You can find it over on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Ane is a multilingual translator living in Basque Country. Ane’s work explores the ways that nature and creativity can foster wellbeing.

Listen to hear more about:

• The similarities between language translation and painting.
• The reasons why Ane chooses to prioritise using the Basque language in her work and nature journal.
• The significance of colour for wellbeing. 
• Ane’s ‘Paint Your Wellness’ sessions.
• How the combination of nature and creativity can help with anxiety. 
• The benefits of quick sketching in nature.
• Painting as meditation.
• Finding wonder in nature.
• Keeping a travel sketchbook.

You can connect with Ane on Instagram @anegaral.art and on YouTube. 
Click here to learn more about green sketching.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Windows are there to connect us with the wider world. Look out your window and journal about what you see. Can you see trees, or the sky? Can you see human stories unfolding? Sketch what you see and describe it with words.

My favourite window-gazing journalers are Clare Walker Leslie and Brooke Morales. Brooke is teaching about painting skies at the upcoming Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference which is happening from September 18-22, 2024. 

Let me know what you are seeing from your own window by leaving a comment under this episode on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Maja is a multi-creative Danish artist living in Sydney, Australia. Maja dedicated herself to filling a hand-made nature journal each month for a year and came to know nature in her adopted country more deeply through the process.

Listen to hear more about:

• Plant awareness disparity and how it affects our ability to connect with plants. 
• The differences between nature in Australia and Denmark. 
• Maja’s year-long nature journaling project. 
• Finding balance in your nature journal practice. 
• Creative constraints and how they can be freeing.
• Maja’s art challenge #shroomtember and how you can get involved.
• Incorporating sustainability into our art practice.
• Zines and how they connect people. 
• The Sydney Nature Journal Club.
• Finding your way back to nature journaling after a break.

You can find Maja on Instagram and Behance and follow along with her art challenge #shroomtember.

If you are in the Sydney area and would like to connect with other nature journalers, you can find the Sydney Nature Journal Club on Meetup and on Instagram. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Looking back at our old journals can show how our practice has developed and remind us of techniques we would like to use again. Sometimes we can even answer our own nature questions! For today’s prompt, we will revisit our past journal pages and see what they can teach us.

I would love to hear about your experience looking back at old journals. Leave a comment below this post over on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

 Thanks for listening!

Using her experiences in the natural world as inspiration, Naomi creates detailed fine art with the aim of connecting people with wildlife. She is passionate about using art to help support wildlife conservation projects around the world.

Listen to hear more about:

• The beautiful landscapes and wildlife of Naomi’s nearby nature.
• The importance of the ocean for Naomi’s wellbeing and art practice.
• The steps involved in creating a realistic seascape.  
• Naomi’s painting space and artistic process.
• The importance of colour. 
• Capturing the life of an animal subject through the eyes. 
• The relationship between time spent in nature and a motivation to protect wildlife.
• Ways that artists can use their art to make a difference in the world. 
• Naomi’s experiences participating in the International Tall Ships Race. 
• The role that sketchbooks play in Naomi’s art practice.
• How play can inform our work. 

Find Naomi’s artwork on her website www.naomijenkinart.com and on Instagram @naomijenkinart. To find out more about the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation click here. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

The traditional Japanese calendar divides the year into 72 microseasons, each representing a period of change in the natural world. Pay attention to the small changes that happen in your region and see if you can identify some microseasons of your own.

This week we are experimenting with an idea inspired by Mary Jo Hoffman, which is to explore the microseasons in our own part of the world. You can find the seasons that Mary Jo has identified for her own region in her book STILL: The Art of Noticing. 

I would love to hear about the microseasons you identify in your own region. Leave a comment below this episode. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Every day for over twelve years, Mary Jo has posted a photograph of nature on her blog STILL. More than just a daily creative project, STILL has offered deep insights and connection to place.

Listen to hear more about:

• A childhood spent exploring nature.
• How an aptitude for mathematics led Mary Jo into a career as an aerospace engineer.
• The beginnings of STILL blog and the initial parameters of the project. 
• Fitting a one-a-day project into an already busy family life. 
• Being in a state of ‘creative noticing’. 
• Going deeper rather than wider in her exploration of nature.
• The 72 micro-seasons of Mary Jo’s bioregion.  
• The importance of play. 
• How engineering and mathematics influence her creative work. 
• The family’s travels in France. 
• The fusion of life and art. 
• Falling in love with the landscape wherever you are. 

