▹ Nature is everywhere around us, but we're so busy or distracted that often we fail to notice it.
Get outside and record the wildlife that lives around you including what you can’t see but you know live here. List the plants as well. If you don’t know the name, describe what you see or hear. Give it a name following your inspiration of the moment. It's as simple as that!
Go alone or with circle friends and make it a game of discovery. Enjoy! ツ
Observing ⋆ Recording ⋆ Systems Thinking ⋆ Natural processes/cycles
Material
Your Nature journal ⋆ your list template (or ours) ⋆ pens (& pencils to sketch quickly if you want to)...
Activity
"The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." ― W.B. Yeats
Have a list ready that you can bring anywhere and fill on a whim. You can choose to do a day list (naming on specific days), or do it per month, or make the list go over a season. It's really up to you!
To get you started, here is a list template that we use ourselves; Click on the image on the left to see an example how you can fill it...
Make your list as personal and fancy as you want (we often intersperse quick sketches of what we spot). The key is to have fun doing it!
You can keep adding to your list or create separate lists over time.
While recording your findings note how it moves, its colors, its main characteristics. What is it doing (e.g., foraging, resting, grooming)?
Wonder about the big picture: why is this animal here at this time of the day/season? What are the plants and other animals this animal depends on? Has this critter always been living or migrating here, or is it a newcomer?
Compare your lists over time; see how they grow as you learn more about your surroundings; see how they differ with the seasons.
Check how your list differs from the lists of your friends living in different areas or far away...
Naturalist Notes
We never miss an opportunity to get outside as often as we can throughout the seasons. Life is busy for all, but we make sure we set an hour aside every week to explore our local biodiversity with our Nature journal and lists.
Every time we go out for doing chores and such, we check for movements of birds and mammals, record trees and bugs, pop out our journal for a quick sketch. Once home, we check our identifications looking through our guides and browsing websites that list local species. Doing so we solidify our learning and knowledge, we get more familiar with our surroundings each time, and we grow our appreciation of what we have right here at home.
References
Reconnecting with Nature TED Series » Be inspired to go out and rediscover the wonders of the natural world with these talks that will give you a deeper understanding of where the wild things grow.
Summary ꙳ Objectives