2025 Wild Wonder Conference

Detailed Schedule

Green Sweat Bee by John Muir Laws

Our 2025 Video Pass includes access to the recordings of 30 classes, panels, and talks through June 30, 2026. You can look forward to learning from more than 30 teachers, journalers, writers, artists, authors, and thought leaders in nature, nature journaling, nature writing, visual thinking, and conservation. Explore our delicious array of offerings below.

Day 1:

Wednesday

September 10, 2025

  • SUSHMA HEGDE

    In this watercolor session, we’ll explore how to paint birch trees in three distinct moods – lush and green in summer, glowing yellow in autumn, and bare with intricate branches in winter. You’ll learn how to create texture and atmosphere using simple brush techniques, paint natural-looking foliage, and mix the right greens and yellows for vibrant leaves. We’ll also look at ways to add depth and interest to your seasonal trees with expressive, loose strokes.

  • GRANT SNIDER

    Stepping outside can be the spark for words and pictures. Poetry comics are a unique way to capture observations and feelings, using simple lines and images to evoke a place, an experience, or a memory. We'll create a three-panel haiku poetry comic, a four-panel “senses” poetry comic, and learn other ways to approach this new medium.

  • WENDY HOLLENDER

    Learn how to identify and draw plants by organizing them into plant families. We will pick one or two plant families and learn to draw their flowers which will help you learn and draw other plants in the same family.

  • CHARLOTTE BELLAND

    Learn gesture sketching techniques and gain confidence in how you translate what you see into what you put on the page. Together, we will explore how just a few lines can express a range of anatomy and emotion.

  • GARGI CHUGH

    The goal of this class is to encourage broad ecological-level observational thinking (zooming out), to complement the detail-focused practice many nature journalers already have. 

    In this class, you will learn how to organize your nature observations into fun and creative charts and data visualizations, making it easier to spot patterns, trends, and relationships in nature. By translating your “I wonder” questions into a data visualization strategy, you’ll explore how to use these tools to identify patterns and deepen your curiosity.

    During the class we will look at various questions, such as “Do some flowers have more pollinator activity than others?” or “Do bird songs change throughout the day?” and practice visualizing data in a way that makes it easier to investigate, and to generate even more questions, creating a loop of curiosity and connection. 

    Then, we’ll dive into a mini-investigation, giving you time to practice turning nature mysteries into visual exploration tools using plots and charts, and end the session with strategies to apply these tools in the field. The class is all about digging deeper into the “I wonder…” part of the nature journaling process and is suitable for all participants who have a basic understanding of the "I notice..I wonder..It reminds me of” [aka INIWIRMO]  framework of nature journaling. 

    Pre-requisite: Please watch this short video from John Muir Laws to understand the INIWIRMO framework of nature journaling: 

    https://youtu.be/v079W4lZ0TU?si=F8ayuRxK1Xi3r2Xo

    The class is suitable for all levels.

  • Jennifer Jewell is the host of the national award-winning weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden. Her books include The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants; Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast; and What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds. Jewell’s greatest passion is elevating the way we think and talk about gardening, the empowerment of gardeners, and the possibility inherent in the intersection between places, environments, cultures, individuals, and the gardens that bring them together beautifully–for the better of all the lives on this generous planet.

  • VERENA HILLGÄRTNER

    What if Maria Sibylla Merian were alive today – exploring not tropical jungles, but her own neighborhood with a sketchbook? This workshop connects the spirit of historic female naturalists with modern-day nature journaling. Inspired by the life and work of Merian and other pioneering naturalists, I invite you to go on small research adventures right outside your door – no long journeys required. From tiny insect safaris to kitchen counter experiments, I’ll share practical methods for structured curiosity and micro-exploration. You’ll learn how to channel your inner Merian through journaling techniques, storytelling, and creative observation – and see how wonder and discovery live just around the corner. 

    We will learn:

    • How to create meaningful nature journaling experiences at home

    • About the life stories of some historical female explorers/naturalists

    • How to turn everyday places into wild research grounds

    • How to blend art, science, and storytelling in playful ways

  • SUSAN MAGSAMEN AND IVY ROSS

    Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross are coauthors of the New York Times bestseller Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transform Us.

  • with ROSALIE HAIZLETT, JANE MADAY, ROSEANN HANSON

    Join these three avid artists and journalers for a lively panel discussion of fun, useful, and favorite nature journaling tools. 

  • KATE RUTTER

    Pull up a seat and taste-test 4 distinct visual styles: crisp, delicate, juicy, and spicy! Each style has related tools and techniques, and each corresponds with specific nature journaling methods and approaches. If you're at the start of your nature journaling journey, trying out different sketching styles can smooth the way to building your drawing practice. For seasoned journalers, you’re invited to mix it up and explore something new. This session is for all levels of nature journalers, and best for folks who are excited to play with a variety of visual methods.

  • MARIA CORYELL MARTIN

    Prepare for sketching on your adventures, whether exploring your neighborhood or venturing to far-flung destinations! Join expeditionary artist and Art Toolkit founder Maria Coryell-Martin to practice gesture, contour, and thumbnail sketches with simple watercolor washes to quickly capture a sense of place and encourage creative flow and inquiry.

  • ROSALIE HAIZLETT

    In this art-writing hybrid class, we’ll first look at examples of illustrated nature essays from a variety of publications and authors, exploring their purpose, intended audience, structure, and the different artistic and writing techniques employed to bring them to life. Then, students will be given a series of prompts and time to create a framework for their own nature narrative based on past journaling experiences or recent nature observation memories.

