Welcome to day four!

 

In our programs of Nature Study and wilderness skills, we will be approaching the subject as both an art and a science. The study of Nature and Wilderness skills is not something we have invented! It is perhaps what we as humans evolved to do. The skills of tracking and awareness are perhaps the precursors to all the arts and sciences in that our bodies and brains evolved to perform these skills. Watch the video below to gain some appreciation of the heritage that is the basis of our courses.

 

 

As you spend more time in the Natural world and at your sit spot, it will be useful to keep a journal. Your journal can have both written notes and drawings. Both are good and you can decide which you prefer to do more of.

There are many ways to draw, but the key is observation. In the video below, John Muir Laws, Naturalist and Artist, offers some pointers to good nature journaling and drawing.

 

 

Each day, when you go to your sit spot for at least 20 minutes, bring something to do to, so that you can occupy your mind. Carving or making cordage is useful. If it is safe, make a very small fire and feed it with little twigs. You don’t have to sit there motionless doing nothing! At the same time, you want to be relaxed and not make a disturbance. Think about what the animals do as they go about feeding and are not hunting or being hunted. Most of the time, animals are in a relaxed state going about their business. If you take the same attitude, you will not cause a disturbance to this relaxed baseline. It will also help you notice if there is a predator around by the way the animals react.

Bring your sketchbook to your sit spot today, but don’t start drawing or taking notes right away. Just like on day three, approach your sit spot slowly and with awareness. As you sit, change directions. spend some time focusing on each of the senses. See what catches your attention.

After at least 20 minutes, open your sketchbook and journal the tree or plant that has caught your attention the most. Don’t worry too much about how the journal page looks. The important part is that the journal helps you to observe more deeply.

In the video below, ( click on the link) John Muir Laws shares his passion and love for nature and journaling. Allow your own curiosity and passion to evolve as you spend time in Nature observing.

http://lecture.ucanr.org/Mediasite/Play/4e5c0fdfdd0f4842a27efd54660a4eb11d

It would be great if you could share what caught your attention at your sit spot today on your blog and also a photo of your journal page.

 

Drawing, Painting, Mapping and Journaling and the 8 Shields Model

 

 

 

 

 

 

These creative endeavors fall in the southwest and west shields. A place for both dreaming and reflection in the afternoon…

 

 

In the following video, students at the WOLF nature program on Salt Spring Island paint trees in the afternoon as a part of their nature study program.

Enjoy.