Lakeside nature journaling on a Wild Wonder retreat
Bestselling author Amy Tan in conversation with John Muir Laws at The Foster about her nature journal pages that appear in her book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles (2023 Wild Wonder Conference)
Abby McBride (left) and Catherine Hamilton, 2019 Wild Wonder teachers
Wild Wonder Earth Day cleanup in the San Francisco Bay Area, April 2023
Akshay, Gargi, and Kate in their Wild Wonder shirts at a 2023 San Francisco Bay Area Wild Wonder gathering
Fiona Gillogly (left) and Hannah Hinchman, 2019 Wild Wonder teachers
Mark Simmons teaching at 2019 Wild Wonder
Jane Kim, 2021 Wild Wonder keynote speaker
Dr. Nooshin Razani, 2021 Wild Wonder keynote speaker
John Muir Laws teaching a group in the San Francisco Bay Area.
John Muir Laws and attendees, Wild Wonder 2019
Amy Tan and Obi Kaufman, 2019 Wild Wonder keynote speakers
Claire Walker Leslie, 2019 Wild Wonder keynote speaker and teacher
Mike Daikubara, 2022 Wild Wonder keynote speaker
Vitor Velez, 2022 Wild Wonder teacher
John Muir Laws and Yvea Moore at the Wild Wonder Earth Day cleanup in the San Francisco Bay Area, April 2023
Rosemary Mosco, 2024 Wild Wonder keynote speaker
Nature journaling on a retreat in Point Reyes National Seashore.
J. Drew Lanham, 2021 Wild Wonder keynote speaker
Wild Wonder Foundation Events
We host a wide variety of events, including nature journaling classes, retreats, conferences, and teacher trainings both in person and online. Would you like to be the first to hear about what’s coming up?
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2025 Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Retreats
Led by experienced and engaging educators, Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Retreats offer you the opportunity to deepen your nature journaling practice while inspiring you, challenging you, and encouraging you to connect with nature, other nature journalers, and yourself. The vibe is joyful, kind, enthusiastic, supportive, and fun…and nature journalers of ALL experience levels are welcome!
In 2025, we are excited to offer four retreats.
Atlantic Puffin art by John Muir Laws
Join us via Video Pass for our Sixth Annual Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference
Founded in 2019, the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference is the largest international event of its kind, attracting nature journalers from around the world. Your Video Pass includes access to 30 classes, panels, and talks, from an international roster of teachers, journalers, writers, artists, authors, and thought leaders in nature, nature journaling, nature writing, visual thinking, and conservation, including Fernando Gomez Baptista, Merel Djamila, Tony Foster, Sushma Hegde, Nishant Jain, Derrick Z. Jackson, Stephen Kress, Ph.D., John Muir Laws, Anastasiia Morozova (Natura Illustrata), Rosemary Mosco, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Mike Rohde, Amy Tan, and many others. Video Pass access is good through 4/30/25!
January 25, 2025—Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Educators Workshop
Join John Muir Laws—co-author of the book How to Teach Nature Journaling—along with other experienced educators for a one-day online practicum for nature journal educators. The workshop also includes several hours of recorded classes you will receive in advance of the live practicum. You will come away from this workshop empowered with best practices and practical tools for teaching nature journaling, and you will be prepared to put them into practice with your students. This workshop is for anyone who is teaching in any form—formal classroom educators, homeschool parents, park rangers, adult education instructors, nature center staff, scout leaders, environmental educators, and more.
Free Recorded Class: Learn to Draw and Paint Mushrooms with John Muir Laws
Free but registration required. $25 suggested donation.
Join John Muir Laws—a true “Fun-Guy!”—for a 2-hour recorded class on how to draw and paint mushrooms.
Free Recorded Class: Learn to Draw Raptors with John Muir Laws.
$25 suggested donation. Free but registration required.
Learn how to draw raptors from the award-winning artist and author who literally wrote the book on the subject!
REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS LEARN TO DRAW BIRDS CLASSES WITH JOHN MUIR LAWS:
“This is the most wonderful online class that I have ever taken, paid or otherwise. The expertise of Jack as a teacher and artist is SO amazing. I loved every single second of this!”
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Watercolor with John Muir Laws
Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws (aka Jack) for a 2-hour class where you will learn tips and techniques to harness the joy and beauty of this artistic medium, streamline your watercolor painting process, and make watercolor work well in field conditions.
