Field Books

Field books (a.k.a. journals and notebooks) are very important tools in your study. These are a log of your observations, inferences and conclusions. They record your insights and interests, as well as the construction of your knowledge. Learning in the field is non-linear; your field journal is a record of the path you took.

Field books come in all shapes and sizes. My favorite is a spiral I usually find at Wal-MartÒ that has lines on the right hand side and graph paper on the left. The graph paper helps me with scale in my sketches, maps, and other bits of graphic information.

Begin a new page with each new field site. This helps you keep track of the progression through the study and helps you follow the changes in geology and ecology along a specific route. It also enables you to make notes about where and under what conditions man’s impact is most/least felt.

Your field book is a log of your time spent in the field.  Set the field book up in the following manner:

• The title page contains:

• Name

• Date

• Address

• Phone number

• Course title

• The left page (back of the previous page) contains drawings, diagrams, charts, graphs, and other pictorial data.

• The right page contains notes.  Notes include:

• Date

• Location

• Information about the location

• Wildflowers you see (with sketches on the opposite page)

• Trees (with sketches on the opposite page)

• Whatever else you want to add to jog your memory.  Put an “aha” next to things you learn that surprise and/or delight you.

• Question section

• Reflection section

See the following example.