MARCH 2018 • NEBRASKAland 31
broad or as narrowly focused as you like. Perhaps you
want to sketch the places you see when you travel,
or record the growth of a plant, or detail experiences
in the field as an angler, birder or hunter for future
reference. Author Doreen Pfost used brief factual
observations about the Platte River she'd written in
3-by-5 notebooks to write a book.
"I couldn't have captured a lot of detail for my book
without it," she said. "There were times when there
was something that ended up being key to the point
I wanted to make in an essay, but it was an event I
might have completely forgotten if I hadn't written it
down. When I sit and read the notes, it puts me back
there in that place."
Alison Bleich of Lewellen uses her nature journal,
in part, to record changes in the environment over
time, noting when certain plants flower, or when
different species of birds show up, and looks back
at her notes throughout the year to learn more about
where she lives. "That's why you record the time of
day and year, so you can see how things correlate,"
she said.
The potential uses for a nature journal are endless
– to learn more about plants, to jump-start an interest
"Keeping a sketchbook journal has become an incredibly fulfilling and
happy experience for me," wrote Jan Blencowe of Clinton, Connecticut.
Fiona Gillogly, 14, of Auburn, California, journals nearly
every day. "For me, nature journaling is not about pretty
pictures, it is about observations, and so my self-critic
doesn't harass me when I'm journaling," she said.
Visual artist and graphic designer Lisa Cheney of Boise, Idaho, is
intrigued by "the luscious details of tiny, often overlooked forms."
PHOTO
BY
JAN
BLENCOWE
COUR COUR COURTESY
TESY TESY
OF OF OF
LISA LISA LISA
CHE CHE CHENEY
NEY NEY
COURTESY
OF
FIONA
GILLOGLY
