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32 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2018 in nature for kids, to become more observant, to relieve stress. You can also use nature journaling to make better memories, Laws said, as the part of your brain that handles attention also handles memory. You'll notice this if you've ever taken a sketchbook with you on a trip – looking back at the drawing later, you can often recall the place, object and experience in vivid detail. Laws' Tips for Beginners Over years of teaching nature journaling to newcomers, Laws has developed a set of suggestions to help encourage success and make the process richer. While nature journaling can look however you want it to, his recommendations work well for many people. To get started, all you really need is a blank notebook and something to write with. Laws recommends as large of a notebook as you are willing to carry, to give ample room for drawing, and stowing it in a shoulder bag for easy access in the field. For safekeeping, put your contact information on the front inside cover along with a note asking for the finder to return it if lost. As you figure out what you want your journal to be, you'll probably come up with additional items that you want to have along in the field; keep them together in a streamlined kit that you can grab quickly as you're heading out the door. That first blank page can be intimidating, so Laws recommends starting on page two, and taking the pressure off with a quick scribble. To begin the entry proper, it's a good idea to record what Laws calls metadata: date, time, place, and as many other data points as you find interesting, such as cloud cover, wind speed, humidity, temperature, weather conditions, etc. Another helpful technique at the start of an entry is to make what Laws calls an anchor drawing – a quick preliminary sketch of something simple to help warm up the connection between your hand and your brain. This done, you can begin thinking about what you want to put in your journal. Laws advises his students to chase after two things: beauty and wonder. Often, these things will not announce themselves immediately. With careful observation and attention, they will come into focus, and you'll discover that even familiar objects like a pinecone are infinitely complex and beautiful, filled with small mysteries worth thinking and writing about. In translating this to the pages of your journal, Laws advises using what he calls the three languages of nature journaling: writing, drawing and quantification (measuring, estimating, timing, or counting). Using these languages in tandem reveals new patterns, spurs new connections between ideas and stimulates different parts of the brain. "Drawing can be anything from maps to diagrams to cross-sections; it doesn't have to be a portrait or likeness of something," Laws said. "The writing can be lists, bullet points, narrative paragraphs, or short sentences or labels connected to a drawing." If you haven't drawn anything in a while, this part will probably be a bit scary. But the point isn't to make a pretty picture, Laws said. The point is to get your brain down on paper, to use drawing as a tool to investigate the world. It doesn't matter how good the drawing is, though if you keep at it, your work will inevitably improve. Similarly, when writing, don't worry about spelling or grammar. Nobody is grading this; this is a space to play. The three languages – drawing, writing and quantifying – will help you describe what you're seeing. The second step is to ask questions, and through pondering them, you can begin to explain, for yourself, the small mysteries you are seeing. Use a journalist's toolkit of questions to get started: who, what, when, where and why. Laws' third step is to intentionally draw connections between what you see and other things you have observed, experienced or already know, adding a rich personal dimension to the experience and bringing your observations to the next level. These three steps boil down to a series of easily remembered prompts: "I notice," "I wonder," and "it reminds me of." Because of the discipline and effort nature journaling takes, it can be discouraging for a beginner. But Laws recommends reframing the way you think about the experience. "If you go out and journal, and you notice something you otherwise would not have noticed, or you "Keeping a journal has made me more observant and curious about everything, even when I'm not journaling," said 14-year-old Fiona Gillogly. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GILLOGLY