Marley: I must also respectfully disagree with your take on this. I have a question and also some feedback for your viewers: What made you feel that such a stark delineation of what could be considered two very important parts of the nature journaling process needed re-labling (and at what cost)? In other words, why is it important to you that the pool of what's considered "nature journaling" undergoes strict reclassification? You imply that the questions portion of nature journaling ceases as soon as direct observation ends. I couldn't disagree more. True, nature journaling in the field does provide more environmental inputs, however, there also many natural phenomena which cannot be as easily observed without the aid of a camera, for example (just like binoculars). I have been tracking the migration, mating, nest renovation, egg laying, hatching, pre-fledging, and fledging of three years'-worth of Barn Swallow families who have called our front porch home. Sometimes, the only way I can actually measure their egg-laying and hatching progress is to hoist my camera high up onto a pole and take video so that I can peek into their protected nest to count eggs and observe their emergence. From those videos, later in the evening, I write my observations down, along with dates and other activities observed. I also oftentimes speak some of my observations into a voice recorder, along with the sounds of the swallows. I add this to my nature journal as well. Let's suppose you say that doesn't fit the label of "nature journaling"...why wouldn't it, and, more importantly, why does that matter to you so very much? Now, to the folks who have watched this video and who are feeling discouraged: Fellow Nature Journalers, I invite you to embrace the spirit of everything you love about nature journaling: the curiosity, the immersion, the sustained attention, the bond you develop with the subjects you observe, and let everything else - including any label - evaporate into the ether. Has nature journaling helped you form a deeper bond with nature? Do you care more about this precious world in which we all inhabit? Do your drawings - be them from real life in real-time or from a snapshot to then be studied at a later time - help you notice and love nature more deeply? Then, my friend, you are a nature journaler in what I have come to believe is at the very core of nature journaling. I believe this community of nature journalers cares about the label of nature journaling because it helps us connect to others who care to connect to nature. Some of us can get outside, but more still might not always have that chance. We are of all ages, all walks, and all physical states. It would be unfortunate to have any member of this community withdraw because they felt their work no longer belonged. Keep that curiosity flowing onto your page, please. From one nature journaler to another, Brooke

@journalingwithnature

22 күн бұрын

Beautiful and heartfelt. Thanks for your thoughtful take on this, Brooke. I agree 100%.

@sunltcloud

22 күн бұрын

Thank you Brooke. Your words speak with conviction, care, insight, and loving enthusiasm for Nature Journaling. ❤️

@Linna_fleur

22 күн бұрын

Thank you, Brooke.

@exploringoverland

22 күн бұрын

Controversy gets clicks and replies and drives the algorithm as well . . . Marley likes to stir it up. And I also have to disagree (and add to the algorithm): There is no one way or definition at all for nature journaling or for enjoying nature. Any way we enjoy nature is the right way, and any way we nature journal is the right way. Labels are limiting, and unfair for those who cannot get outdoors every time. I sometimes sketch from my photos when I don't have time in the field to sketch! And it most certainly is nature journaling.

@MarleyPeifer

4 күн бұрын

very well said, thank you Brooke.

Not everyone has the luxury of health and time to spend hours Journalling in different locations. Having an interest in nature and wanting to sketch, learn and write about it is surely important and doesn’t get any better by sticking labels and rules to the practice.

I was disappointed watching this video. This is not an inclusive approach and just puts up more barriers than is necessary. The same thing happens in the urban sketching community. Please artists, do what is right for you and nature journal however you want to and within your own mental and physical capabilities. No one else’s opinion matters.

I tend to mix the two because I'm on identification apps like PlantNet and Merlin while I'm actively out in the field, and I usually have a guide with me (Ontario-specific). I try to combine the two while I'm out and about because I don't trust myself and I'm still a beginner. I tend to do a lot more homework because it's REALLY cold sometimes. But I find the act of stopping and observing while in nature to be the therapeutic part. It helps me so much mentally to do that, devoid of "learning" new things. The observation part is what goes deep in the soul. Most days I'm just proud of myself for getting something on paper. That's a great point about other people's photos because sometimes birds or mushrooms are slightly different from region to region and it might not relate to exactly where you are. Wonderful video as always

Sorry for not getting to these responses sooner but trying to catch up now. Please watch the full video before commenting. I did not say you have to hike outside to nature journal I just want to make the distinction between direct observation and working from photos/videos that other people took. We live in a time where photos and videos online can be very misleading (perhaps they always have been). There is a big difference between drawing a tiger from a photo you found online and nature journaling a cabbage that you are dissecting in your kitchen.

