I came across a phenology wheel for the first time last year and fell in love with this visually beautiful and simple way of recording nature observations. The idea is to connect with the cycles of nature and find joy in recording a stand-out observation for each month of the year. You can choose a favourite spot to anchor your observations, such as your garden, local park or bush land. By studying nature in this way, you are likely to remember patterns and notice something new. It's a great reference for the following year. Perhaps you like the idea of nature journaling but don't have the time to commit to it regularly, or you are just starting out? A phenology wheel is a great place to begin. In a busy world that's run on linear time, I love the idea of encouraging children to look at the year from a cyclical perspective. The cycles of nature guide our lives, and we are all a part of this flow, continuously moving through cycles of change... the seasons... the lunar phases... the tides.. the animal and plant life cycles. Each cycle brings with it new things to see, smell, touch, taste and hear, along with shifting and shaping energy that we can feel. Understanding cycles helps us to remember that life has this ebb and flow that eventually comes full circle. I find a lot of comfort in being in sync with that notion, and I hope my children one day will too. Setting up the phenology wheel1. The outer wheel - the seasons My wheel's outer wheel features the six Nyoongar seasons. For this project, I felt more inclined to follow our Australian Indigenous seasons instead of the European seasonal calendar, as from my own observations, they make more sense. You can read about the Australian Indigenous seasons via the links below:
2. The largest wheel - highlights from the natural world I'm noting the most memorable nature observation(s) here. In January, we were captivated by the square-tailed kites circling the sky (one hovered low above my head - amazing!) and we were mesmerised by that epic Super Blue Blood Moon and lunar eclipse. For your own wheel, consider what you saw on your nature walks or living in your garden. Is there something that really took your attention, or something that was prominent for the month, such as native bees building their nests or baby lizards hatching, or perhaps you observed something that's unique to your locality, like a flower, fruit or animal. 3. The central wheel - garden goodness For the central wheel, I'm recording something that was flowering or harvested in our garden. I like the idea of looking back and remembering how our garden was travelling. In January, we harvested lots of yummy zucchini. You can use the central wheel for anything you like. Other people use the space to record special events or celebrations, or you could use it to record weather patterns. Filling in the phenology wheelMy son and I filled in our wheels together, and will do so throughout the year. We used a reference book to draw the square-tailed kite (I did mine in pencil first) and we drew the zucchini from memory. You might like to sketch your subject when you're out in nature, or bring in subjects to do a still-life sketch. My son used coloured pencils to fill in his wheel and chose to record the same observations as me. This activity is such a sweet way to sit down with my son and recall all of the wonderful things that we saw in nature, and it provides space for us to talk about our favourite subjects in more depth. It's a beautiful record that I'm sure we will look back on with fond memories. Get started with your own phenology wheelI'm so happy to share my blank wheel with you, which has been lovingly hand drawn and is perfectly imperfect! (I followed the beautiful and comprehensive guide from Raising Little Shoots.) So go ahead, download a copy of my blank wheel, print it and begin filling in your own wheel. Notes:
I'd truly love to know how you go with your wheel. Please leave a comment below, or feel free to tag me in any photos if you are on Instagram @runwildheart.
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Penguin Island is a place that I highly recommend you visit for a nature excursion over spring or summer. The nature sanctuary is located 45 minutes south of Perth in the heart of the stunning Shoalwater Islands Marine Park. Incredibly close and accessible. It's our favourite place this summer so far. I came here a few times as a child and I was quietly hoping my fond memories would match what we were about to experience. As we waited for the ferry I calculated that it had actually been over 20 years since my last visit! (Really?!) As soon as we disembarked, I was met with that warm and fuzzy nostalgia and felt relief when I saw that the island hadn't changed that much at all. Except for... the amount of bird life! Now there are birds in abundance, colonies of them. We were firstly greeted by a mass of Bridled Terns. What a sweet bird! They have a big black stripe across their eye and didn't appear to be all that shy, we got quite close for a good look. We observed them for a short while and noticed they had nests in the shrubs. As our eyes focused on the shrubs, we saw the birds were in fact all over the shrubs, some busily darting in and out of their hidey holes, whilst others chose to sit atop their leafy castles and squawk. It was quite fascinating to watch! Further research at home told us that it is indeed breeding season (Nov - Jan). Next, we headed to the back of the island for a swim and a snorkel. The translucent water was so calm and inviting. We spotted a Southern Eagle Ray, Whiting, Herring and many schools of Zebrafish. We heard a girl excitedly shout as she exited the water that she'd seen a Toad Fish! The joy across her face was priceless. Our boy was delighted to see so many fish so close to shore, whilst our little girl loved splashing about in the calm water and building sand castles under the shade of a natural limestone bridge. Awesome rugged limestone formations wrap around the whole island, they make for interesting exploring. My son curiously climbed to the top to search for pools of water and little creatures. He spotted a few Purple Swift-footed Shore Crabs hiding under a cave-like opening, and there were loads of Chiton attached to the rock, some of them fossils. This mollusc clings tightly to rocks with its broad muscular foot. It's quite an interesting creature to inspect and touch with its hard and bumpy shell plates. Together, we counted the interlocking plates - eight! If you love bird watching, this is the place for you. I don't think I've ever seen so many birds! Joining the Bridled Terns were flocks of Crested Terns (who have the funkiest mop of black feathers on their heads!), Silver Gulls and lots of pelicans - we saw two separate pelican colonies. It was a really hot day, so after a few hours we decided to find a patch of grass in the BYO picnic area and have lunch. It was so relaxing with views out to the ocean. We saw lots of King Skinks hiding in the shade of the boardwalk, and in the garden. We also saw a Buff-Banded Rail - and what a beautiful little bird with its patterned plumage. We had to laugh as it didn't take long for the skink and the bird to move in on our picnic rug once we stood up to pack away! Did we see any wild Little Penguins? No, not this time as they are quite well hidden in their burrows and the sun was too hot and harsh for us to hunt around for them. The best time of year for spotting wild penguins is now though, during their summer moulting period. The penguins stay ashore for six to eight weeks while growing their new feathers. You can of course see them up close at The Penguin Discovery Centre where they have feeding sessions throughout the day. There's some natural curiosities in front of the Discovery Centre that my little ones found fascinating. I was most excited to see a trash display, a perfect opportunity to discuss how these highly consumed items can do so much damage to the marine park. We cover this topic quite often, typically whenever we visit the beach, but today my son was especially shocked to see the aluminium can and then hear that it can take more than 1 million years for it decompose. "1 million years?!" he exclaimed wildly! Penguin Island is a special place to the Indigenous people of Western Australia. There's a 45-minute Indigenous Walk tour that I'd love to do next time I visit. We will definitely be back to see how the island has changed through the seasons. We might hop on the wildlife cruise next time and see rare Australian sea lions on the beach at Seal Island, and perhaps we'll spot some bottlenose dolphins too. Nature journalingFollowing our visit to Penguin Island, my son and I sat down to journal some of our nature observations. I treasure this time together, where we can reflect on what we saw and what we remember. My boy painted the crab and fish that he saw. Learning resourcesSome great resources that we use for research and identification are:
Have you visited Penguin Island, or is there an island nearby that it reminds you of? I'd love to hear about your nature experiences. |
AuthorI am a free-spirited homeschooling mama who finds great inspiration, beauty and meaning in nature. Archives
March 2019
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