WriteOut Thank You

Artist-In-Residence MK MacNaughton Lunch Break With Copter Peak Public Domain from Alaska Region National Park Service
Artist-In-Residence MK MacNaughton created this dazzling painting for the National Park Service. It reflects her inspiration from a backcountry trip in Noatak National Preserve. Original painting of mountains and valley.
On Flickr Public Domain

Thank You

Thank you to the WRITEOUT adventure of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a STEAM-powered Write Out 2022. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invited educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal was to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing, and that’s just what happened throughout the United States and beyond. Check the #writeout Twitter feed to see the sharing.

Thanks so much for the adventure, and for the creative prompts at #DS106 Daily Create as well [ thank you Keven @dogtrax ].

Now What

science field journal cover with stylized sun art

If you started a nature journal– take a look at what you’ve drawn and written. Consider how you can keep it going. If you have a smart phone, take those pictures and keep a digital album of your learning. I enjoyed leafing through my journal– where science and art and writing continue to inspire me.

On Flickr

Continue sharing with your family and friends, and let the outdoors be one of your favorite places for learning and a place to let go and relax, enjoying the beauty that surrounds us– be it in the city parks or rural centers.

So Keep Journaling and Snapping Pictures

Something that my mom taught me was to keep the little things precious. She always planted a little garden– flowers in the front yard and vegetables in the back yard. And, she’d pick a few flowers to press and frame. I still have some of those hanging in my home, and they are a joy now that winter is coming. So I snapped a picture and wrote a poem of thanks to my mom:

Today, we snap pictures

I know– we’d like to pick the little flowers, but the best way to remember the little flowers we see in parks is to snap a picture, because if everyone picked the flowers, soon there would be none.

The National Park Service does not allow the picking of flowers– after all, their purpose is to protect our land and its resources for us to continue viewing over and over into the future. The Mount Rainier National Park provides these tips for taking care of and with wildflowers in this brochure.

I share my wildflower and nature viewing — with poetry, too — in an album on Flickr. It’s a wonderful way to remember and review the beauty that I see.

Winter in the Coulee

Forest Service Information

Tempted to pick flowers? Try — in your own yard, ask your neighbors, or get permission from your local park. How about starting your own garden? A great place to learn how is here: Kids Gardening.

I know– we’d love to pick those flowers, but a photo is better. The United States Forest Service has some guidelines for viewing and preserving our wildflowers:

Remember, the best thing to do to protect our wildflowers and other plants is to keep drawing and writing in your journal and a save a photo album.