Can you find animals to nature journal in your own home? Have you really looked?
Today’s Prompt: Find and nature journal three critters in your home (not your spouse)
Sometimes, we assume that nature journaling has to happen in a park, in a garden, or in the forest. We think that we have to go somewhere to see animals. Surprisingly, there are probably animals in your house that you have nature journaled, and no I am not talking about your husband. Sorry George. There are a lot of benefits to nature journaling things at home. I have have a whole list of prompts for nature journaling at home here. But today we’re going to keep it simple.
How to nature journal critters at home
- First comes the search. Please don’t give up before you start. I’m currently living in a newly built urban apartment. I thought there would be nothing. This morning I found a beetle and a crane fly in the stairwell!
- Start nature journaling before you find any critters. Put down your metadata and a title on your page before you even start looking. You can document your search. Have you ever drawn a little map of your house? You could write down where you think you are most likely to find critters. You could write down what you think are mostly likely.
- When you find something, try to use multiple nature journaling techniques. I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of, species profile, question chain, and nature comic would all be good approaches. Try to use all three languages of nature journaling: word, images, numbers.
- Even if you don’t find anything, at least write a few sentences on the page. The lack of organisms is information too. Were you surprised? Where did you look? Historical data (as in have you seen things before?) What about meta-cognitive notes? You could make a note of your frustration with the exercise or your boredom.
Last resort…
If you run out of hope and can’t even find one ant or spider in your house you can try this a a last resort. I recommend trying all the above steps first. The last resort is to nature journal a pet. It is a totally different experience than looking for critters but is a valid form of nature journaling itself. In fact, I did a whole video and post about it! Learn more tips for nature journaling pets in this video.
But what if I’m completely new to nature journaling?
Regardless of your experience, we got you right here. Below are links to some super resources for beginner nature journalers.
Are you just getting started with Nature Journaling?
Here are tips and motivation for beginners.
Where is the 30 day challenge?
If you missed the beginning you can still jump in now. Here is the complete guide.
If you want a PDF for printing: 30 Day Challenge Wild Wonder Nature Journaling
