I'm a Nature Journal Teacher/ Nature Connection Mentor on a path of relearning how to be a human in reciprocal relationship with the interconnected web of life! Come along and geek out about all our nonhuman kin with me! :) πΈπ π¦π»π¦π¦πππ’π·πΈππππ¦π¦¨π¦π±π³ β(After you subscribe, make sure to go to your email to confirm your subscription! Otherwise you won't actually get my letters. π)
Setting Intentions for Nature Journaling
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Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π August 28, 02026 Sturgeon Full Moon π Dear friends, A couple weeks ago, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a Nature Journaling weekend in the Hudson Valley taught by John Muir Laws and Wendy Hollender. I was especially excited to get to meet Jack (John Muir Laws) in person and go exploring in nature together, since we have known each other for about six years on Zoom (especially in his Nature Journal Educators Forum) but we have never had the chance to meet in real life. It was also nice to meet Wendy, who I knew about from taking her Wild Wonder class on botanical illustration a few years ago. Before I went, I knew that I wanted to make the most of the time we would all have together there. So I did some journaling about what intentions I wanted to set for the weekend. I realized that really, these are not just my intentions for the weekend. This is actually basically a manifesto for my nature journal practice as a whole! I want to keep them in mind going forward. And that's why I want to share these with you here now. My intentions for Nature Journaling: πMindfulness. Meditative experience in nature. Think of: zen circles π Restfulness, listening to my body. Moving in a fluid and gentle way. Not pushing or striving. Being here as a restorative experience. π Community creation, friendship, exploring together, learning from each otherβs knowledge and experience, and amplifying each othersβ enthusiasm. Like a scavenger hunt: What does each person here have to share? π Curiosity, using nature journaling to learn more about creatures in nature, our more-than-human kin. Ecological perspective: how do different beings (and abiotic forces) interrelate with each other? π Connection to the land. Where are we? Do some landscapitos; orienting to the cardinal directions; indigenous land acknowledgement; geologic history. How am I situated within this place? How can I respect it and give back during the short time I am here? π Networking, finding professional connections and collaborators for mischief making. Who could *I* teach a class or retreat with in the future? π Experimenting with and developing my art/sketching style. π Amidst all the chaos and destruction, giving attention to what is beautiful in the world. Finding the deep power inherent in that. Our attention is our life force. When we know how to notice what is beautiful, we can create a more beautiful world. What are your intentions for your nature journaling/nature connection practice? Do you want to borrow some of mine, or come up with your own? If you like, respond to this email and let me know. Have a great day! Rebecca Writer, Naturalist, Educator βwww.rebeccarolnick.comβ βhttps://www.instagram.com/habitat_restoryation/β ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Land Acknowledgement: This letter is sent from Syracuse NY, which is in the unceded ancestral lands of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudeonsaunee Confederacy. β¬β¬π²β¬β¬ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a 100% human-created newsletter. No AI was used in the outlining, writing, or editing of this letter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Nature Connection with Rebecca
I'm a Nature Journal Teacher/ Nature Connection Mentor on a path of relearning how to be a human in reciprocal relationship with the interconnected web of life! Come along and geek out about all our nonhuman kin with me! :) πΈπ π¦π»π¦π¦πππ’π·πΈππππ¦π¦¨π¦π±π³ β(After you subscribe, make sure to go to your email to confirm your subscription! Otherwise you won't actually get my letters. π)
Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π October 18, 02026 π First-quarter Moon Dear friends, Here's one specific way that connecting to nature can also help you connect better to other people. (You can also click here to watch the video version of this letter). One exercise you can do to help you deepen your sensory experience of nature is a Sense Meditation. When you go outside, listen towards your left. Listen towards your right. Listen to the quietest...
Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π October 10, 02026 π New Moon Dear friends, Today I have a Book Review to share with you. Lonesome for Wilderness: Tracking and Trailing in Forest, Desert, or Your Own Back Yard by Linda Jo Hunter A while ago I got curious about animal tracking, so I ordered a bunch of books on the topic from the library. Most of them were field guides, stuffed full of technical information and images of tracks, sorted by species....
Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π October 3, 02026 πLast Quarter Moon Dear friends, For a while now, I've been really into Nature Journaling with pen. Unlike with pencil, of course, you can't erase. I think this helps me to be a little looser with my sketches and less perfectionist. But... sketches are still a way of recording information. What do you do if you make a "mistake" and the drawing (and therefore, the information) is inaccurate? It's OK...