Nature Journaling is Good for You
The First Reason Why Nature Journaling is Good for You: you’ll experience less stress, anxiety and negativity
Nature Journaling provides a way for you to encounter nature on a regular basis.
The scientific community is now compiling evidence to support what so many of us intuitively know. Being in nature calms the mind and helps you feel less anxiety, stress and negativity.
David Strayer, of the University of Utah says … “we see changes in the brain and changes in the body that suggest we are physically and mentally healthier when we are interacting with nature”.
Reason Number Two: You’ll be a kinder more ethical person
Time spent nature journaling has a positive impact on your behavior.
“ An experiment conducted by Paul Piff of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues, in which participants staring up at a grove of very tall trees for as little as one minute experienced measurable increases in awe, and demonstrated more helpful behavior and approached moral dilemmas more ethically, than participants who spent the same amount of time looking up at a high building. “ – Yes! Magazine, Jill Suttie, Mar, 12, 2016
Reason Number Three: You’ll improve your ecoliteracy and your memory
Nature journaling will not only make you a lifelong learner, you’ll also be improving your memory. Research done by Dr. Marc Berman and partners at the University of Michigan shows that performance on memory and attention tests improved by 20% after study subjects took a pause for a walk through an arboretum.
Nature journaling helps you learn about the natural world and raises your ecoliteracy. Ecoliteracy is the ability to understand the natural systems that make life on earth possible. However, before you can do that, you need to be familiar with the plants, animals and minerals that make up the world around you. It’s especially important to know what’s in your own backyard. Lifelong learning is beautiful thing. It keeps alive the sense of joy, wonder and curiosity you had when you were a child. Keeping a nature journal is the perfect way to learn throughout life. You’ll be activating your creativity while forming a deeper connection with the natural world.
Reason Number Four: Your creativity will flourish
Recording observations in your nature journal of the the infinite variety and diversity in nature opens your mind to endless possibilities. It attunes your senses towards natural beauty and harmony. You begin to creatively form connections and seek unique ways to express your growing awareness of what is beautiful and delightful around you in nature.
David Strayer, of the University of Utah indicates that the kind of brain activity seen when we’re spending time in nature is “ the kind of brain activity—sometimes referred to as the brain default network—that is tied to creative thinking.”
Your nature journal becomes a container in which you can freely and safely delve deep into the mysteries of nature, the Source of creation and your connection to both. By simply taking time to be in nature, to listen, observe, rejoice and contemplate you put yourself in touch with something much bigger than yourself.
John P. Milton, in his book, Sky Above, Earth Below: Spiritual Practice in Nature writes, “Today, our modern world is filled with high-tech wonders. Our urban and suburban existence surrounds us with crowded, artificial environments of plastic, steel, concrete, and glass. Environmental toxins, high-stress lifestyles, devitalized food, loud noise, unnatural electromagnetic fields, and microwave radiation assail our cells and sensibilities. . .When we leave these tensions for a while to cultivate our natural wholeness in the wild, we are renewed with the fresh vitality and spirit of Nature. New pathways open for living in harmony with our communities and the Earth. We discover deep inspiration to help transform our lifestyles and our culture toward harmony and balance.
Get these benefits and more
If you’re ready to benefit from art and nature why not begin keeping a nature journal today. Take advantage of my Free Nature Journaling Video Library and check out Beginning a Nature Journal my signature online course. Both are excellent resources to help you get started started especially if you’re a beginner.
Thank you, Jan! I first became aware of your work through the Paintner advent course. I am grateful for your spirit, kindness, and encouraging teaching!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Happy New Year! I was a joy to work with Christine and contribute to her Advent retreat this year. I’m so glad you enjoyed the practice of contemplative nature journaling. It is truly a beautiful way to connect to the creation as well as the Source of all. ~ Jan
Jan,
My cell phone alerted me to an essay you posted online over a year ago: Nature Journaling: the Top 5 Reasons it’ Good For You. I a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y love it! I’m a ‘hut naturalist for the Appalachian Mtn and tomorrow I’m hiking up to Carter Hut in Pinkham Notch, NH to substitute for the regular hut naturalist for one night. Nature journaling is one of my presentations when I’m volunteering at an AMC hut or lodge and your essay just gave me another angle in promoting it. Timing couldn’t have been better. I’ve completely changed the way I present nj to accommodate people who think they can’t draw. I recognized your name from the Nature Journal Club. Wonderful website and work that you do!
Hi Doreen,
How great is that timing! I am such a firm believer that drawing skills can be learned and rather quickly too if you stick to the basics and learn to observe. nature journaling is such a rich, and rewarding experience that i’m always excited to hear about people like you who dedicate their time to teaching others and getting them acquainted with nature, so thanks for what you do! ~ jan