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Keeping a Nature Journal
Keeping a nature journal is a gentle way to slow down, notice the natural world around you, and reconnect with creativity and curiosity in everyday life...
Here you can explore nature journaling with me - learning how keeping a nature journal can help you feel calmer, more attentive, and quietly re-energised by the changing seasons.
Nature journaling my Sunday morning walkWelcome to my Nature Journal Hub
Nature with Lotti is my companion space within Lotti Brown Designs - a gentle, practical place where I share ideas for nature journaling, drawing, and connecting creatively with the natural world.
It began as its own small project a few years ago, and I still love sharing its spirit here - a space for learning, noticing, and simply enjoying nature in your own way.
This is where I share pages from my own nature journals, seasonal reflections, and all the little quirks and stories I notice outdoors. For me, nature journaling is a way to slow down, notice the turning of the year, and reconnect with what really matters.
I’d love for you to explore all this with me and perhaps find your own gentle rhythm of creativity and connection with nature too.
Whether you're just beginning to think about starting a nature journal or looking for fresh inspiration, this page will help you as I share my experience of keeping a nature journal, along with ideas, prompts, seasonal reflections, and practical guides to support your journey of noticing and recording nature...
Together, the pages you'll find here explore many aspects of keeping a nature journal, from beginner guides and prompts to seasonal observations and creative inspiration.
Each section below will guide you deeper into the practice of keeping a nature journal and help you find your own way of noticing the natural world...
Keeping a Nature Journal
Keeping a nature journal is simply the practice of regularly recording your observations of the natural world - through sketches, notes, reflections, and small discoveries you notice along the way.
Some people keep a nature journal daily, others weekly, and some simply return to it whenever something in nature catches their attention. Over time, the pages become a quiet record of seasons, memories, and moments of curiosity.
On this page you can explore many ways of keeping a nature journal - from simple prompts and beginner guides to seasonal reflections and examples from my own journals.
Getting Started with Nature Journaling
If you're just getting started with nature journaling, or even just curious about what nature journaling involves, you're in the right place.
Let's explore what nature journaling actually is, how to get mindful with it, and how to get started...
Nature journaling is for everyone. It’s not about making 'perfect' art, but about noticing, enjoying, and connecting with the natural world around you.
Start here...
If you're new to nature journaling, this is the perfect place to start...
I'll take you through:
- what nature journaling is
- what you need
- how to nature journal
- your first few pages
- beginner tips, techniques & materials
- journaling ideas and weekly prompts
- mindful nature journaling
Start here with my nature journaling for beginners section...
Nature journal with red pelargoniumsCourses & Guides
Seasonal Inspiration & Folklore
Follow along with me as I explore the seasons in my nature journal...
Real life nature sketches, notes and folklore findings as we tread each month in the fields and hedgerows of Yorkshire...
Monthly prompts and inspiration...
My Year of Nature Journaling
'A Year of Nature Journaling' is a quiet companion to the seasons - a way of noticing how the world shifts, softens, and returns again as you continue keeping a nature journal through the turning year.
I share what it’s been like to keep a nature journal through a full calendar year, following the rhythms of winter stillness, spring song, summer abundance, and autumn gathering, one imperfect, attentive moment at a time.
Read about my year of nature journaling here...
Watch me flip through my first full nature journal in the video below - you can also see more detail month by month in the section below that, too...
This nature journal is 200 pages and took me around 10 months to fill.
I've really enjoyed looking back through it and it's surprising how well I can remember some of the things I saw when I see my drawings and read my page and relive that feeling of feeling connected to nature too! This is why I love keeping a nature journal!
Click play above to watch the video.
You can also check out one or more of the pages below to explore month by month...
If you enjoyed seeing inside my first nature journal, I just finished my second nature journal - this also took me 10 months to fill. I love looking back inside it as it reminds me what I was doing each month...
If you'd like to see inside my second nature journal, click play on the video below (many of the pages also appear in the 'Seasonal Inspiration & Folklore' section above)...
Turning the pages of my second full nature journal
Explore all the pages from my year of nature journaling here...
Nature Journaling Books
Extra inspiration, tips and ideas with some of my favourite nature journaling and nature-lover books - explore with me here...
A Gentle Practice for Everyday Life
Keeping a nature journal doesn’t require artistic skill, special equipment, or a perfect routine.
All it asks is a little curiosity and the willingness to notice what is already around you.
- A leaf on a path
- A bird singing in a hedge
- A flower opening in your garden...
Over time, these small moments become something meaningful - a record of attention, creativity, and connection with the natural world.
If you’d like to begin keeping a nature journal yourself, you can start with my free guide to getting started, explore my weekly journaling prompts, or simply open a notebook and begin noticing.
Whether you're just beginning or already enjoying the habit of keeping a nature journal, I hope these pages inspire you to slow down, notice more deeply, and find your own way of recording the natural world.
FAQ: Keeping a Nature Journal
Do
you have to be good at drawing to keep a nature journal?
Do
you have to be good at drawing to keep a nature journal?
Not at all. Keeping a nature journal is about observing and recording what you notice in nature. Simple sketches, notes, and observations are perfect.
What
do people put in a nature journal?
What
do people put in a nature journal?
Nature journals often include sketches, written observations, weather notes, bird sightings, plants, seasonal changes, and personal reflections.
More to Explore
Keeping a nature journal has become one of my favourite ways to notice the small wonders of the natural world - and it often inspires my nature artwork and illustrations too.
If you'd like to explore further, you might enjoy:
- nature journaling for beginners
- my weekly nature journaling prompts
- seasonal folklore and journal reflections
- pages from my first year of nature journaling
- my free guide to starting your first nature journal
- my 'Gentle Introduction to Nature Journaling' guide to ease you into your first few pages
- my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' course for when you're ready to go a little deeper
- nature journaling book suggestions
Or you can explore my nature-inspired art collections here - my Folklore hub here - or my Celtic Trees section here...
Deepen Your Nature Journaling Practice
Deepen your nature journaling practice with me...If you’ve enjoyed my nature journaling reflections, you might also like my 20-lesson course, Imperfect Nature Journaling.
It’s a gently structured, self-paced journey designed to help you:
• Slow down and notice more deeply
• Build confidence in drawing and observing
• Create a calming journaling ritual you can return to
• Feel more connected to the seasons and the natural world
No perfection required. Just curiosity and a notebook.
You can explore the course here whenever you’re ready...
P.S. If you’re just beginning - or would like something quieter and more simple to start with - you might first like to get started with my free 'Getting Started' guide or gain momentum with my 'Gentle Introduction' guide to help you through your first few pages - here...
Shall we stay in touch..?
Each month, I share stories from my own nature journal, new art from my studio, and simple seasonal inspiration to help you feel more connected with the turning year - if you'd like to stay updated, please sign up with your email address below...
Recent Articles
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Chaffinch Folklore & Meaning - Song, Seasons & British Nature Art
Apr 15, 26 04:05 AM
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Willow Tree Symbolism and Celtic Willow Art
Apr 14, 26 05:05 AM
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Why Keep a Nature Journal? Benefits & Gentle Reasons to Begin
Apr 13, 26 10:27 AM
Discover why keeping a nature journal can help you slow down, feel more connected to nature, and build a calm, meaningful creative practice.
Shop My Current Collection of Art Prints
Find my stockists for all my earlier artworks here...
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