Back by Popular Demand: Creative Nature Journaling with Steve Pardue
After the success of our first nature journaling course earlier this Spring, we’re delighted to offer it again, this time set within the beautiful and diverse habitats of Gosforth Nature Reserve.
Across three sessions, you’ll develop your confidence and creativity through the practice of nature journaling. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to deepen your connection with nature, this course will guide you in observing and recording the natural world in a meaningful, personal way.
Led by experienced artist and tutor Steve Pardue, and in collaboration with our knowledgeable naturalists Emily and Hollie, each session will begin with a guided walk to spark inspiration. Emily and Hollie will focus on a different habitat each time, helping you to explore the unique species, sounds and textures of the reserve.
Session 1 – Woodland
Tuesday 12 August | 10am–2pm
Session 2 – Wetland
Tuesday 26 August | 10am–2pm
Session 3 – Meadow
Tuesday 9 September | 10am–2pm
You’ll learn how to notice nature in new and meaningful ways and translate your observations into creative expression on the page. The sessions are relaxed, supportive, and designed to help you slow down, look closely, and enjoy the act of noticing.
No need for advanced artistic skills, just a love of nature and a willingness to have a go! You'll learn how to develop a daily journaling habit and how to capture the world around you in your own unique way.
A final Celebration Event will be held on Tuesday 23 September, 10am–12pm, offering an opportunity to share your work, reflect on your creative journey, and connect with others who have taken part.
At the end of the course, we invite you to contribute your completed journal to the NHSN’s North East Nature Archive (NENA) housed in the Great North Museum: Hancock. If you choose to donate your journal or allow us to scan your pages, your work will become a permanent part of this growing collection, preserving your observations for future generations.
This workshop is subsidised by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Nature's Cure in Time of Need: New Voices for North East Nature project.
Practical Information
We’ll provide a small kit of materials to get you started, including: 2 Fineliner ink pens, Steve’s "Shortcut to Nature Journaling" guide and a blank concertina nature journal, but do feel free to bring your own tools if you prefer.
Please bring a packed lunch. Light refreshments will be available throughout the sessions.
About Steve Pardue
I am an artist and designer, living and working in Northumberland. I combine my love of walking and nature with my art and fill my notebooks with poetic and immersive responses to nature and the world around me. Often my work includes words from music and literature as well as my own words that spring from nature. I work mainly in fountain pen and watercolour.
My daytime job is delivering public art commissions and design for outdoor spaces through my design agency from my studio in Hexham.
About Nature’s Cure in Time of Need: New Voices for North East Nature
Nature’s Cure in Time of Need: New Voices for North East Nature is a National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project dedicated to capturing stories about how nature has provided solace and strength during challenging times. The stories you submit as part of this project will form a new collection in NHSN's North East Nature Archive (NENA) housed here in the Great North Museum: Hancock. By preserving these personal narratives in the archive, the project ensures that future generations can connect with the ways nature has shaped and supported our communities. Through workshops, events, and storytelling, Nature’s Cure invites everyone to share their story.Photos will be taken at this event to use on social media and in NHSN publicity material. If you would prefer not to be photographed please let us know at the start of the event.
