Nature Journaling Activities--Part II
Summer is here. I can chart its arrival to my garden by the height of the fennel plants, the sweetness of the rhubarb, and the ripening of the blueberries. Grab a blank journal and pen, and step outside into your own garden or a nearby park. You'll be amazed at what you discover.
Metaphors. Find a natural object for a subject. Any natural object will work, such as a stone, the bark of a tree, the surface of a pond, or a fern frond. Challenge yourself to develop a list of metaphors for your natural object. Write down the metaphors freely without evaluating them…just write down whatever pops into your mind as it arrives. For example, some metaphors for the bark on a madrona tree might include: mineral scales on the bottom of a teapot; newly stripped bone; tea stained teeth; or peeling paint that needs scraping. You may want to later revisit your list of metaphors and develop one or more of them into a poem or short essay.
Edges. All around you are edges, the boundaries between two spaces. An edge might be large, such as the place where two different ecosystems meets, or it might be a tiny border. An edge could be an estuary, the site of the gravel path, a garden bed, or the base of a cliff. Write about the edge. What is happening there? Include sketches of your edges as well.
Relationships. Sit quietly in nature and soon you'll see relationships emerge. Tree leaves rustling in the sunshine. A songbird eating a worm. A raindrop splashing into a creek. Name the relationships that you see around you. How are things in the immediate environment connected?
Animal Eyes. Shift your perspective and try observing the world around you through the eyes of a wild animal. How would this meadow look if I were a fox? What would I be doing if I were a pond snail? How would this feel if I were a chickadee? Choose an animal that would live in the particular habitat that you are journaling in. Try describing the place through the eyes of the animal.
Metaphors. Find a natural object for a subject. Any natural object will work, such as a stone, the bark of a tree, the surface of a pond, or a fern frond. Challenge yourself to develop a list of metaphors for your natural object. Write down the metaphors freely without evaluating them…just write down whatever pops into your mind as it arrives. For example, some metaphors for the bark on a madrona tree might include: mineral scales on the bottom of a teapot; newly stripped bone; tea stained teeth; or peeling paint that needs scraping. You may want to later revisit your list of metaphors and develop one or more of them into a poem or short essay.
Edges. All around you are edges, the boundaries between two spaces. An edge might be large, such as the place where two different ecosystems meets, or it might be a tiny border. An edge could be an estuary, the site of the gravel path, a garden bed, or the base of a cliff. Write about the edge. What is happening there? Include sketches of your edges as well.
Relationships. Sit quietly in nature and soon you'll see relationships emerge. Tree leaves rustling in the sunshine. A songbird eating a worm. A raindrop splashing into a creek. Name the relationships that you see around you. How are things in the immediate environment connected?
Animal Eyes. Shift your perspective and try observing the world around you through the eyes of a wild animal. How would this meadow look if I were a fox? What would I be doing if I were a pond snail? How would this feel if I were a chickadee? Choose an animal that would live in the particular habitat that you are journaling in. Try describing the place through the eyes of the animal.
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