Why is nature journaling in your neighborhood harder to imagine than going someplace “special?” Do you really have to go to a forest, a lake, or a park to nature journal? Is nature journaling about the place or the process?
Recently, I talked to Kirsten Croswell of Fernheart Designs about these and other questions. Since she lives and journals in a relatively urban area she had some useful thoughts to share. In addition to her thoughts and tips for nature journaling in your own neighborhood she also had tips for nature journaling beginners.
Urban Nature Journaling?
For a while I have wanted to do an episode on the Nature Journal Show about urban nature journaling. Therefore, I posted a comment on the Nature Journal Club Facebook page asking for people who wanted to talk about nature journaling in urban spaces. Lots of people were interested in the conversation but when it came down to scheduling few stepped up. Kirsten Croswell, from Portland Oregon USA was one of the people that remained interested.
Nature Journaling in Your Neighborhood
Initially, my plan was for the conversation to be about urban nature journaling. However, as I talked with Kirsten I realized that the real point was neighborhood nature journaling. When she was a nature journaling beginner she assumed she had to go somewhere special to nature journal. This ended up being an obstacle. Once she started nature journaling in her neighborhood she unlocked a world of fascinating nature as well as her own creative practice. Why does this matter? Following are her top reasons.
Why does it matter?
- There is a surprising amount of nature near you. One of the best ways to appreciate it is through your nature journal practice. This can help with your optimism, mental health, and overall health when living in an urban area. It also makes you respect the other organisms living in the “urban jungle.”
- Secondly, this approach can take pressure off your product and help you get in more practice. One of the biggest obstacles to nature journaling is outcome dependence. If you are just sketching dandelions and pigeons outside your apartment you might put less pressure on your pages. This can be a huge unlock. You can learn more about the concept of outcome dependence and how to overcome it in this video.
- Similarly to number two, nature journaing nearby makes it more likely that you will get more nature journaling in. More “pencil miles” means your drawings and all your skills will improve. This is the bottom line. If you think you have to go somewhere special it is easier to avoid and procrastinate.
- Finally, nature journaling in urban places helps fight the growing disconnect between nature and humans. This practice will help you connect more to the nature around you and it is also likely to have an effect on passersby. Your neighbors might notice you noticing a pigeon and stop to appreciate something they usually take for granted.
“Nearby Nature”
This is a very useful phrase coined by nature journal educator Melinda Nakagawa. Similarly to “neighborhood nature journaling” this vocabulary helps us express the existence of nature around us. You don’t have to go to a far away forest or tropical beach to nature journal. In fact, your nature journaling will improve faster if you focus on nature journaling nearby nature first. Want more tips for nature journaling nearby nature? Check out this post all about it.
Urban Sketching vs Urban Nature Journaling?
At this point you might be wondering: “Is Marley just talking about urban sketching?” What is the difference between the two anyways? Are they compatible? Can they inform each other? Why is urban sketching so much more popular than nature journaling? Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to all these questions but here are a few thoughts.
- Urban Sketching usually just focuses on one drawing/scene per page. Nature journaling in an urban location could include zoom-ins, cross sections, side bars, questions, diagrams, maps, sensory notes and more.
- Urban sketching usually has no writing or numbers except date and location. Nature journaling ideally uses three languages: words, images, and numbers.
- Urban Sketching is focused more on art and product. Nature journaling is more interested in learning, process, and metacognitive possibilities.
Do you still need more help getting started with nature journaling?
Regardless of your experience, we got you right here. Below are links to some super resources for beginner nature journalers.
2 Responses
Hi, Marley, This post was fascinating and exciting to me, both for its application to nature journaling, and also for the ways in which it relates to my work of teaching piano to beginners of all ages and to those more advanced. I am wondering — I don’t see a spot for one-to-one discussion anymore on your web site, but if I were to get some ideas together, would you be available to talk them through? I’m not sure that’s the way I want to go at this point, for financial reasons, however, I get the sense that you have thought a lot about what facilitates learning and what impedes it, and that may be useful to me, too, at this time. Anyway, I congratulate you on your important work, and thank you for the ways it has enriched mine. Barbara
Hi Barbara, I’m glad that you found usefulness in this article! That is so cool that you can apply some of these concepts to your work. I often don’t check these comments because I get bombarded by so many spam ones but glad I checked today. I will send you an email. Thanks for being a patreon member in the past too!