Join the Madison Nature Journal Club and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance at Governor’s Island in the northeast part of Madison. This little-known park juts out into Lake Mendota and has amazing views. (It’s called an island but it’s actually a round peninsula.) The club will kick off with some quick tips on how to nature journal. Then people can split up to find what’s interesting to them to journal about. At the end of the event everyone will meet back up and optionally share what they nature journaled about.
This event is cohosted by Amy Schleser and the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.
Note that this is not a class, more of a casual meet up–but nature journaling is very easy to jump into and Amy is happy to give extra tips to anyone who wants them.
DETAILS:
MEETING SPOT: Meet near the trail head off of the small, gravel parking lot. You may want to bring a chair as there is no seating at the trailhead and we’ll gather around a white board for a little while to talk about nature journaling tips and ideas.
DIRECTIONS: You'll pass through the grounds of the Mendota Mental Health Center on your drive to get there. There is a prominent sign that says Governor's Island marking where to turn. As you approach the parking lot, the street becomes a narrow gravel road lined with trees.
There are NO bathrooms!
WHAT TO BRING: drawing supplies. A pencil and paper works, or anything fancier. There are no or very few benches here so as mentioned above, you may want to bring a sketching stool or lawn chair.
WHO SHOULD COME? Anyone–no drawing experience needed. Nature journaling is great for beginners. Kids are welcome (they should be accompanied by an adult.)
ACCESSIBILITY NOTES: The trail is flat packed dirt. The parking lot is gravel. As mentioned above, there are no bathrooms at this park.
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WHAT IS NATURE JOURNALING?
Nature journaling includes drawing pictures of nature but also writing questions and notes about what we’re observing. Our goal is to look closer and wonder more deeply about nature. We think about drawing as a tool to help us notice–you don’t need to draw beautifully to be a nature journaler. At the club we’ll talk briefly about ideas of what to write about, using prompts such as "I notice... I wonder... It reminds me of..." You'll also get some nature journaling tips about ways you could document what you’re seeing and sensing on your pages.
Register here!
Cover artwork by Amy Schelser
