Just starting out nature journaling? Here is a short tutorial on how I begin a nature journal page using metadata (the “data that goes with data” to give it relevance by grounding it in time / place / weather) and then use a prose entry to get into the “flow” before adding a quick sketch.
Here’s an example of a couple of pages from a day in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana. You can see my grid, the way I do the weather and location and moon / sun, then start out with a narrative prose to get warmed up. I add question marks, circled, for things I want to look up later or research more thoroughly (like why do zebras flap their lips!?). The sketching need not be “perfect”—notice I used boxy stick-like figures to approximate the impala’s gait (I call this “drawing like a paleo-journaler” in my book). Keeping lists for nature data is also important, so I almost always do a bird or “wildlife” list on one side and add to it through the day. Drawing boxes is also a great way to add interest and break up prose on a page. You don’t even have to fill them first—just draw one, and write around it, wait til something sparks your interest.
