Curiosity Chains
Making knowledge links through observation, questions, and creativity
Dearest Reader,
In May the geese call out hello from high above as they return from their winter homes. The winter songbirds, Chickadees and Nuthatches, are joined by their friends from the south. And the starkly naked trees and shrubs begin to leaf out.
I feel nature waking up and something similar begins to stir in me as well. How about you? Or perhaps you live in the Southern Hemisphere. Are you feeling the reverse - slowing down and going quiet as fall and winter set in? Let me know in the comments.
I’m ready for an adventure, so let’s get to this month’s theme!
I want to build on getting lost in wonder from last month. We’ve established a basic nature journaling routine: gathered our supplies, found our sit spots (or maybe two), created a field guide, and learned to observe our environment deeply utilizing more than our sense of sight.
This month, I want to go deeper and use our skills and new awareness to create curiosity chains.
Why is curiosity so important?
It helps us survive. To be curious is to gain knowledge about our constantly changing environment. This information can help inform our choices so that we thrive. It can help us avoid discomfort and danger.
It leads to understanding, and understanding is a keystone to empathy. We are more open to the experience of our fellow creatures, fostering closeness with others.
And lastly, curiosity pulls you into a feel-good flow state of heightened awareness and super focus.
Curiosity makes you feel alive!
How to build a curiosity chain?
Simply an experience that you’ve had can be the spark. This year, it was the Great Backyard Bird Count that did it for me. I’ve always liked birds. I liked illustrating them. I loved listening to birdsong. But I’ve always been a casual observer with a superficial appreciation until the bird count when my observations switched something on inside of me and going deep into the bird world became a burning desire.
Next thing I know I’m contacting the director of the nearest natural history museum with a large bird collection and begging for permission to come in two days a week to work from the collection because drawing is knowing (and she gave her consent - I start next week!). I’m out a couple of times a week birding. I’m taking an ornithology course. I’m reading a ton of books about birds (thank you the interlibrary loan system). And my nature journal entries of late have been very bird centric.
Below is the curiosity framework I use as I gather information and make assessments to build my chain. It’s pretty basic, but maybe it will give you ideas.
Observation
This initial stage is where you make use of the “I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of” exercise I wrote about here, and you’re using all your senses. It’s during this stage that you are generating your initial list of questions and tentative answers based on your impressions.
Perspective
Once you have built your initial picture, you’ll want to see what others have had to say on the subject. This is a research phase when you gather intel outside of your direct experience. What has been written? What have fellow naturalists found out? This is about sharing and receiving, so read books and articles and explore other nature journals. Look at facts and review anecdotal experience. Talk to people on the trail, in the park, in your neighborhood, or even in our weekly prompt chat.
And during this stage, as your knowledge grows, continue adding your notes, diagrams, illustrations, thoughts, observations, and other findings to your nature journal.
Connections
You’ll find yourself circling between the observation and perspective stages over and over again. You are adding more links to your curiosity chain. What’s exciting about this stage is that you uncover patterns. You connect fragments of information together and reason out a bigger picture. More questions are generated, more information is gathered, and the bigger picture continues to develop. You’re making discoveries. Exciting, right?
Reflection
At this point, you ask why does my topic matter? What’s the broader impact? Who and/or what does this affect and how? You may sift through your sources and ponder how strong is this evidence and how reliable are the sources. I add these contemplations to my nature journal - and yes, add more questions to my list.
The cycle repeats.
Some things to keep in mind going forward this month building your curiosity chains
Don’t hinder yourself. I am not a scientist, so I often feel inadequate and out of my comfort zone, but we all are hardwired to see patterns. Don’t be afraid to play with challenging subjects and ideas. Be imaginative and creative in your problem-solving. Lean into your observations and interactions as you record your experiences in your journals. Make lists of things to follow up on, INIWIRMO observations, books to read, people to talk to, etc. Collaborate with your fellow journalers and your friendly park rangers and natural history museum curators. Share ideas with your partner, your spouse, your siblings, your children, and your neighbors.
Above all else, be open to mystery. You will have more questions than answers. You will revise your ideas as you gather more information. This is discovery.
Exploration is the approach when you nature journal.
Weekly Prompts
All the prompts this month are designed to help you build your curiosity chains. The schedule is below beginning with this week.
To avoid sending two emails out today, I’ve posted the prompt to the platform without sending an email.
Publishing schedule this month
Prompts
May 5 - Mysteries and Explanations
May 12 - Questioning Questions
May 19 - Mapping (includes a BONUS video activity)
May 26 - Team Observation (this will be a fun activity to do with family and friends over the weekend)
Demo
May 19 - Hidden Book Project (see Prompt)
Tiny Owl Dispatch
Around May 16
Some changes to A Naturalist’s Notebook
I’ve made a few modifications to the publication as I introduce additional content. Here’s a quick list of what’s happening:
The monthly thematic post (like the one you are reading now) will be published on the first Friday of every month.
The first prompt of the month will be published the same day (the first Friday) but not mailed out. Instead, I’ll put the link to it in the monthly post. You will always be able to find the current and past prompts in the Prompt tab on the website and in the app, as well as search for the tag “Prompt.”
I’m adding short monthly demos - the date is still undetermined, but I’m thinking toward the end of the month or with a prompt if appropriate. These will be mailed out when published, and I hope they will be helpful and entertaining. I’m keeping them short: 5 to 10 minutes (20 minutes max) and targeted to a specific technique or topic. If you have a suggestion for a topic, hit the reply on any of my emails or pop it in the comments on a post.
Tiny Owl Dispatch
I’ve also introduced an extra newsletter for paid subscribers, the Tiny Owl Dispatch. It’s published and emailed around the middle of the month and is filled with behind-the-scenes stories about my illustration projects, nature journaling in the national park and the Dorr Museum of Natural History, studio life, and more. It’s a more personal look at my life and career as a natural history illustrator.
It’s been a bit of a conundrum for me about whether to charge for my content. I don’t want to restrict content because I feel building a relationship with the environment and each other through the dialog of nature should be free of monetary impediments. On the flip side I’m a working artist/writer and the content I create has value. So here is what I’m thinking. Almost all of my content is available whether you support this publication monetarily or not. The Tiny Owl Dispatch is a bit of extra content just for paid subscribers as a thank-you for supporting A Naturalist’s Notebook because, to be honest without monetary support this publication cannot survive. I’m committed 125% to this project, and I’m hoping that if you are able you will commit as well with a paid subscription.
If you are unable or this isn’t the right time, no worries. Perhaps in the future, meanwhile I’ll continue to create content here for everyone, facilitate conversation, and provide inspiration for your nature journaling practice, and you can support this project in the following ways:
The most important way to support this publication? Start a curiosity chain and fill up your nature journal!
Subscribe to this publication as a free subscriber.
Share A Naturalist’s Notebook with three friends.
Restack my content on Notes
Post in the comments on my posts and Notes
Share a free post on your social media channels and encourage others to sign up
Engage in our Chats
Thank you so much for reading and nature journaling with me. This is going to be an exciting month. Until next time!
xoSusannah