Nature Journaling Tip #11: Make Sound Maps

Focus your attention on what you're hearing by making a sound map in your nature journal:

1. Draw a circle.

2. Place an X in the center to indicate your position, then start to listen carefully.

3. Each time you become aware of a sound, note its direction, volume and apparent distance away, and represent it graphically in some way. While you listen, think of the way a cat or a rabbit rotates its outer ears in response to a sound. Enhance your own ears' ability to catch sound waves by cupping your hands behind them, and bending your outer ears forward with thumb and forefinger. Listen for a while like this, and note how your perception of sound changes.

After listening and recording for about 10 minutes, review what you have heard and summarize it in writing. Ask:

• What sounds were natural?
• What sounds were human-caused?
• What sounds were pleasant?
• What sounds were annoying?
• What sounds were mysterious?
  

Image by artist Derrel Blain. See more of Derrel's work. 

Next week's tip: Using Nature Journals to Inspire Writing

Mark Baldwin is the Director of Education at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI), a proud partner in National Environmental Education Week. Each year RTPI offers online workshops for educators interested in bringing nature journaling into the classroom. For more information visit www.rtpi.org.