My Nature Study Goals for 2016

As part of my mission to be an "awesome adult" this year (see here for more on that, under brave), I have written down some goals for myself, in particular for studying nature. 

Spending time in nature is a necessity for me. Reading up about certain things I notice while surrounded by nature has been part of my routine for many years, mainly because I am a naturally curious! 

Barb from the Handbook of Nature Study blog had inspired me to write similar goals in 2013 and when I look back on that list, I realized that I had completed quite a few of those goals, but never wrote an update! I want to make sure to do a quarterly report here on my blog this time. 

For my goals, I followed many of the ideas from Barb's post . I started by writing ideas for my goals. I then created a detailed list from it, for some of the items.  I also wrote down a list of ideas for journal pages.  I wrote everything in my bullet journal so I could look them up easily.

1.Get a nature journal that I can paint or use watercolour pencils in. Use this nature journal to document our studies. Invite Celeste to contribute. 

2. Follow the Outdoor Hour Challenges . Modify when needed and add personal interest items. I like to use The Nature Connection for monthly ideas as well.  Another constant source of inspiration is the Mud Puddles to Meteors (their workshops, newsletters, and website!). As an example, in January we will study squirrels,  birds, and maybe pine trees & cones (from the Outdoor Hour Challenge's newsletter), and I added animal hibernation. 

3. Add different journal pages (see page 50 for ideas in my bullet journal).

4. Walk the Gairloch Road Trail and Dromore Trail.

5. Walk as many PEI National Park trails as possible. There are 14 open trails in total. 

8. Read 10 nature-related books this year. Here is the list: Nature Books to Read in 2016.

9. Add art and music appreciation to the mix, when possible. I looked back to the amazing resources I have gathered over the years, especially from Barb! The idea is to simple find a few paintings or other works of art that connect well with the topics, or the season.  I will do the same with music. I am really interested to see how this turns out! I have missed purposely looking at art and listening to music. This is something we did a lot more regularly when I homeschool all of my children. 

10. Participate in in the Backyard Bird Count and one other citizen science project. 

I will write updates on these goals each quarter this year, and will be sharing what we or I have done throughout the year as well. I am really looking forward to this year! 

The Magpie ~ Claude Monet