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)
Young Birder Program Registration Closes Soon
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Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π September 11, 02026 New Moon π Dear friends, Do you know any young birders? (or are you one yourself)? Today I have something to share that you might be interested in! The American Birding Association has something called the Young Birder of the Year Program for ages 10-18. Registration is open now but it closes on September 15! I was actually a participant in this program myself for a couple years around 2012 / 2013 when I was in high school! I was obsessed with birds and this was program was a great way to develop my skills. A few years ago, they asked me to return to the program, but this time as a mentor for the Field Notebook Module! This will be my sixth year in the role. How does it work? There are a few different modules you can choose to participate in: Field Notebook, Conservation/Community Leadership, Illustration, Writing, and Photography. You work on your modules throughout the year, and send in your final materials at the end of January. Then I and the other mentors give you feedback on your work, and we choose who we think deserves first, second, and third place in each category, plus runner-ups. The young birder who ranks highest across all modules in their age group is awarded the title of "Young Birder of the Year!" Even if you don't care about the competition, it's a lot of fun and you learn a lot by going through the program. There's also a Slack channel where you get to connect with other young birders and ask the mentors for advice. That's one of the biggest changes to the program since I was in it. Back then, we sent in our notebooks and other work in the actual mail and recieved our feedback the same way! (And yes, we got our work back). Other than that, we were on our own for the duration of the program. As the only teen I knew who had this passion, I would have loved the chance to make friends with other young birders. This 2-minute news spot from Next 9NEWS highlights the 2026 winner from the 10-13 age group. I remember how impressed all of us mentors were with Amelie's field notebook. We unanimously picked hers for first place because of the quality of her observations, the many questions she asked, and the other elements she included like habitat sketches, maps, and vocalizations. ππ¨By the way, one of the other Field Notebook mentors is my friend Clara, another nature journal educator! I encourage you to check out her website at https://www.lovenotestonature.org/ and her instagram @clarakoala.sketcherβ Click here to learn more about the Young Birder Program and share it with any young birders you might know: βhttps://www.aba.org/young-birder-year-program/ Have a great weekend and enjoy some time in nature! -Rebecca π P.S.
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Rebecca Rolnick 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...