Journaling With Nature

Latest Episodes:

Episode 187: Jennifer Jewell – Partnering with plants Apr 27, 2025

Show notes

Jennifer is a gardener, author and podcast host. By examining the intersection between gardens and human culture, her work helps to expand how we think about gardens, positioning gardeners as essential knowledge-holders and change-makers of our time.

Listen to hear more about:

Jennifer’s first garden.
The lessons a garden can teach us.
Expanding the definition of gardening and reflecting on what gardening means to us.
Our biological and cultural ties to flowers.
The cultivated spaces that make Jennifer feel at home.
The feeling of loving a garden.
Jennifer’s book What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological and Cultural Significance of Seeds.
Gardens as places of hope during uncertain times.
Jennifer’s garden journaling practice.

To learn more about Jennifer, you can explore the Cultivating Place website or find her on Instagram @cultivating_place.
Jennifer has written three books that you can order from your local, independent bookstore:

The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants.
Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast.
What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological and Cultural Significance of Seeds.

Jennifer will be a guest speaker at this 2025 Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference. You can buy your ticket to the conference here.
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Episode 186: Gentle words Apr 20, 2025

Show notes

We are often very good at encouraging others and noticing things to admire in the artwork of those around us, but it can be more challenging to offer those same gentle words to ourselves. This week, we will practice finding things to love about our own creations and speaking to ourselves with kindness and generosity.
I noticed this when I was sketching with my son. It was easy to find things to love about the work of the other person, but difficult to say these things about our own work. Do you have the same feeling? I would love to know how you respond to this and how you offer gentle encouragement to yourself.
On a recent trip to Sydney, I attended a book event by Amie McNee who is an amazing champion of artists. You can find her book here: We Need Your Art.

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You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thanks for listening!

Episode 185: James Sisti – Hike and Draw Apr 13, 2025

Show notes

James is an artist and wilderness guide from New York. Driven by a desire to make the outdoors accessible to more people, James created Hike and Draw - a platform where he combines art and education to help people connect with nature in a meaningful way.

Listen to hear more about:

The rhythm of the seasons in New York.
How the Scouting movement taught James to thrive in a range of outdoor environments.
How James developed Hike and Draw.
How nature connection can combat loneliness.
The early natural historians that inspire James’ work.
The difference between and expedition and an adventure and how this relates to nature journaling.
How a broken leg led James to nature journaling!
How to be guided by ethics when interacting with nature.
Nature journaling as a tool for conducting scientific research.
Finding your niche.
Socialising your research.
The power of mountains.

You can learn more about James and his work on his website www.hikeanddraw.nyc and on Instagram @james_sisti.

Get a hardcopy of the book using this link: A Field Guide to Nature Journaling.
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You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 184: Fact finding adventure Apr 06, 2025

Show notes

Learning some facts can be a powerful tool for understanding and connecting with animals. Following on from our conversation with Lee Putman from Facts and Fine Liners, let’s go on our own fact-finding adventure and see what we can learn about our chosen animal species.
I would love to hear your experience with researching facts about an animal. Did you feel more connected with the species? You can leave a comment on the Journaling With Nature website.

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Episode 183: Lee Putman – Facts and Fine Liners Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

Lee is an artist and educator based in London. Weaving together fine art and storytelling, his compelling videos open us to the fascinating wonders of the animal kingdom.

Listen to hear more about:

Lee’s creative history, including the development of his street dance and fine art.
Incorporating movement into art practice.
Creating art that has a positive outlook.
Animal activism through art.
Storytelling and its influence on Lee’s life and work.
Telling the story of animals that might not be typically charismatic.
Sketching animals from life.
Lee’s upcoming online drawing session for the Saturday Sketch Club at the Royal Academy.
How interactions with other artists can help orientate you within your ‘artistic ecosystem’.
Communication through the language of art.

Find Lee on social media over on Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok.

You can find Lee’s beautiful fine art prints in the online store on his website www.factsandfineliners.co.uk.

Be sure to sign up to be part of Lee’s online session for the Saturday Sketch Club for the Royal Academy: Saturday Sketch Club - drawing animals.
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You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 182: Our place in space Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

Contemplating Earth as part of a vast solar system, galaxy, and universe offers a powerful perspective. Let's explore ways to use nature journaling to connect with our place in space.

In the episode I chat about the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Listen to episode 175 of this podcast where I talk with Kate Skinner about many things including the book Orbital.

You can revisit Roseann Hanson’s field trip to Mars here: Virtual Field Trip: Let’s Explore Mars!

I would love to hear your perspective on understanding our place in space through your nature journal. You can leave a comment on the Journaling With Nature website.

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Episode 181: Kirstie Willean – Seward Nature Journaling Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Kirstie is a teacher and nature journaler from Alaska. Her career has led her through a wide range of teaching situations, always with a focus on respect for people and place.
Listen to hear more about:

Kirstie’s career that has spanned a wide range of teaching situations.
The natural environment in Alaska.
The vegetable garden as a place of joy.
The story of how Kirstie came to nature journaling.
Collaborations within the Alaskan nature journaling community.
Documenting the dawn chorus in your nature journal.
The benefits and joys of garden journaling.
The Global GeoArt Blitz
The study of ethnobotany.
The human connection with plants.

To learn more about Seward Nature Journaling and the work Kirstie is doing in her community visit: Seward Nature Journaling.

To find out about the Global GeoARTBlitz, visit Rosann Hanson’s website here.
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Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 180: Big weather Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Nature journaling offers a way to document these events while also capturing our personal experiences and responses.

Two nature journalers who document the effects of extreme weather are Miriam Morrill from @pyrosketchology and Robin Lee Carlson in her book The Cold Canyon Fire Journals.

If you are interested to learn how to make a cyanometer, you can watch my little tutorial here.

I would love to hear about your experience of nature journaling big weather events. Leave a comment below this post over on the Journaling With Nature website.

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Episode 179: Angela E. Douglas – The power of local Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

Angela is a writer, scientist, and natural historian. Through her writing, she celebrates the power of the local—what can be discovered when we slow down, tune in, and notice the subtle wonders of the world around us.
Listen to hear more about:

How the 2020 lockdowns started Angela’s writing project that would become her book Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters.
Angela’s writing process at home and while travelling.
The natural history authors who inspire Angela.
Learning the flora and fauna of a new country.
Connecting with individual animals in your area.
The circle of natural connections.
The importance of appreciating the local.
The art of strategic neglect in the garden.
Angela’s new book Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home.

For more information about Angela and her work visit www.angelaedouglas.com.
Find out more about Angela’s book here: Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters.
Preorder Angela’s new book here: Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home.

Authors that have influenced Angela’s natural history writing:

Gilbert White - The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.
Anna Comstock – The Handbook of Nature Study.

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Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates each month.
You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 178: Looking for spirals Feb 23, 2025

Show notes

Spirals are all around us in nature, and finding them can be a joyful challenge. This week, let’s go on a treasure hunt by tuning into the spirals in our nearby nature and capturing them on the pages of our nature journals.

I would love to hear about the spirals you found this week. You can leave a comment below this post on the Journaling With Nature website.

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