The Outdoor Education Centres recommend nature journaling as a part of any outdoor learning program. It is a teachable practice and an effective means of fostering a connection to place and community while developing students' creativity and critical thinking skills.
This video is set up to introduce five nature journaling activities to try with students. Each segment can be viewed separately to help frame and explain an activity before doing it yourself. These are more "first steps" to incorporating nature-based observation and inquiry in your schoolyard and beyond into your practice.
Video Timeline:
0:00 Introduction and Land Acknowledgement
0:18 Ways to use Nature Journaling with students
2:09 Record your observations
4:39 Investigate your environment at different scales
7:31 Map your surroundings
11:12 Explore your place using all of your senses
15:07 Look for similarities and differences
21:46 Resources and conclusion
23:14 credits
Recommended resources to compliment the video:
The OCDSB Outdoor Education Centres have produced a series of bi-weekly videos investigating local observations of seasonal phenomena (changes in plants, animals, other organisms, weather, etc...). Each video focuses on one topic and presents ideas to consider and challenges for exploring your nearby nature areas throughout the school year. Each is meant to easily incorporate the use of nature journaling and be used in conjunction with your own outings as a guiding introduction or supplement to your class discoveries. You're here now! Subscribe above and check our YouTube channel to see past videos.
See a guide to all of our past videos arranged by season here:
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Our recommended resource to start nature journaling with your students is "How to Teach Nature Journaling." This valuable resource is available free at
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