Enjoying Outside, Inside: Beginner's Guide to Nature Journaling

Eliana Thompson • September 22, 2021

A small notebook can be a naturalist, explorer, or scientist’s best friend. Combining detailed perceptions and inner musings, a nature journal is a way to develop your observation skills as well as encourage wonder and curiosity about your surroundings. Get to know your backyard, neighborhood, local public lands, or distant landscapes through its pages. New to nature journaling? Here are some tips to help you get started.

 

  1. Choose a dedicated nature journal. It’s easy to get distracted from your main purpose if the pages are mixed up with personal reflections, grocery lists, or To-Dos. Having a journal dedicated to your observations in nature also allows you to track your progress and observation skills, as well as changes you may observe in your surroundings. A list of other tools you may find helpful can be found here.
  2. Identify your goals- do you want to be a better naturalist? Gain more appreciation for the environment? Get better at identifying flora and fauna? Improve your mental health? The more clarity you have, the more likely you’ll be to get there- but remember, there’s no time frame! Nature journaling is an ongoing process and doesn’t need to have an end point.
  3. Every time you go out to make observations, start by noting the date, time, location, and weather to reference in the future. This will allow you to observe changes over time- such as if the Swainson's Hawks arrived earlier than last year. Noting these things at the start of the outing also serves to create some momentum so your journal doesn’t end up sitting in your backpack the whole time. This can also be a good time to make a few warm up sketches to get the juices flowing.
  4. Choose something interesting and explore it as a diagram, adding written notes, side views, and enlargements. Make a list of species observed. You might even want to create a table of contents to add to as you go. Observation includes seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting (but only taste if you know what it is and that it is not harmful!). Focus on seeing something new and not as much on making it pretty.
  5. Try writing a narrative of the outing, including behaviors of species observed - this means slowing down and taking a moment to just watch. Pictures are a great addition to a journal - they show exactly what is out there. However, drawings can provide a different type of information that pictures may not capture. Drawing allows the observer to focus in on a specific part of the plant/animal or capture something that they didn't initially see. The Nature Journal Connection series on Youtube provides some great tips and a glimpse into the process of nature journaling.
  6. Remember that it’s about the process, not the product. Don’t expect your sketches to be a work of art! Especially when first getting started, your sketches and notes probably won’t live up to the vision you have in your head. This is ok! It will get easier as you get more practice, and in the end it’s really about the things you notice. Have fun and don’t be a critic of your journaling!

 

-Eliana Thompson; ethompson@tuleyome.org


Tuleyome Social Media and Advocacy Associate

RECENT ARTICLES

By Nate Lillge July 2, 2025
We are excited to announce the dates for next year's Certified California Naturalist courses! Our multi-week course will be held Fridays, January 16 to March 6 with three field trips held on Saturdays. Our one-week immersive course at Wilbur Hot Springs Resort is April 12 - 17 . Tuleyome’s Certified California Naturalist (CalNat) program trains members of the public to become California Naturalists. No advanced degree or previous naturalist experience is required – Tuleyome teaches you everything you need to know to become certified. Our course is focused on the northern inner Coast Range mountains, specifically the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region. The program, developed by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, is designed to introduce Californians to the wonders of our unique ecology and engage the public in study and stewardship of California’s natural communities. The California Naturalist program uses science curriculum, hands-on learning, problem-solving, participatory science, and community service to instill a deep appreciation for the natural communities of the state and to inspire individuals to become stewards of their local resources. Courses combine classroom and field experience in science, problem-solving, communication training and community service, taught by an instructor and team of experts. Check out the Certified California Naturalist page for more information. -Nate Lillge (nlillge@tuleyome.org) Tuleyome Adventures and Engagement Director Certified California Naturalist
By Bill Grabert July 2, 2025
Tuleyome thanks Kim Longworth for her work as part of Tuleyome’s volunteer Board of Directors. Kim joined Tuleyome’s Board of Directors to advance our mission to conserve, enhance, restore, and enjoy our public lands in Northern California, specifically the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument region. She took on many tasks during her tenure on the Board including assisting with grant writing and educational programming. Although Kim is stepping down from the Board, she is not parting ways with Tuleyome. She will continue to support Tuleyome’s mission as an event participant and in other ways. Thank you, Kim! -Bill Grabert (Volunteer Tuleyome Board Member) and Nate Lillge (Adventures and Engagement Director)
By Sandra Schubert July 2, 2025
As the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, July 10 th , approaches, I find myself reflecting on how we got here and what our public lands mean to us as individuals and as a nation. Our lands defined, and define, our nation. “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!” At a time when our nation is getting more partisan and we see more anger in the news, it's important to remember that our public lands are not a partisan issue. They belong to all of us, they are important to all of us, and they are for everyone. Our public lands are for hikers and bikers, hunters and photographers, people and puppy dogs, wheelchairs and OHVs. They are for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, decline to states and folks that don’t care about politics. They are for people of all colors, genders, religions, shades and stripes. They are for citizens, immigrants and visitors. They are for mountain lions and tadpoles, bears and hummingbirds, otters and spiders. They are our public lands. The belong to all of us and we belong to them. Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument represents America – a diverse community of people with different interest and beliefs who came together to protect something special. It started out as a mere idea. First, it was just a handful of kindred folks but then more and more joined in soon creating a crescendo of motivated and united voices. It grew until it was a community, a movement, fighting together to protect a place that we all love. We all fought for our Monument. People from all walks of life: hunters, politicians, decision-makers, conservationists, recreationists, scientists, businesses, veterans, community and tribal leaders. Government officials from all levels of government and all parties joined us. Dreamers and planners, lovers and fighters locked arms. We all stood together and fought for Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and Molok Luyuk. And look at what we accomplished together! We protected 344,476 acres in the heart of the Northern Inner Coastal Range. We protected a place whose geology and botany are so magnificent that people come from the world over to see and study them. We protected a place so beautiful it takes your breath away with its rare wetlands and meadows full of wildflowers, its vistas that last for hundreds of miles and its night sky that illuminates every detail of the Milky Way. We protected a place where major rivers flow and streams wander throughout the countryside. We protected tule elk, bald and golden eagles, perch, frogs, bears and salamanders. We protected a place steeped in millennia of Native American culture and history and that is one of the most linguistically diverse in California. We protected our special places, our public lands. And we did it, all of us together. This is what we can do when we remember that despite all of our differences, we are one nation, indivisible. America the Beautiful O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet, Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! by Katharine Lee Bates Happy 4 th of July! -Sandy Schubert Executive Director