I subscribe to the Finding Nature RSS feed and read the first paragraph of this post on Saturday morning. I immediately installed the app.

From the article:

This free app, created by nature writer Melissa Harrison, with input from me along the way, helps you build a habit of noticing nature. Recording your experiences is a powerful way to boost nature connectedness, benefiting both your wellbeing and the environment

I listened to and enjoyed Melissa’s podcast during the various lockdowns, so I was even more interested after seeing her name.

We know jotting down the good things in nature improves nature connection and writing about nature helps weave the emotional and biological threads that form a deep bond to the natural world.

I’ve been noting down (up to) three good things in nature for a while now using a Google form that feeds into a spreadsheet, along with a folder of images on Google Drive. An app might offer a different kind of experience.

These fleeting moments don’t need a lot of time; they can sneak in between the busyness. And if you jot them down, something magical can happen—writing about nature deepens those moments and roots them in place.

There’s no need to worry about facts and figures; a few short, positive lines about the good things in nature is great. A paragraph or two is even better

So far, I’ve used the app to record location, add some notes and tags, and upload photos for visual recollection. I’ve also been using it to generate a sentence for my Google sheet. With the sheet, I still own the source data, which means I can do something with it later on if I choose.

I haven’t explored the other features much yet, but I like the idea of interesting articles being surfaced, so I might give that a go.

I love that someone’s created an app to support this kind of thing. Really pleasing.