I suppose I will call my Nature Journal a Homework Journal from now on. 😄I can’t walk very much any more due to neuropathy induced by chemo therapy and I have macular degeneration which in due time will probably limit me beyond seeing colors differently. I have always loved and protected nature, but I have always been a photographer and have been judging my photographic experiences quite differently from you. I don’t look at images as being filtered and being separate from the actual subject; to me they are moments in time. So, when I am on my daily walk by the creek close to my house, I collect moments. Many moments. Detailed moments that will be looked at over and over. And yes, I will draw my impressions from some of them. Raise questions. Decorate, embellish, wonder, study. Smile. Besides these “real moments” there are virtual moments which rely on others’ observations, which could be called homework. I take”virtual journeys” which lead me to places I have never been at. These journeys require reading books, studying landscapes, conservation, abuse, change, and general information. Just like lessons in drawing by teachers and other journalers they ask me to rely on somebody else‘s view. Combine these studies with all my other hobbies and my days are full and interesting. I spend my mornings (after a short walk) on my front porch, many afternoons at my backyard sit spot, and my evenings at my desk. Marley, you are totally entitled to your opinion and, though I feel I have come quite a ways since my first drawing efforts with John Muir Laws and his excellent free library - my homework during Covid restrictions - according to your definitions I can’t really claim to be a nature journaler. But, I am happy working from home; I am happy about catching a fallen grape leaf here or there, or following the growth of a dandelion living in the crack of the driveway, and sketching the crow that comes to visit me 💚. And giving up the joy of my fake travels to the Amazon Rainforest is not in the books for me. As a matter of fact, that journey will take me to the Amazon near Belém in Brazil soon and introduce me to a variety of grasses like Pará grass and Cogon grass, and Marsh grass. GPT4o has already put together my schedule for June. I hope that Agnes Chase‘s “First Book of Grasses” will help me do a decent job drawing them in my Homework Journal. ❤

@bearacuda

23 күн бұрын

My sentiment too. See my comment too.

@Linna_fleur

23 күн бұрын

You are a nature journaler, don’t let anyone tell you differently.

@brookemorales

23 күн бұрын

I am saddened to hear this. I have also posted a reply and encourage you to read it. Thank you for sharing.

Good one, Marley! You did a great job clarifying the elements of Nature Journaling. Sending hugs!

I will respectfully disagree, Marley. I think that if you have the mobility and access to nature journal outdoors that's a wonderful privilege and you should enjoy it, but all forms of exploring nature through curiosity and creativity are nature journaling, in my opinion, whether that is through research and sketching from photos, or whatever other method you enjoy. Many people take notes, photographs or detailed observations when they are outdoors and carefully put it all together when they are at home. Do you think Edith Holden painted all of her pages outdoors? I would be very surprised. And yet, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady has been the inspiration for so many nature journalers since she created it. I think making a distinction between nature journaling and homework can be discouraging for people when what we actually want to do is encourage people to connect with nature in whatever way they have access to.

@Linna_fleur

23 күн бұрын

Well said

@exploringoverland

22 күн бұрын

I agree. There is no one way or definition at all for nature journaling or for enjoying nature. Any way we enjoy nature is the right way, and any way we nature journal is the right way. Labels are limiting, and unfair for those who cannot get outdoors every time. I sometimes sketch from my photos when I don't have time in the field to sketch! And it most certainly is nature journaling.

@journalingwithnature

20 күн бұрын

@@exploringoverland Yes! Absolutely. Thanks for commenting, Roseann. Also, think about naturalists in old times, they would have sketched roughly in the field and done more detailed sketches at the field station by candlelight at night. Were they doing homework? What about Alex Boon...he's one of the most respected nature journal educators today and he has one field sketchbook and another that he works on in the studio. Homework? 🙃 What about when Clare Walker Leslie sketches birds from a field guide. Homework?! 🌿Happy nature journaling, everyone, in any way that makes you feel good!

@patriciastein9876

18 күн бұрын

Absolutely right, I was very discouraged After I watched the video.

@MarleyPeifer

4 күн бұрын

Thanks Bethan, I never said that nature journaling can only be done outdoors in the video.