Visit stillblog.net to explore Mary Jo’s incredible project. You can also connect with Mary Jo on Instagram @maryjohoffman. Find STILL: The Art of Noticing here.

Steve Hoffman’s memoir A Season For That: Lost and Found in the Other Southern France can be found here.

Keep in touch with Mary Jo’s work by signing up to the STILL newsletter here. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Bringing play into our nature journaling practice is an invitation to lean towards joy and freedom and away from perfectionism and self-criticism. Start your journaling sessions with play – embrace all of your silly, wonky, imperfect, life-filled lines and have fun!

Over on the Journaling With Nature YouTube channel I have a playlist where you can follow along with different exercises to loosen up and play:

Creative Play for Nature Journalers

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to hear more about:

• How Kaddi came to nature journaling.
• Kaddi’s ideal day in nature.
• How nature was a solace for Kaddi during a challenging time.
• The growing nature journaling community in Germany and other German speaking regions in Europe.
• The regular in-person and online nature journaling gatherings that are happening in Germany.
• The importance of giving supportive feedback.
• Starting a nature journal club in your area.
• Travelling nature journals.
• Nature journaling as meditation.
• Kaddi’s hopes and plans for nature journaling in the future.

Follow Kaddi on Instagram @kaddikaracho and on YouTube @NatureJournalette.

Some of the groups and workshops mentioned can be found here:

https://wildniswind.de/

• Nature Journaling Deutschland website
• Nature Journaling Deutschland group on Facebook
• German nature journal clubs map
• Weekly online sessions of Nature Journaling and Tea and Nature Journaling and Coffee can be found on the website of Verena Hillgärtner: Wieder Wilder Werden.
• Wild Wonder Educators Workshop
• Wildniswind

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Today’s prompt comes from a challenge created by last week’s guest, Sofia Gazarian. Sofia’s idea was to draw or paint the same bird each month for a year. Through this process you will be able to watch your own progress as you develop your skills of drawing birds. You can control the variables by using the same time limit for your sketch, as well as using the same reference photo, materials and paper size. Give it a go if it sounds like a fun challenge to you!

To find inspiration from Sofia’s One Year Bird page, visit her Instagram @printyourbird. If you post your own page on Instagram, use the hashtag #oneyearbird so Sofia can see your birds!

Find royalty free bird photos:

Unsplash - https://unsplash.com/
Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Sofia has a passion for birdwatching. While cultivating a daily sketching habit, Sofia has learned that you can find birds and make amazing discoveries even in the heart of a big city.

Listen to hear more about:

• Making personal discoveries in nature. 
• How Sofia went from selling vintage bird art to drawing and painting her own birds. 
• The bird illustrators that inspire Sofia.
• How a birding challenge helped Sofia make many discoveries her local parks.
• Using a monocular for capturing bird photos on your phone.
• Tips for beginner birdwatchers.
• Keeping a bird journal.
• Drawing the same bird each month to track your artistic progress.
• The calming effect of drawing birds.

Illustrators who have inspired Sofia’s drawing:

John James Audubon
George Edwards
John and Elizabeth Gould
Ohara Koson
David Sibley
John Muir Laws
Danny Gregory 
Felix Scheinberger

Apps that Sofia uses while birdwatching:

Merlin Bird ID
BirdNET
eBird

To follow along with Sofia’s bird drawing journey find her on Instagram @printyourbird.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Today we are exploring the corners of our environment, the neglected places that we do not normally visit. There are nature stories here too. Take some time to nature journal the things that you notice in a place that might have been overlooked for a while.

While I was playing with my son in the garden, I came across a corner that we never usually visit. It made me think that there are neglected parts of our environment that also have stories to tell. This week I will be nature journaling in a corner of my space, and I invite you to do the same. If you do not have a garden, seek out a corner of your local park, or even a corner of your home. What do you find there? What nature stories are playing out in these neglected spaces?

I would love to see what you find in your local environment. Leave a comment below this post on the Journaling With Nature website. 

I plan to create more videos over on YouTube. If you are interested to see these prompts as videos, head over there and subscribe to stay in touch. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Jarod is a poet, author and podcaster who writes intimately about the appreciation of nature, the interconnectedness of all things, and the complex experience of being human.

Listen to hear more about:

• Jarod’s first experiences writing poetry in nature. 
• The wildlife Jarod encounters living between a park and a cemetery.
• The interconnections between all living and non-living parts of our world. 
• Remembering that we are part of nature. 
• The Cryptonaturalist Podcast and finding deeper love for nature through fictional worlds. 
• The joy of living in a world of unanswered questions. 
• Finding balance between destructive and constructive mindsets.
• Jarod’s new book Something in the Woods Loves You. 
• Depression and how nature can be a balm during these times.
• The value of delight and whimsy. 

