A Year of Nature Journaling Prompts

Daily Nature Journaling Prompts!

Let's celebrate nature and put in some “pencil miles”!* Each day this year, create a page in your nature journal based on that day’s prompt. Scroll down for links to more resources for this month’s prompts.

BONUS: Join this month’s host, Roseann Hanson, for a free live online class, Creative Cartography, on 3/22/25. Register here.

We can’t wait to see your work! Share it with us by tagging us @wildwonderfoundation using #naturejournalingmarch and we’ll share with the community! Tag a friend in your post to invite them to join in the fun!

PS: Looking for prompts from a prior month? Pop to the ARCHIVE at the bottom of this page!

* “Drawing is not a gift—it is a skill. You can learn to draw. You just have to put in the pencil miles.”

—John Muir Laws

Nature Journaling March Prompts

Click on each prompt for additional free resources and/or tutorials. Special thanks to this month’s host teacher, Roseann Hanson.
Be sure to sign up for the special live online free class, Creative Cartography, register here.

  1. Capture Creative Night Skies

  2. Try Triad Painting - Paint with only three colors - Jane Blundell and Art Toolkit

  3. Sketch a Bird from Life — Alex Boon

  4. Elegant Ink — Create your journal entry with just ink, no color, using hash-marks to create values and textures

  5. Mirror Mirror - use a mirror to draw the underside of an object you didn’t see from above [idea from Kate Rutter]

  6. Make a Thumbnail Sketch — Claire Giordano

  7. Paint with Dirt

  8. Add Pressed Plants to Your Journal

  9. Use Values — create a page using lights, mediums, and darks of just one color

  10. Let it Snow!

  11. Record the Weather

  12. Make a Plant Study

  13. Tracking Critters

  14. Go Direct (with watercolor) – no preliminary sketching

  15. See the unseen (and draw it)

  16. Explore the Tiny— try to notice something small you didn’t notice before

  17. Make a Bird Clock

  18. Accordion Pull-out for Strip Maps or Long Drawings

  19. Draw a Rock, Fossil or Formation

  20. Add Ephemera to Your Page

  21. Iridescence

  22. Creative Cartography (live online class)

  23. Measure with your body

  24. Map Bird Songs in your yard

  25. Celebrate Soil - find some soil and nature journal what’s in it

  26. Sketch a Sunset

  27. Unfurl: Leaf or Flower Opening

  28. Cactus Crazy - fill a page with cacti! Draw from photos or life.

  29. Leaf Print - apply paint to a leaf and make a print in your journal

  30. Mystery Subject - journal something you have no clue to what it is

  31. Focus on Five (Details) - pick a subject (like a flower or tree cone) choose five details and sketch and journal them. Ask questions!

LEARN MORE ABOUT NATURE JOURNALING

ARCHIVE: Nature Journaling Prompts

Click each month to explore the prompts and link to additional resources.