Questions in your nature journal: Challenge day 28

How do you use questions in your nature journal? Did you know asking questions is one of the best ways to learn in nature?

Today’s Prompt: Questions, Questions, Questions

Questions are arguably one of the most important parts of modern nature journaling. The asking of questions also sets what we do apart from the illustrated nature diaries of Edwardian Ladies. No offense to Edith Holden but questions can really take nature journaling to the next level.You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out this video by John Muir Laws talking about cultivating curiosity and using questions in your nature journal. He will also categorize different questions based on how they can be answered. Below, I will show my own schema for categorizing questions.

However, before we dive into a taxonomy of questions lets look at some basics of how you can use this today.

How to use questions in your nature journal

1. First, use INIWIRMO. By now you should know that “I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of” is the most powerful tool in the nature journaling toolkit. To see more about how to use it check out this video.
2. Follow your curiosity. As John Muir Laws mentions in the above video curiosity is something you will get better at with practice. You might not have used it since you were a kid. Try to listen to your inner curiosity what draws your attention? For more about intentional curiosity check out this podcast interview with nature journaler Fiona Gillogly.
3. Think with questions. We have learned over the years to rely too much on conviction and jumping to conclusions. Sometimes it is good to state these as questions. For example, if I see what I think is a pollinator insect landing on the flower I am drawing. Instead of just writing a note that says pollinator next to my drawing of the bug I can c ask a question. “Is that bug a pollinator? What is a pollinator? How could I find out? Do bugs land on flowers for other reasons?”
4. Drawings as questions? What if we could think of our drawings as questions? That might help us get over our perfectionism and outcome dependence.

Towards a taxonomy of questions

Let’s create categories for questions. This will help you come up with them faster and more creatively. Here is a taxonomy of questions that I developed after a talk I did for International Nature Journaling Week.