Explorations in American Environmental History Worksheet: Nature Experience

You are in nature for this brief moment. As did Thoreau and Emerson, you are now asked to record your impressions. Using all of your senses, complete this day journal. Think about your relationship to the land and what that means to you as you detail the sights and sounds of this journey.

• What do you see-objectively see? (i.e.-mountains, trees, etc. Look very closely at the detail of nature and note any patterns.)
• What do you smell? Describe the smells about you.
• What do you hear? Detail the sounds-describe the sound, don't just say a bird is chirping. Use Thoreau's and Muir's method of description. Emulate their writing.
• What sensations do you feel? (i.e. wet, cold, hungry?)

Think about how these impressions make you feel. Write a journal entry that includes your experience of this place and describe what your relationship to this land means to you. You can recall vivid memories of other times in nature or use just this day and relate it to what you think. Combine thinking and feeling for your best writing.

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