Benefits of Nature Journaling

I’ve kept a nature journal for years, and it’s become one of the most grounding, enriching habits in my life. As a wildlife artist, nature journaling isn't just about sketching what I see—it's how I connect to place, notice patterns in animal behavior, and stay creatively fueled. If you're wondering about the benefits of nature journaling, I can tell you firsthand: it's way more than just drawing pretty leaves.

Whether I’m tucked into a rocky overlook sketching birds or scribbling in the margins of my sketchbook after a short hike, nature journaling pulls me out of my head and into the present. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an artist or not—it’s something anyone can do, anywhere, with whatever tools you have on hand.

If you’re brand new to this and want to get started, I recommend checking out my Field Guide to Nature Journaling, which walks through everything from mindset to page ideas.

Key Points

• You don't have to be good at drawing to benefit from nature journaling—observation is the real skill.
• Bringing your journal outdoors can boost mental clarity, especially if you keep it analog (no phones).
• Sketching animals builds your attention span and helps you notice things you would normally overlook.

The Benefits of Nature Journaling Go Far Beyond Art

Even though I started nature journaling to improve my wildlife sketches, the benefits of nature journaling turned out to be way more personal. I felt less anxious. I noticed the seasons changing. I remembered where I saw certain owls or which tree bloomed first. I even slept better on days I journaled outside.

It helps you slow down and see more

We miss a lot when we rush. When I draw birds or foxes in the field, I see subtle shifts in posture, texture, or behavior that I wouldn’t notice otherwise. Nature journaling forces you to pause. It turns your focus outward. And it retrains your brain to look for detail—not just for the sake of accuracy, but for awareness.

Tip: Try using a timer. Give yourself 10 minutes to draw one plant or bird. Notice the details you wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Don’t rush it. Even just one sketch can shift your mindset for the rest of the day.

If you want to build this habit slowly, check out these simple nature journaling activities for both beginners and kids.

It builds a creative and observational habit

One of my favorite parts of nature journaling is that it becomes a ritual. I don’t wait for inspiration. I just go outside with my nature journaling bag and start drawing. The act of showing up is what brings the magic. Over time, I began to develop themes, personal interests, and even repeat drawing prompts that helped me grow as an artist and a naturalist.

Insight: Creativity isn’t always about being original. Sometimes it’s about returning to the same spot, the same tree, or the same animal again and again, and noticing how it’s changed—or how you have.

It supports mental health

Even on tough days, if I take my sketchbook out and do a short session of watercolor nature journaling, I feel the difference. My breath slows. My thoughts quiet. It’s one of the most accessible mindfulness tools I know. And it doesn’t feel forced—it feels like play.

Advice: Try keeping your journal closed while you walk, and only open it when you truly feel curious about something. That curiosity becomes your starting point. This helps the practice feel more like a response to the world than a task to complete.

Drawing Animals Deepens Your Connection to Wildlife

As a wildlife artist, I gravitate toward animals. Drawing them in the wild teaches me patience, humility, and respect. Animals rarely stay still. So you learn to make fast marks, observe behavior, and embrace imperfection.

Sketching teaches you how animals move

Whether it's a hawk twitching its tail feathers or a coyote trotting across a clearing, capturing gesture is a skill that only gets better with practice. Nature journaling gives you regular reps. And those moments of focus lead to deeper understanding.

Tip: Don’t try to finish a perfect drawing of an animal. Instead, make a page of gestures. Quick 5- to 10-second sketches. Capture the line of action, the weight shift, the way the tail curves. It’s like visual note-taking.

You can see some of my favorite nature journaling examples if you’re curious what animal sketches look like in different environments.

It enhances your fieldwork

If you like birding, hiking, or simply watching wildlife, keeping a journal brings another layer of intention to your experience. I often use my sketchbook to note location, time, sounds, weather, and changes in landscape. Over time, these records have become a personal field guide I reference constantly.

Advice: Keep a small, dedicated section in your journal for notes. It doesn’t need to be neat. These rough jottings often end up being the most useful and surprising references when you look back later.

If you're interested in starting with plants too, here's a guide I made for nature journaling plants.

Nature Journaling Creates a Record of Your Life Outside

Every page in my journal is a record of where I was, what I saw, and how I felt in that moment. Over time, this builds a personal archive of seasons, places, and experiences that are easy to forget otherwise.

It helps you track seasons and behavior

You might start to notice that certain birds arrive around the same week each year. Or that a certain tree blooms earlier if it was a warm winter. These patterns only become visible when you take time to write or draw them down.

Tip: Use a corner of your page to jot down the date, temperature, cloud coverage, and any unique scents or sounds. This extra context adds richness to your record.

It creates a habit of reflection

Journaling outdoors helps me feel connected, not just to nature but to myself. I often look back at older pages and remember what I was going through at that time. It’s a form of memory that ties emotion to place—something I didn’t expect when I started.

Insight: Nature journaling is as much about internal discovery as it is external observation. Even short notes like “felt calm here” or “worried this morning, but this helped” bring emotional clarity.

How to Start Your Own Nature Journaling Practice

You don’t need a fancy setup. I started with a ballpoint pen and a notebook. But if you want a gear list to make things smoother, I made this page with nature journaling supplies that includes everything I use now.

Start with curiosity, not perfection

It’s easy to freeze up when you think your journal needs to be beautiful. But the goal isn’t perfection—it’s paying attention. If you're stuck, begin with questions:

• What do I see?
• What does it remind me of?
• What do I wonder?

Try a few nature journaling prompts or explore some creative nature journaling excursions if you want structured ideas.

Make it part of your routine

The more you journal, the easier it gets. But it helps to make it part of your rhythm—even if that’s just once a week. I like to go out early on weekends with coffee and a compact sketch kit. That consistency has made it feel natural, not forced.

Here are more ideas to get started: nature journaling ideas

If you're teaching others or sharing this with kids, I also have a full guide on how to teach nature journaling.

Want to Dive Deeper?

• Join International Nature Journaling Week to connect with others.
• Explore nature journaling workshops in the wild if you want an immersive experience.
• See what nature journaling in Australia looks like through my recent travels.
• Read my thoughts on nature journaling for adults if you think this is only for kids (spoiler: it’s not).