There is no magic formula to nature journaling. No special materials are needed. It doesn’t matter where you live or whether you know how to draw and paint. You just have to step outside and pay attention, then write down what you see and notice.

There are all different kinds of nature journals, and all different types of people who keep them. There are many ways to record what you see. But the important thing is to go outside with your journal — even if it’s just a few pieces of paper and a pencil — and take time to look, then write and draw what you notice.

Paying attention takes time. Because no one else is you, no one else will see exactly what you see. No one else will care about the exact same things you care about. What you choose to record is what you choose to remember — what you think is most important. Taking time to pay attention to the larger, natural world you live in becomes a chance to think about what matters to you.

To be admitted to Nature's hearth costs nothing. None is excluded, but excludes himself. You have only to push aside the curtain. — Henry David Thoreau