Have you ever kept a nature diary?

I kept a small one last year while undertaking a ‘Rewilding’ challenge. The idea was to spend 30 minutes outside, every day for 30 days, and to make different observations each day, according to different instructions.

I didn’t manage every day for a month; in fact I probably only did the challenge 60%. Yet it gave me a lot.

It was a timely ‘reboot’ to my physical system, lifting me away from staring at a screen to remembering to connect with ever-changing wonders of the natural world.

Keeping the nature diary gave me great pleasure. Awareness opened up and my physical well being increased. Even now, when I open the diary, I find I have instant recall of the moments I captured on the page, whether watching my granddaughter eat dandelion leaves on the lawn, or taking a wild walk in the rain.

It takes time

Building sensory awareness takes time. It makes sense to have the support of a group, to be in good company as you explore and experiment.

Keeping a nature journal will be part of my Sacred Earth course. The good news is that the course will not be anything like as demanding as the Challenge that I took on last year (and even if it were, 60% is still a pretty good result)!

I’ve found that longer courses work particularly well. The slow, steady assimilation that takes place over three months means that new patterns become gently grafted into your life in a natural way.

Would you like to bring these new patterns of connection into your life?

If your heart stirs when you hear about the adventure that’s about to begin, then do take the leap! The course starts on February 9, and as soon as you sign up I’ll send you a gift in the mail and a delightful starting assignment.

Three tips for keeping a nature diary

Even if you don’t take the course, you might like to explore keeping a nature journal over the next month. Here are some tips:

1. Small is easy.
My nature diary from last year was done in a tiny notebook, no bigger than my hand. Small means low expectations.

2. Keep it simple.
Just go for a quick impression. This is the best way to capture a sensory experience. You don’t have to able to draw, but only to put colours and shapes on the paper, or to take a photo. Let the image come first, and then add a few words if you wish.

3. Immerse your senses
Become immersed in the experience before drawing or writing. Let the image come through your bodily sensations. (Your mind can take a rest!)

Do I have to be an activist to take the course?

Some people have been asking this question, so let me reassure you. The answer is no!

I used the word activism on my website page without giving a definition. So let me say now that I was thinking of a wide range of meaning, from direct action to simple acts of caring. Caring may take a form as basic as giving water to a plant.

However, in order to care, and give back to the earth, you first need to be filled up, to find your partnership with nature. Each of you will have your own way of doing this, and your own timing.

Wherever you are at, you are welcome.

Keeping a nature diary will be just one of many ways to explore the elements, weather, plant world and the night sky through the lens of the senses and open yourself to new ways of being.

Click here, or the button below, to find out more.

PS I know you’ll be in good company if you join the course, because I’ve already worked with a number of the participants through the Attunements and ritual courses.
Oh, and did I say it will be fun? Well it will!

We make the path by walking:
You, walker, there are no roads
Only wind trails on the sea.

—Antonio Machado

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