I watched this last week, and felt i disagreed. But I've thought about it all week, and i think you're right. A good reminder to stop, observe & ponder. 🤔

@MarleyPeifer

2 күн бұрын

Thanks for sharing Kathryn. And who knows maybe I will change my mind about it too after more thought :) Being able to pose ideas, questions things, and even change our minds is useful in this day and age.

Nature + journal = nature journal. Seems pretty simple to me. There’s always someone who has to make rules about what you can and can’t say, or what you can and can’t do. What about people with physical limitations or limited access to the outdoors? This is a huge disservice to them and horribly short sighted. Any awareness of the natural world is beneficial. Interact with nature however you can, call it what you want. Don’t waste time on the people that try to make up silly rules.

@bearacuda

23 күн бұрын

My sentiment too. See my comment too.

@Linna_fleur

23 күн бұрын

Exactly!

I agree with you Marley. Although most of my work about Nature is made at home, I consider that a study, or a draw to improve my drawing skills…I may draw that on my Nature Journal but it’s not something I have really lived, or seen in person… I would compare what you say with having an experience in real life and then write that on my journal, and reading other’s writing and then make a reflection about that on my journal. Both , direct experiences and work at home are lovely in different ways. ♥️ direct observation allows us to make deeper discoveries and have those yihaaaa! moments, and work from home allows us to work with no time stress, about that bird disappearing, so we can practice detail, and also give us invaluable info for that moment we find that we’ve “studied” in real life! Anyway, what I love most most is mixing them! I feel like Indiana Jones when observing something pour that on my journal and then go deep investigating and adding stuff! That’s way is perfect to me!

These are very interesting comments! As a massive Marley fan I took away something very different from this video and I'm sad that people feel alienated by it (and totally understand why). I'll be curious to see how Marley responds. What i took away was the value of what he's calling "homework". I would benefit from doing more of that. None of the labels matter to me. They're just words. It's about the practice and what i get out of it.

This makes sense, thank you Marley.

It is truly a difference between seeing and drawing something with your own eyes and coping from fotos. I totally understand the high quality of seeing IRL... but i wont say that photos make it "homework " its harder to get information out of photos if youre not aware of the volumes und movement.

I would also like to respectfully disagree. For one, in our nature journaling educator training at Wild Wonder we are trained for very good reasons to pay attention to accessibility and inclusivity. Not everyone is physically (or mentally) able to spend a lot of time in nature or even have (safe) access to it. I think it's not a good idea to exclude people with semantics like this. Also: I myself have very bad vision and my main interest are insects, if I didn't work from reference photos I take myself, my journal pages would have random 2mm blobs on them and just one question: "What the heck is this?". If you're into botany your approach will work most of the time, but even then it has severe limitations: For example if you live in Germany like me and winter comes around, there are hardly any plants for you to journal, the seasons will have a huge effect on the "only outdoor approach". My nature journal club met in a café in winter after a short walk because it was just too cold to hold a pencil for a long time. I think I know what point you're trying to make, but I wouldn't call this nature journaling, but "field biology" or "field art". With this stricter definition and terminology I would agree with your distinction, but nature journaling should be seen in more general and broader terms so we don't exclude anyone and furthermore strongly encourage people to connect with nature - from where I'm standing you can nature journal under your heated blanket on the sofa in the middle of the night sketching out animals of the deep sea.

@MarleyPeifer

4 күн бұрын

Thanks Katja. I think the important distinction is not inside or outside. The important distinction is between direct observation and indirect. There are many elements of nature besides plants and animals outside. Even steam from the kettle and growth of your fingernails is nature and can be observed and nature journaled in a way that photos and videos do not allow. The direct interaction and ability to go deeper with a subject is what makes nature journaling different. Nature journaling is about a way of seeing not just a subject matter. It is not just making art or writing about natural subjects.

Interesting. So if you are in your car, as we have seen you before, is that nature journaling or is that “car work”? You can’t feel the earth beneath your feet, wind in your face, or ticks crawling up your ankles, so are your other observations legitimate? I understand feeding the algorithm but this feels a lot like “ you aren’t really a runner/ hiker/mountain climber/writer, etc. unless you do x,y,z” and meet some arbitrary criteria. No, thanks.

@MarleyPeifer

4 күн бұрын

It's not about where you are but the difference between direct and indirect observation. I clearly mention multiple times in the video that you can nature journal at home, even a cabbage in your fridge.

@hildybean

3 күн бұрын

Thanks for the reply. My point is that trying to limit the definition of what does and doesn’t constitute ‘nature journaling’ is a slippery slope.