On the very first day of meteorological autumn, as it is now called, I saw a cranefly – or daddy long legs – bumbling along the back wall of my house, up and down and across. Always a sign that autumn is on its way, and a sighting I’ll record on a page in my nature journal for the year.
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Wellbeing is central to nature journaling. At first glance, keeping a nature journal might seem simply another hobby or pastime, and that’s all it needs to be. But it can also enrich your experience of the world around you. It adds purpose to a walk or outing, makes sightings more memorable, and relaxes & calms you as you slow down to spot little changes and to look more closely at what you see.
Journaling overall divides opinion. Many people are dedicated to journaling, creating diverse designs and clour themes, and using a journal as a wellbeing tool. It becomes a creative outket in the day, a regular refuge, combining word and image, so it’s varied and flexible. As somewhere to vent, to express thoughts and feelings & to record mood and/or health day by day, a journal becomes a safe space and an opportunity to let off steam and think and explore. But for other people, journaling itself can be negative. They may feel it’s a commitment that becomes oppressive, another stress in their everyday lives. Or they find journaling fuels overthinking, encouraging them to dwell on thoughts and feelings that may be negative and unhelpful, and to spend time focusing on mood.
Nature journaling counterbalances this. It takes the positives of journaling – creativity, self-expression, a space to record what’s happening around you – but looks outwards, changing the perspective. Rather than mood tracking, noting appointments or reflecting how you feel, in nature journaling you record what you see or hear around you in the natural world. That might be something simple, like leaves falling in autumn, a sparrow pecking crumbs in the street, or the weather. There’ll usually be something to record, whether you live in an urban or a rural area. You can also create nature journal pages that are more about memory (what you’ve seen in the past and like to remember), imagination (picture a dream garden or walk), or knowledge (record what you know will be happening in nature at this time of year, even if you haven’t seen it first hand). I like to record within a short distance of home, my regular “patch” where I walk a lot. But sometimes I’ll also record news items about nature, like reports this summer of very few wasps. This year I’ve created a nature journal page each month, and enjoyed choosing what to include. I usually draw or paint about six or seven sightings for the month, and add a few words to explain each one. You could use photography, pressed leaves or flowers or bark rubbings too.
Now for autumn I’m preparing to run an art for wellbeing challenge called An Autumn Sketchbook: Nature Journaling For Wellbeing. Autumn can be bittersweet as winter nears, but it’s a beautiful season in itself. An Autumn Sketchbook will be a flexible art challenge, to try from home in your own time. Starting on 28 September and running for a month, every other day you’ll receive a different nature journaling idea by email, together with an example image. There will also be a private Facebook group where participants can share art and see how others get on with the ideas too.
To take part, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-autumn-sketchbook-nature-journaling-for-wellbeing-tickets-968154966567
