Nature Journaling the Rain

With all the storms, flooding, and recent rain in Hawaii, I wanted to share this post because I’ve found that directly engaging with a topic can help me with processing an experience. It’s okay if it doesn’t feel right for you. It might be too soon, you might want to get right in and help in practical ways, or you might want to come back to this post later.

Have you been directly affected and need help after the storms? Check out this list of Community Resources compiled by Ko’olau ʻĀina Aloha. Please, don’t be afraid to reach out for assistance if you need it.

Note: I did not keep track of where my ideas for all the prompts below came from, but I believe most of them were generated from the free Wild Wonder nature journal educator forum, and from Get the Kids Outside.

Observations of Rain Day Phenomenon (I Notice, It Reminds Me Of…)

Choose one of the prompts below and draw a small picture, make a map or diagram, write your observations, or use numbers/estimates to quantify what you notice. You can either use a whole sheet of paper for each prompt, make multiple prompts all over your page, or draw a shape around each prompt to separate your ideas (or a mix).

Phenomenon – An observable fact or event. We are start by focusing only what we can directly observe. Things we can see, touch, measure, or that we feel.

Do not try to do all of the prompts. Choose one and try it out, and then try another. You can also focus on something you discover once you’ve started that isn’t on this list. Allow your own observations of your experience to guide your journaling practice.

Give a weather report. How would you describe what you notice outside as if you were a meteorologist? (Ideas: wind direction and speed, amount of rain, size of raindrops, cloud types, cloud direction)
What do you hear? (Idea: make an “x” in the center – this represents you. Make a dot to show the direction and distance of at least 5 sounds. Write and/or use an icon/small drawing to describe the sounds. When you’re finished, you can use a ruler to draw lines from you to the different sounds)
What does it smell like? Walk around: does the smell change depending on where you are?
How do you feel physically?
How does this weather make you feel emotionally?
What memories do you associate with the rain?
Where is the rain going? (Idea: make a simple map to record 2 puddles or where the muddiest area can be found)
Where is there less or no rain? (Idea: draw a picture or diagram of at least two of these areas. Write about how they are the same or different.)
What does the rainwater look like when it stops/pauses? (Idea: draw the shape of a puddle, then estimate the size, either with numbers or with a reference to something else. Eg: as long as my arm and as wide as I am tall.)
What do drops of rain look like on different surfaces? (Idea: draw or make a diagram on rain falling on at least 2 different surfaces, such as: a puddle, concrete, grass, tree bark, a bush or other plant, a flower. If it isn’t currently raining, draw or diagram the drops of rain you can find in at least 2 different places)
What insects or other small creatures do you see, and how many are there? (Idea: Draw a picture or write a list, and include a tally to count how many you find of each. Some things to look for: mosquitos, slugs, snails, worms)
Where can you find some animals: either birds, insects, or other small creatures? (Idea: include a small map, drawing, or description beside each one of where you found it.)
Can you see or hear any birds? What kind? (Idea: draw a picture or write a list with a description of the birds. Feel free to come up with your own names for them. Include a tally of how many of each kind you see or hear.)
What are the birds and other creatures doing? (Idea: choose one animal of any size, and draw a diagram of its behavior. Where is it going? What kinds of movements is it making?)

Making Inferences (I Wonder)

Choose one phenomena to focus on. Write down questions and possible conclusions on a separate sheet of paper. Include notes on how you could find out that information, or how you might collect that type of information in the future. You can also try to draw and label a diagram to explain a phenomenon.

Inference – A conclusion based on evidence and reasoning.

We do not need to come up with a solution to the very big problems facing our communities, or figure out exactly what’s going on, what happened, or why. But we can begin to ponder these questions, and stay open to learning more.

Examples:

Why is it raining?
What do you think will happen with the weather in the next 30 minutes? Hour?
How does the wind affect the rain?
What slows down or speeds up the rain as it falls?
How much rain do you think fell today? (Or yesterday)
How does rain end up where it goes? (roofs, slope, gutters, etc)
What slows down or speeds up the rainwater on the ground?
Why are some puddles bigger or smaller?
What do you think will happen to the puddles at those times? Or tomorrow? Why do you think that is?
What creatures are hiding and why? Where have they gone?

Art Ideas

Go outside and bring back a fallen branch, leaf, or rock to observe somewhere dry.

Mud spot –Rub some mud in your journal

Color a piece of paper with water soluble markers and leave it out in the rain for a little while.

Create a blurry, abstract landscape picture of what you see with smudges of mixing watercolors or oil pastels. What colors do you see in what areas, and in what amounts?

Draw four boxes on a page. In the first one, draw images to show how a place felt or looked before the storm. In the second one, draw how it looked or felt during the storm. In the third box, draw how it feels or looks now. In the final box, draw how you want it to look or feel in the future.

Data Resources

You can also journal based off of collected data.

Hawaii Climate historical data: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=hfo

NOAA historical weather chart: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/past-weather/

Real time monitoring data for surface water: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/explore/#mapCenter=20.612654651199616,-156.87377929687503&dataCollections=continuous&mapZoomLevel=7

For example, you can see the water levels for when Manoa stream overflowed the banks, and the speed with which the water level increased and decreased: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/USGS-16240500/#dataTypeId=continuous-00065-0&period=P7D&showFieldMeasurements=true