Nature Journaling

Spending time in the Pennsylvania outdoors is wonderful in all seasons of the year. The sights, sounds and smells of nature stimulate the senses and nourish the spirit. Nature journaling is a simple yet powerful practice that can enrich these experiences even more, helping us to develop our observations, our appreciation of nature, and our scientific thinking. We don’t need to be artists, writers, or nature experts! We do get to move our experiences out of our heads and onto paper, connecting more closely to nature, in the moment and into the future. Our observations can give us deep and lasting memories of the natural world–the dates of the year’s first and last firefly or monarch, the lows and highs of our creeks, the size of the pinecones–and they can inspire our curiosity to learn more. Melissa Matthews, a local artist and nature lover, led a nature journaling program for FCWA some time ago and will be joining us again at our November meeting. We’ll be talking about the benefits of nature journaling and trying out some activities that will help us to slow down, develop our observational skills, and develop our connections with nature. Art supplies will be supplied, but drawing won’t be required— just come and join us for this fun program.