Exploring Nature Classes

Each of our Exploring Nature classes focuses on incorporating all of our senses and journaling in various modalities. Classes average one hour and are adapted to the appropriate age level and experience level of your participants. Workshops are offered in-person or via Zoom. This list is a sample of the workshops Northern Rockies Nature Journaling offers. Contact us if you have specific requests for workshops.

Northwest Bears

Northwest Fish

Bison

Northwest Trees

Montana Wildflowers

Mushrooms

Meadowlarks

Woodpeckers

Dragonflies & Damselflies

Insects

Bumblebees

Butterflies

Clouds

Mosses

Lichens

Deer

Leaves

Feathers  

Snow

Bears are found throughout North America where they are considered majestic and of cultural importance by native peoples. This class is a combination of art and science that explores the lives of bears, their habitats, and their behaviors and how to record those in our nature journals.

These beautiful, highly-specialized creatures lead a life we often don’t see. Let’s explore the adaptations and activities of fish under the glassy surface of water and journal about them.

Bison are an integral part of the history of life in the Northern Rockies and used to roam the plains by the millions. This class studies their anatomy, habits, and how to sketch them in our nature journals.

Pines, spruces and firs are the primary conifers found in MT. How do we tell them apart? How do they reproduce? How do they survive forest fires? Let’s investigate these trees as we practice recording them in our journals.

The Northwest is home to some of the country’s most hardy and eye-catching species of wildflowers. Learn the basics of wildflower structure, how they reproduce, and how they attract pollinators as discuss the value of wildflowers to our ecosystem and draw them in our journals.

Whimsical or serious, either approach to learning these fruits is good! What is the life cycle of a mushroom? How is that different from plants? What is mycelium? Learn characteristics of mushrooms that help identify common species as we sketch them in our journals.

The western meadowlark is emblematic of the West. We eagerly await the meadowlark’s song each spring. This session studies this beautiful bird’s habitat and breeding behaviors, and gives us an opportunity to journal this brilliantly colored bird.

Most of the woodpeckers in the Northern Rockies are year-long residents that dwell in cavities in dead trees. This class explores which ones live here, how to tell them apart, and what they do to benefit the environment. Have you ever wondered how woodpeckers can peck at a tree and not get a headache? Let’s journal about woodpeckers!

Our local dragonfly whisperer, Suzanne Hendrich (she really does get them to land on her hands), offers this class on the dragonflies and damselflies of the northwest highlighting their habitats, behaviors and interactions and recording that in our journals. A fascinating study!

Sometimes considered ‘creepy crawlers,’ insects are crucial to our natural world and have fascinatingly complex features. Let’s examine insects closely as we journal and learn to appreciate them.

Bombus (bumblebee) species are all around us, pollinating plants and feeding birds. Learn about some of the common species found in the northwest as we study their anatomy and sketch them in our journals.

Do you know which butterfly is your state butterfly? Which butterflies emerge in the early spring? How do butterflies reproduce? How do you tell different species apart? Let’s investigate some of our common species and journal about them!

Have you ever laid in the grass and gazed up at the clouds? Let’s recapture that experience by drawing clouds in our journals and learning the science behind cloud types, what they tell us, and how they change.

What is moss? Are there different types? Where do they live? How do they reproduce? This session dives into the fascinating world of mosses and clubmosses with lots of information and ideas for sketching them in your journal.

Lichens are a symbiosis of an algae and a fungus. There are three forms of lichens and they come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. What lichens can you find near you? How do lichens behave in drought and cold? How old are lichens? Learn your lichens and journal about them!

Deer can easily confound the nature journalist, mostly because they don’t stay still long enough for us to sketch them. This session lets us use photos to capture images and then teaches various step-by-step methods for accurately creating the image on your journal page while learning their anatomy and traits.

What exactly are leaves? How do they breathe? Why do they fall off? Study venation patterns, margins, the arrangement of leaves on a stem, and more! Includes a bit of theory on mixing green color pigments, learning to draw curling leaves and layering washes of color. This class can be adapted from beginners to advance nature journalers.

Each bird has feathers with different shapes and functions. They have specific arrays of colors and patterns, and a varying number of feathers. Learn how feathers enable flight, how some birds can fly silently, and how feathers protect birds from cold and wet. Sketch feathers you have or use our virtual collection for ideas to journal about them.

Did you know the Scots have over 400 words for snow? There are many forms of snow, each of them unique. Let’s look at how snow crystals form, how they look, and what conditions are necessary for different types to form. A fun class for nature journaling during winter months.

If you are interested in learning more or in registering for a class for your group or organization, please complete this form.