Find out more about Jarod and his work on his website https://www.jarodkanderson.com/ or connect on Instagram @cryptonaturalist.

You can pre-order a copy of Something in the Woods Loves You here.

Listen to Jarod’s podcast here: The Cryptonaturalist. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

International Nature Journaling Week is coming up again soon (1-7th June) and in this episode I chat about all the ways that you can get involved during the week.

Our overarching theme this year is ‘Celebrating the Cycles of Life’ and our daily themes will explore the biological processes that organisms might go through in their lifecycles. The daily themes are:

1. Germination and emergence
2. Growth and development
3. Metamorphosis and transformation
4. Reproduction and replication
5. Fruiting and dispersal
6. Decay and decomposition
7. Renewal and regeneration

The website for International Nature Journaling Week is: www.naturejournalingweek.com. The best way to stay in touch with what’s coming up during the week is to subscribe to the newsletter.

You can connect with others from all around the world on the INJW Facebook page. If you would like to see my daily pages during the week and participate in giveaways, follow @journalingwithnature on Instagram.

If you would like to share a short video of yourself talking about one of the prompts, email me at bethan@journalingwithnature.com and I will share how you can do this. 

If you are interested to see Susanne Swing Thompson’s new book A Closer Look: The Neighborhood, visit her website here. 

We look forward to sharing with you during International Nature Journaling Week 2024!

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.
 

Thanks for listening!

Through her work, painter and printmaker Suzy Sharpe explores the ways that humans and nature are interconnected and how humans make meaning from this connection through creative expression.

Listen to hear more about:

• Studying fine art and illustration while raising a family.
• Finding the balance between highlighting environmental issues and celebrating nature.
• The natural environment in rural Cornwall.
• Experiencing history through the landscape.
• The places in nature that inspire the feeling of awe, for Suzy.
• How spending time with children can reignite our experience of awe.
• Nature connection and how it weaves itself into our poetry and folk tales.
• The art and nature writing that have been influential for Suzy as a creative.
• Collaborating with charities.
• Botanical monoprinting.

To learn more about Suzy’s work visit her website: https://www.impressionsofnature.co.uk/. You can also connect on Instagram @ impressionsofnatureprints and on YouTube. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Free writing is a technique where we write continuously for a period of time, without censorship or judgment. It can help us connect with our natural surroundings as well as our inner landscape, and can bring clarity, insight and a sense of calm.

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Anastasiia is a watercolour artist, creative mentor, and digital nomad, sharing her travel sketchbook and adventures. Through her courses and online community, Anastasiia helps other artists follow their own creative paths.

Listen to hear more about:

• The classical art training Anastasiia received at art school in Russia.
• The personal project that started Anastasiia on the path of botanical and nature illustration.
• How Anastasiia launched her freelance career and became a digital nomad.
• The challenges of forming a daily sketching habit.
• What it is like sketching in public.
• How words of encouragement at the right time can significantly influence our life path.
• How working on a personal project can attract professional work that you love!
• Cultivating a travel mindset at home
• Anastasiia’s favourite travel sketching tools.
• Travel sketching tips for how to paint on-the-go.
• Anastasiia’s course Make Art with Confidence.

To find out more about Anastasiia and her work visit https://www.anastasiiamorozova.com/ or find her on Instagram @natura.illustrata. 

If you would like to learn more about her signature course you can visit Make Art With Confidence, or for other courses visit her profile on Skillshare. 


-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Creating a collection of objects on a nature journal page can help us notice differences and similarities between things within a particular category. It can also be a wonderful way to capture memories of our time spent in nature.

I invite you to start a collection of objects or observations and put them down together on one nature journal page. What do you notice about the differences and similarities between the objects? How do you feel when you look at your collection? 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Leandra is an artist, environmental scientist, and educator. Through her work she invites others to connect with the joy and wonder that can be found in the outdoors.

Listen to hear more about:

• The experience of monitoring whooping crane data and how that unlocked Leandra’s love of birdwatching. 
• Personal reflections and lessons from nature.
• Making observations and asking questions in nature.
• Leandra’s favourite art media and expressing creativity in different styles. 
• Leandra’s adventure climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and how the team supported each other on the mountain. 
• The important bird that was Leandra’s travel companion during the climb. 
• Leandra’s creative collaborations with Outdoor Afro. 
• The book Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors by Rue Mapp.

