NatureArt Lab Blog

Malishka – a Curlew comes back to our coast, is an illustrated children’s story, with some bird activities for kids and information for adults, written by author Peter Lindenmayer, and beautifully illustrated by Canberra NatureArt Lab artist Lesley Wallington. Available online from Wildlife Queensland – wildlife.org.au/shop . Proceeds from the sale support bird conservation organisations.

Congratulations to Julia Landford, NatureArt Lab’s founder and AAEEACT Vice- President and Executive member since 2018, on your recent award. In 2019 Julia won the ‘ACT Environmental Educator for excellence in...

An amazing testament to how an art school’s philosophy of engaging nature through art drives citizen science and custodianship of our environment.

The Australian Association for Environmental Education was delighted to host Julia Landford's presentation of the powerful learning strategy 'Nature Journaling'. ACT Environmental Educator for 2019, Julia Landford, Founding Director of Nature Art Lab in Canberra shared her expertise and inspiration for nature journaling.

Valerie Kirk spent three weeks as an artist-in-residence at Namadgi National Park exploring concepts of time, impermanence, living in the present and being mindful of the past and future in this awe-inspiring natural landscape. During the residency she studied the granite rocks and plants, documenting the impact of fires, rain and climate change through expressive drawing and weaving “en plein air”. 

The annual NatureArt Lab trip to Montague Island was once again a wonderful experience with immersive opportunities in nature. We watched the breeding colonies of crested terns and little penguins as well as Australian Fur Seals and Long Nose Seals, and spent many hours getting to know the island and its unique characteristics with insightful knowledge of ecologist Chris Davey. This was also a chance to learn about the indigenous history of the island, and to experience the isolation of lighthouse island living with access being fundamentally influenced by sea and weather conditions. Participating artists created studies of flora and fauna on the island, learning about nature journaling and the use of watercolour to create illustrations of birds and other aspects of nature with guidance from illustrator Anna Voytsekhovich and NatureArt Lab director and artist Julia Landford.

I’m lucky to live close enough to Ginninderra Creek to walk there most days. Before the arrival of my little red dog Ruby, a jaunt around the closest five kilometre loop took about 40 minutes. These days it takes more like an hour, but it is definitely my favourite hour of the day.