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Draw Insects with John Muir Laws
Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws for a 2-hour recorded class where he will share his best tips and tricks for drawing insects learned through his 35+ years of teaching and illustrating. A widely respected natural science artist and a beloved educator, John Muir Laws (aka Jack) is continually refining his drawing techniques, and this class will include his latest ideas and tips to help you capture insects on paper, including those tricky textured legs, shiny shells, and more!
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Draw Birds with John Muir Laws
Learn how to draw birds from the award-winning artist and author who literally wrote the book on the subject!
Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws for a 2-hour recorded class where he will share his best tips and tricks for drawing birds learned through his 35 years of teaching and illustrating. A widely respected avian artist, John Muir Laws (aka Jack) is continually refining his bird drawing techniques, and this class will include his latest ideas and tips to help you capture birds on paper. Free but registration required (you will receive an email with the recording link and the class handout). Suggested donation: $25.
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Draw Gourds with John Muir Laws
Oh My Gourd-ness! Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws, aka Jack, for this fun, engaging, and empowering class on drawing and painting “gourd”-geous gourds in your nature journal. In this 2-hour recorded class, you will learn how to draw and paint all kinds of gourds, from shiny, plump pumpkins to warty gourds with interesting twists and intricate color markings. Because of their challenging shapes and textures, gourds are a great way to get in some pencil miles that you can apply to lots of other subjects. This is a fundraiser for food security at the Amani Children's Home in Tanzania.
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Draw Happy Little Trees with John Muir Laws
Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws, aka Jack, for this fun, engaging, and empowering class on drawing and painting “happy little trees” in your nature journal—in honor of Bob Ross’ birthday (he would have been 81 on Oct 29). In this 2-hour recorded class, you will learn how to draw trees in all their forms—individual trees, blocks of trees, and far off trees as part of a larger landscape. This is a fundraiser for the Wild Wonder Microgrant Program, which will debut in 2024. Suggested donation: $25.
Free Recorded Class—Learn to Draw Water with John Muir Laws
Sign up now! Recording will be emailed to you after June 1. Join award-winning artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws for a 2-hour recorded class where he will share his best tips and tricks for drawing water learned through his 35 years of teaching, illustrating, and journaling. Learn how to capture water in your nature journal—from mountain streams to still lakes to wild waterfalls—and show motion, colors, and sparkle of light. Jack will demonstrate techniques with pencil, watercolor, gouache, and gel pen.
All ages and levels welcome. This class is a fundraiser for the Wild Wonder Foundations Micro Grant Program, which will debut in 2024. Suggested donation: $25.
Free Recorded Class: Learn to Draw Plants with John Muir Laws
With the bounty of the plant world all around us, it is always a great time to practice drawing and journaling plants and flowers. Join award-winning artist, scientist, and master educator John Muir Laws for a 2-hour introductory class where he will share his best tips and tricks for drawing plants. This class is a fundraiser for the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Educators’ Conference. Free but registration required. Suggested donation: $25. You will receive an email with the recording link and the class handout.
Free Recorded Class: Learn to Draw Owls with John Muir Laws
Learn “owl” about drawing these magnificent, mysterious, and majestic raptors of the night in this FREE 2-part recorded class with award-winning artist, scientist, and master educator John Muir Laws (aka Jack), author of The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds. FOUR hours of learning! Free but registration required. Suggested donation: $25. You will receive an email with the recording links.
REMINDER: Community Events Calendar
In addition to the many free live classes and video lessons offered by John Muir Laws, other members of the nature journaling community offer classes and events in person and online. Meet new friends, get inspired, and keep up with your pencil miles by joining these events!
Past Events
Amy Tan and Tony Foster in Conversation with John Muir Laws: Sunday, Sept 17, 2023
A Wild Wonder Foundation Celebration at The Foster Museum, Palo Alto, California, Sunday, September 17, 2023, 4-9pm
Join Amy Tan and John Muir Laws, a.k.a. Jack, for a special reception and conversation about Amy’s forthcoming book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles (Knopf, April 2024, foreword by David Sibley), a collection of nature journal pages, stories, and portraits of the birds from Amy’s backyard. The celebration will begin with a conversation between British artist Tony Foster and John Muir Laws about Tony’s recent journey, Watercolor Diaries from the Green River, as well as an exploration of Tony’s four decades of exploring and documenting wild places around the world.
12/17/2024: Amy Tan in Conversation with J. Drew Lanham
4pm Pacific. Free but registration required. $25 suggested donation (donors of $25+ receive gifts)
Join Amy Tan, author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles, and J. Drew Lanham, author of Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves, for a live online reading and conversation. A Writing the Wild event hosted in partnership with the Wild Wonder Foundation.
