Nature journaling is one of my favorite school subjects. It's such a satisfying mix of science and art. I had been nature journaling for three years as part of my school curriculum before discovering the monthly Del Ray Artisans Nature Journaling Club. So, I was really excited to go to the garden of Del Ray Artisans, our neighborhood’s local art gallery, for a nature journaling session led by Meredith Weddle D’Amore. We were given a few tips and supplies, then sketched, recorded and colored for an hour. At the end, we shared our artwork.

Meredith and I talked recently about the club. She started nature journaling with her son during the lockdown, but life got really busy for her after the pandemic. “I would let my art fall by the wayside, and I would suffer. I really missed being creative and making.” 

When she mentioned to her fellow Del Ray Artisans volunteer, Stephanie Greenwald, how much she would like a nature journaling club at Del Ray Artisans, they worked together, making it a reality! “We started [the club] to give ourselves the reason to join in community with other artists and nature lovers and be outside,” says Meredith. 

“To me, nature journaling is observational drawing and recording,” says Meredith. “It’s also a way to take a step out of our daily life and connect with nature and the meditative practice of observational drawing.”

For example, when I visited the club last fall, I spent all my time recording and drawing a magnolia tree. Nature journaling isn’t limited to plants, however: In my schoolwork, I’ve journaled everything from cats to crabs. 
Some naturalists color their drawings with watercolor or colored pencils, while others prefer to leave their sketches black and white.

As for the club (which I highly recommend attending!), you can find information at delrayartisans.org/programs/journaling/ or just show up at the Del Ray Artisans garden at 10am on the last Saturday morning of each month. Meredith posts updates on her Instagram account:@mdamore_studio.