Keeping a Nature Journal, 3rd Edition: Deepen Your Connection with the Natural World All Around You - Paperback

by Clare Walker Leslie (Author)

Originally published in 2000 with endorsements from E.O. Wilson and Jane Goodall, Clare Walker Leslie's Keeping a Nature Journal was at the forefront of the nature observation and journaling movement. Leslie's approach has long been acclaimed for its accessible style of teaching people to see, witness, and appreciate the wonders of nature, and her classic guide is still used by individuals, groups, and educators ranging from elementary school teachers to college-level instructors. The third edition features more of Leslie's step-by-step drawing techniques, a new selection of pages from her own journals (which she's kept for 40 years), and an expanded range of prompts for observing particular aspects of the natural world in any location. With an emphasis on learning to see and observe, Leslie shows how drawing nature doesn't require special skills, artistic ability, or even nature knowledge, and it is a tool everyone can use to record observations and experience the benefits of a stronger connection to the natural world.

Back Jacket

For more than 20 years, this award-winning book by acclaimed naturalist and artist Clare Walker Leslie has introduced people to a different way of seeing the world. This fully revised third edition features Leslie's inspirational techniques for becoming a skilled observer of the natural world and using drawing as a tool for deeper exploration, even if you don't consider yourself an artist. Richly illustrated with Leslie's own journal pages, sketches, and watercolors, as well as examples from journals of generations of her students, this book is an instructive guide and encouraging companion you'll turn to
again and again.

• How to set up and use your journal
• How to hone your observation skills
• Essential journaling equipment
• Drawing techniques and exercises
• Lessons in drawing plants, trees, birds, animals, landscapes, and more
• Suggestions for maintaining a regular journaling practice