Nature Journal Notes

Nature journals are a great way to help us focus our thoughts and modify our perspective of things that we look at every single day. One tool for guiding focus is to look for specific things within our natural surroundings. Whether it be some kind of naturally occurring organism or something a little bit more abstract, creating our own scavenger hunts can be a lot of fun! A favorite thing to look for and document in my nature journal are patterns.
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​Patterns are regularities of repeating shapes, lines and/or colors and are everywhere in nature! Not only are natural patterns beautiful, but finding the reasons for natural patterns is the basis of many scientific discoveries including the observations and findings of renowned naturalist Charle's Darwin. Darwin closely studied the relationship and patterns of behavior and traits among various species all over the world including intensively among the Galapagos Islands to give rise to his theory of Natural Selection.  

​When journaling, there are a number of different patterns you can look for within the natural world. You can choose to document any and all patterns or pick something specific. Some of the more common patterns in nature to look for are:

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​Symmetry:

Symmetry can be identified by drawing a line down the middle of an object to create two or more identical pieces of that shape. Each line is called a line of symmetry and some things, like leaves, have one line of symmetry, while other shapes like snowflakes can have many. In your journals, sketch anything you find that looks like in could be equally split in half, or more, and draw as many lines of symmetry as you can! While sketching, think about why your subject has the symmetry that it does. Where you can’t find symmetry, write down why you think the object might be asymmetrical. Asymmetry is the lack of symmetry. In the case of the spider to the right, symmetry is found along the spiders back, horizontally, but not vertically. This could be because the front and back fo the body serve different functions for this animal.

​Fractals:
 
One of the most mesmerizing patterns in nature is something called fractals. Fractals are found most commonly around us in the form of trees and can be described as the splitting (or branching) of a parent branch into multiple smaller branches. Leonardo DaVinci once observed fractals and described his observations as, “All the branches of a tree at every stage of its height when put together are equal in thickness to the trunk.” Fractals can be found in trees, their leaves, river divides, flowers, and even lightning bolts!

​Spirals:
 
​Spirals come in many variations, but generally speaking a spiral is a repeating, connected coil or curl. Apparent in many plants and even some animals, spirals can be mesmerizing to observe. Here in Massachusetts, one of the most common spiraled animals might be the snail! One noted math sequence is the Fibonacci Sequence, which can be seen in nature all the time in the form of a spiral. Most clearly could be the cross section of a Nautilus, which is divided into growing chambers following what looks like a perfect spiral.

​The Fibonacci Spiral on the left compared to the cross-section of a Nautilus Shell Below.

​Repeating Shapes, Lines and Colors:
 
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but any time a shape or a line that repeats itself in nature, that’s a pattern! Even if you aren’t quite sure what the pattern is, seeing multiple versions of one or many shapes, lines, or even colors can be a type of pattern! This can be an extremely fun pattern to look for because it can often connect different types of organisms in ways that can be unexpected or surprising! For example, looking at a winter landscape, you might notice that there are splashed of the color red in berries  on the ground, branches of some types of bushes, and even cardinals flying around! Why might all of these different organisms be successful by standing out with red coloration in the wintertime?

In your journals, try to find as many different patterns you can! You can even do some additional research and see what scientists and naturalists have observed the same patterns and how they are used in our everyday lives! Other patterns to look for are waves, spheres, flow or meanders (like a river shape or a snake while it is slithering), cracks, tessellations (repeated tile patterns), and spots and stripes!

Check out more examples of patterns found in nature below!