12/15/24: Sandhill Crane Field Trip with John Muir Laws
Prepare yourself for a primeval experience. Join John Muir Laws, Kate Rutter, and the SF Bay Area Nature Journal Club for a field trip to the Sacramento Valley in Northern California to draw and study the Sandhill Cranes that migrate to the area for the winter.
11/16/24: Sierra Birds Book Launch Party with John Muir Laws: In-person or Livestream
Co-hosted by Wild Wonder Foundation, Feather River Land Trust, and Heyday Books
In-person and livestream tickets available, and all tickets include a signed copy of the book.
Join award-winning author, artist, and educator John Muir Laws at the new beautiful Sierra Valley Nature Center in Beckwourth, California, to celebrate the publication of The Laws Field Guide to Sierra Birds with a talk, reception, and book signing. Or join the livestream from anywhere in the world!
August 18-23, 2024—Wild Wonder Sierra Nevada Nature Journaling Retreat with John Muir Laws and Friends
Join John Muir Laws along with other experienced artists and nature journaling educators Rosalie Haizlett and Kate Rutter for a 5-day nature journaling retreat at a rustic field campus in the Sierra Nevada on the Yuba River north of Lake Tahoe near Sierra City, California.
May 28-June 2, 2024—Wild Wonder Point Reyes Nature Journaling Retreat with John Muir Laws and Kate Rutter
Join John Muir Laws and Kate Rutter for a 5-day nature journaling retreat in the stunning beauty of Point Reyes, California.
September 18, 2024—Amy Tan & Rosemary Mosco in Conversation, hosted by John Muir Laws
Join Amy Tan—bestselling author, and avid birder and nature journaler—and Rosemary Mosco—artist, science writer, author, and creator of Bird and Moon comics—for a special live, in-person evening about birds, nature journaling, bird humor, and bird love, hosted by award-winning author and educator John Muir Laws.
The evening will begin with a talk by Rosemary Mosco about her love of familiar birds—especially pigeons! Attendees will also enjoy a hosted reception with hearty appetizers and a wine bar as well as a book signing. Seating is very limited!
Sandhill Crane Field Trip with John Muir Laws: Sunday, December 10, 2023, 10am-4pm.
Prepare yourself for a primeval experience. Join John Muir Laws, Kate Rutter, and the SF Bay Area Nature Journal Club for a field trip to the Sacramento Valley in Northern California to draw and study the Sandhill Cranes that migrate to the area for the winter. We will meet at 10am at the Cosumnes River Preserve Visitor’s Center and explore wetlands through the morning. In the afternoon we will head to Staten Island Road to watch the fly-in of vast numbers of cranes before nightfall. Though the program ends at 4:00 PM, sunset will be at 4:45 PM, this is often a magical time with the cranes. Consider leaving yourself a little wiggle room in your schedule should you want to stay and sketch a little more.
Would you like some helpful tips on drawing cranes before you go? Check out this video tutorial by John Muir Laws and these three blog posts: basic crane lines, crane anatomy, and painting cranes in the landscape.
Bring your journaling supplies, a portable stool, binoculars, and a spotting scope (if you have one), PLUS a potluck lunch treat to share and your own bowl, spoon, napkin, and water. Bring a sun hat and a warm hat, and dress in/bring extra layers as it can be cold.
This is a fundraiser for the Wild Wonder Foundation. $25 suggested donation, no registration necessary. If rain is a possibility, check this listing on the morning of the event to see if the trip is canceled or diverted to another (dry) location.
April 2024: Global Earth Day Stewardship Challenge
“The month of April is special because it includes Earth Day AND April is also my birthday month. There is no greater gift I’d love from you than time spent nurturing nature and community near you,” says John Muir Laws, aka Jack, co-founder of Wild Wonder Foundation. Jack has issued the Global Earth Day Stewardship Challenge! How will your love of nature move you? How has your nature journaling inspired you to connect with and care for natural spaces in your community?
WildTober 2024: InkTober for Nature Journalers
Ready to put in some pencil miles? Join us for #WildTober — an InkTober challenge for nature journalers! Each day in October, create a page or two in your nature journal based on the daily prompt from this list. We can’t wait to see your work! (Scroll down for the prompts in Spanish, too!)
Share it with us daily by tagging us @wildwonderfoundation using #wildtober and we’ll share with the community in our stories! 🍁Tag a friend in your post to invite them to join in the fun! 🍂