A FIELD GUIDE TO OBSERVING NATURE

Observing nature requires patience and an eye for noticing details and tiny movements. What do you hear? What can you smell? Open up all your senses to receive the environment around you. Being observant helps you focus and be alert to assist you in your process. Immersing oneself in nature with a goal in mind puts you fully in the present moment. The most important thing is to walk slowly and be as silent as possible in order to successfully observe something. Keep your camera or phone ready at hand at all times. 

 

Some tips and suggestions:

The app only allows a maximum of 4 images per observation. Choose the best photos. Make sure your images are as clear and as zoomed as possible. If you are looking for an animal, try to take pictures at different angles. If the animal is moving too fast, then you may take a video and screenshot the best clip. If you are looking for a plant, make sure to take pictures of the front side and back side of the leaves with at least one to a few branches included. If the plant has flowers and/or fruit, take a picture of it too! Meanwhile, you can touch the leaves and feel its texture. Smell the plant. It’s the plant’s method of identifying itself to you. Inviting you to inhale its signature aroma into your lungs. A moment of bonding and merging. 

 

To get a feel of what the photos can look like, there are already a bunch of pictures in the JEP project you can first see. We hope to get our observations as “research grade” as much as possible.