To find out more about Leandra and her work visit https://www.seasonallee.com/ or connect on Instagram @_leandraaaa_.

Watch a Write Out workshop that Leandra did with Outdoor Afro on YouTube.

Read more about the hammock that Leandra designed and watch a video about her creative process on the ENO website.

Check out Leandra’s Keen footwear collaboration – Sandals for Swimmerships.

Purchase the socks Leandra designed here.

Find Phil Henderson on Instagram @phil_henderson.

Learn more about Outdoor Afro online and on Instagram @outdoorafro.

Learn more about Rue Mapp, author of Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Let’s go on a colour hunt! Take a small handful of colour pencils and head outside. See if you can find these colours around you in nature. When you find something that matches one of the colours you chose, sketch that object in your journal using the pencil. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Lily is an educator specialising in the field of biomimicry. Through curiosity and attention, joy and humour, Lily guides others to see the wonders of nature around us.

Listen to hear more about:

• What biomimicry is and how it can be used to find solutions to our biggest design questions.
• How biomimicry can bring hope to the current narrative about nature. 
• What it is like to go on a hike with a nature nerd. 
• How journals can connect people through the generations.
• The Colorado landscapes where Lily spends time. 
• Being a nature ‘generalist’. 
• The feeling of having more questions than answers.  
• Biomimicry in place-based education. 
• How nature journaling can help us explore biomimicry.

Find out more about Lily and her work, visit https://www.learningfromnature.earth/. You can also find Lily on Instagram @lilylearnsfromnature.

To listen to Lily’s podcast Learning From Nature, click here. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Nature journaling can be a way to take a break from our busy lives, calm the nervous system, and facilitate healing for the body and mind. Take some time to nature journal for the sole purpose of allowing yourself to rest and heal.

I would love to hear about your experiences with nature journaling as a way to facilitate healing. You can leave a comment below this episode on the Journaling With Nature website. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

After a career in the corporate world, Jennifer underwent a significant life transformation by transitioning to a career as a botanical artist and educator. This shift aligned with her values around nature, creativity, and connection.

Listen to hear more about:

• The New Zealand landscape and what it means to Jennifer. 
• How Jennifer made a shift from a corporate career to art and teaching. 
• What Jennifer enjoys most about teaching art and nature journaling.
• The similarities and differences between botanical art and nature journaling. 
• The pitfall of perfectionism.
• Nature journaling in a conference setting. 
• Nature journaling for self-care. 
• Selling nature art at markets. 
   

To see Jennifer’s work you can visit her website https://jenniferduval-smith.com/ and connect on Instagram @jenniferduvalsmithart.

Two artists that Jennifer mentioned as being influential on our journey were Sandra Morris and Leslie Alexander.

The books that Jennifer mentioned during the conversation were:

• Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.
• Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World by Eve Rodsky

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Keeping track of the weather can help us be more aware of, and connected with, our surroundings. Let’s create a daily weather log for one week (or longer), noting down variables relevant to our area, like precipitation, temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
 

What do you notice about the weather in your area at this time of year? Was the weather consistent through the week or did you see lots of variation? Share your pages on social media using the hashtag #journalingwithnature or leave a comment under this post on the Journaling With Nature website. I would love to hear about your weather experiences. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

After spending 30 years in France, artist Desmond Bovey returned to New Zealand and the landscape of his childhood. With attention and curiosity, Desmond used sketching nature as a way to truly come home.

Listen to hear more about:

• The travel adventures that eventually led Desmond to spend 30 years in France.
• Desmond’s homecoming back to New Zealand and the landscape that became his anchor.
• The moment that nature gave Desmond an invitation, and the sketch that started the book!
• Curiosity in nature and cultivating a deeper awareness. 
• Invasive species and their impact on the landscape.
• The colours Desmond used to illustrate the park. 
• How observing colour can deeply connect us with the landscape. 
• Nature writing and the process of putting observations into language. 
• The geological history of the park and how that shapes the life there. 
• Finding moments of calm wonder in nature. 

To find out more about Desmond’s book visit: https://www.pottonandburton.co.nz/

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
 
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Our pets are a little piece of nature inside our home, and they make wonderful subjects for a nature journal page. You can sketch them while they are sleeping, playing, eating, or having a snuggle.

I would love to hear stories about your pets and see your pet sketches. You can leave a message below this post on the Journaling With Nature website, tag me on social media or use the hashtag #journalingwithnature and I will see your post. 

-----------------

Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates.

You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!