It’s Time for Science Podcast Episode 13: Summer Science at Home

This month on It’s Time for Science, it’s time to talk about summer science at home and nature journaling! Host Tom Racine talks with John Muir Laws, a principal innovator in the global nature journaling movement, as well as curriculum specialist and educator Erica Beck Spencer.

Episode Summary

Tom talks with John Muir Laws about nature journaling and why you don’t need to be an artist to participate. They detail what nature journaling offers and why it is important.

Tom and Erica discuss aspects of Tom’s interview with John Muir Laws and how nature journaling might be used with students over the summer. As Erica talks about the value of nature journaling for students and teachers, she offers her own experiences with nature journaling both personally and as an educator.

Erica also offers some resources to help folks get started and keep going with nature journaling.

Episode Guests

John Muir Laws

John Muir Laws is an award-winning author, artist, naturalist, environmental educator, and principal innovator of the global nature journaling movement. He is the author and illustrator of several books, including The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds, and The Laws Guide to the Sierra Nevada. He is also the co-author of How to Teach Nature Journaling. He is co-founder and president of the Wild Wonder Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging nature connection and conservation through attention, curiosity, art, science, and community.

Erica Beck Spencer

Erica Beck Spencer is a curriculum specialist with the Full Option Science System Project (FOSS) and spearheaded the Taking FOSS Outdoors initiative. In addition to her development work, she has collaborated with over 50 districts and tens of thousands of educators on implementing the FOSS program.

She has worked with thousands of formal and nonformal teachers about teaching outside. She has served on the board of directors for the Maine Environmental Education Association, Rippleffect, and will be stepping up as the board president for the Maine Math and Science Alliance. Prior to working for FOSS, she taught in urban schools in Cambridge, Boston, and Portland, Maine.

June FOSS Insights article

Learn more about nature journaling from John Muir Laws, Erica Beck Spencer, and Fiona Gillogly in this month’s FOSS Insights article: Nature Journaling with Expert John Muir Laws.

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