Remote Nature: Nature Journaling Week 3

Sometimes, weather or schedules do not allow for a big chunk of time outside. I wanted to explore how doing a nature journaling practice while I was not in the field. Last week, we had really high temperatures which made the idea of sitting outside for a stretch hard to consider. That excuse became my inspiration. Finally, some storms came through late Friday afternoon, lowering the temperatures, so I headed to Retzer Nature Center to capture some of the action.

It’s ironic that when the weather is absolutely perfect, I’m sitting inside writing up last week’s journaling focus and it’s on journaling inside and after the fact. And I must put a warning in: thunderstorms can be dangerous. As in everything I discuss and do- it's up to you to decide what you can or will do.

This Week’s Goals

1. Walk and record.
2. After a few days, select a few items from my recordings and set-up the experiment.
3. Using only that material, create a journal entry.
4. Record how I feel about the process.

The Walk and Record

 I enjoyed making 2 recordings. One is a 5-minute 360 degree on the yellow trail between the Retzer parking lots and the oak savanna. I wanted to capture the sounds and sights of storm clouds moving in and the wildlife that’s about nearing sunset in late August. I picture students being able to play this on their tablets with headphones for an immersive experience without having to risk being in storm conditions themselves.

 Would it be annoying to loop the audio on this video for background noise while journaling occurs for 15-30 minutes? Or helpful?

 I took a few still shots of the tops and side views of some prairie plants. I hoped these could inspire some detailed drawings and extensions on researching what these plants are, where they live, and what roles they play. Students could also pause the videos at any point and journal based on those.

 

The Set-Up

 Watching the Evening storm cells and prairie and Storm Clouds at Retzer videos after a couple of days, I was able to immerse myself and notice more details than when I was there. The wind noise should be addressed with better microphones, but since this piece is about the weather, perhaps it’s forgivable this time.

 A swallowtail butterfly appears and that was a fun experience. In replaying the video, I was able to go back and figure out exactly when I started capturing it before I consciously knew it was there. Insects, spiders, and an annoyed chipmunk were all things I hadn’t noticed while I was at the park.

Red Clover (top view)

Red Clover (side view)

Queen Anne's Lace (top view)

Queen Anne's Lace (side view)

Queen Anne's Lace Seed Head (top view)

Queen Anne's Lace seed head (side view)

Goldenrod about to bloom (top view)

Goldenrod about to bloom (side view)

The Journaling

Amazingly enough, the gorgeous weather we were having today ended just as I began journaling. A steady rain and rumbles of thunder echoed what I was hearing in my headset. The wet rain smell wafting in the open window brought that sense into my video watching: it was almost as though I was reliving the prairie that day. Here's what I ended up with after 45 minutes. I spent 45 minutes on this page- much more time than I have previously. Why? I'm getting more focused. I was also sitting comfortably and the picture detail allowed me to focus. 

What would I change? Ideally, colored pencils would have been nice for more depth and detail. I'd add the side view, too.

On the right-hand side is a sketch from 0:09 of the prairie video. I put details in using numbers, words, and drawings. Below the sketch, I added notes as I watched the video, including how the outside rain reminded me of the day on the prairie (I did not get rained on that day, believe it or not!). I even noted that when the camera came around to the same spot at 1:43, the rain cloud had moved.

On the left-hand side of my journal is my examination of one of the photos: the seed head of the Queen Anne's Lace. None of my Queen Anne's Lace images were readable by Seek, unfortunately. That's a flaw in not identifying something at the moment. 

I also added a few notes on the cloud video. Clearly, there is so much material, one could spend hours pouring over it. And like I said, this was about half of what I recorded that walk. There is always so much to see and experience!

 How Do I Feel?

 I was worried this wouldn’t work. I left a lot of material out that I had collected but that’s part of the process of teaching and learning- especially in nature journaling. It’s important to focus sufficiently on something, knowing that we can always revisit.

It felt very relaxing sitting inside and taking my time. I could look up facts about my plants and add details that I wanted to with ease. I think this sort of remote activity would be great for a classroom or home learning. Each person has reasons for what they pick, what details stand out to them. and what they would like to add or explore in more detail. Being outside is best. This is a great supplementary plan.