  • NINA SOKOLOV

    Did you know that there are more than 20,000 species of bees in the world and that most of them are solitary, which means they don’t live in hives? Join Dr. Nina Sokolov for this engaging class on the diversity of native bees and how you can use careful observations to tell them apart from other wasps or flies. She will also share and describe the different ways she uses art in her science. Follow along in her demo as she draws the different tricks that will help you with identifying the major groups of bees you may find in your gardens.

Day 2:

Thursday

September 11, 2025

Day 3:

Friday

September 12, 2025

  • JORIS DE RAEDT

    Fieldwork is crucial for producing accurate scientific illustrations, as it allows you to observe and understand a bird’s characteristics, shapes, and behaviors firsthand. In this session, I will share my approach to sketching birds in their natural habitat. I will also discuss the use of digiscoping and its benefits in capturing detailed observations.

  • LINDA FELTNER

    The experience of live observation and drawing is precious. If you are hesitant to draw live, this class will give you the techniques and the confidence to do so–and the experience will help you learn that sketches do not have to be perfect to be valuable. “Drawing the moment” with a living model is a skill that you can build through practice, and it can be the vital foundation of a polished image. Artist Linda Feltner will share her approach and process to drawing live birds. You are encouraged to draw along, creating sketches and notations while observing engaging live owls. Beginners and seasoned artists alike will leave with ideas and techniques for addressing challenging subjects.

  • ROLAND ALLEN

    Join Roland Allen, author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, for an engaging history of naturalists' notebooks, including the arrival of the notebook in Europe (ca.1300), how and why the naturalist’s notebook came to supercede the medieval ‘Herbal’ manuscripts, and notable naturalists and their relationship to notebooks such as Gessner, Linnaeus, and Darwin.

  • JANE MADAY

    Adding landscape scenery to a nature journal page helps you record the season and place of your observations and it also enhances your memory of the day and your connection to the place. Join experienced professional artist Jane Maday, author of How to Journal Like an Artist, and learn ways to sketch a landscape with watercolor and pen. Jane will discuss a variety of art media, how to sketch different types of trees, and tips on how to simplify a scene so you don't get lost in the details.

  • ROSEANN HANSON

    Join experienced explorer, artist, naturalist, and journaler Roseann Hanson for a class that will enhance and expand your nature journal’s pages with fun techniques borrowed from the book arts world. We will explore: 

    • Seeing the unseen (by making a cut-away page)

    • Making fun windows for Q&As

    • Extending your pages (with fold-outs, accordions, and overlays)

    • Adding ephemera (slits, pockets, and glassine envelopes)

  • JOHN MUIR LAWS

    Let’s Bug Out with Jack! Join John Muir Laws, aka Jack, for a class about how to draw glossy exoskeletons, slime-covered skin, and the fuzzy bits of our tiny garden friends and visitors. Learning to capture these structures and textures are skills you can apply to many other subjects in your nature journaling.

  • LESLIE STROZ

    Join experienced artist and teacher Leslie Stroz for a class about painting tiny landscapes. Leslie will share tips, tools, techniques, compositional details, and more about her process. You can utilize these tips and techniques when painting many subjects in your nature journal.

  • VITOR VELEZ

    Whether you’re a seasoned nature journaler or just opening your first sketchbook, this class is all about practical tips to take your sketching to the next level. We’ll cover simple composition tricks, techniques, and media choices that can transform your pages. You’ll discover simple strategies to feel more confident, turning hesitation into creative flow.

  • TONY FOSTER

    “My hope is that when my work is exhibited, not only will people be struck by the extraordinary beauty of the places I find, but it will also strengthen their resolve to protect these places from depredation.” — Tony Foster


    British artist Tony Foster has traveled to and painted in wild and extreme places around the world, including many locations in the American West. His body of work includes nineteen watercolor “Journeys”—Foster’s unique art form. The series of paintings includes diary notes and symbolic objects or “souvenirs” made with the intention to reveal wild places or explore a specific idea or theme.

  • NISHANT JAIN

    Join The Sneaky Artist, Nishant Jain, for a class on drawing natural spaces–such as gardens, parks, and trails–that also include people. This session will share techniques to draw on location in public spaces, with ideas about composition, framing, and speed. You will learn to not only capture trees, water, and other natural features, but also the human beholders who are part of the scene.

  • JANE KIM

    Learning to see and understand feather groups in birds is one of the most important ways to level up your bird drawings and paintings. In this workshop, we will practice seeing feather groups in references as well as draw basic feather groups together. My goal is to boost your confidence in creating accurate depictions of our feathered friends!

  • BETHAN BURTON

    This workshop is a gentle, joyful introduction to the practice of garden journaling. We will explore the benefits and possibilities of nature journaling in our cultivated spaces and how this can help us become more attentive and effective gardeners. Through this practice we can learn to deepen our connection with the garden, observe seasonal patterns and changes over time, track garden successes and challenges, and spark creativity, mindfulness, and joy!

Day 4:

Saturday

September 13, 2025

Day 5:

Sunday

September 14, 2025

  • CHLOE PETERS

    Knowing what's under the skin can really help us know how to construct an animal, whether looking at a complicated pose and trying to make sense of it, or being able to finish a pose from memory once our subject has inevitably moved position. We will explore a variety of different animals and how a basic knowledge of their anatomy can help us be more confident in drawing them. We will also celebrate how different yet similar animals can be, and learn to apply that understanding to whatever animal we see.

  • ALEX BOON

    Rivers are biodiverse, dynamic, beautiful, and important parts of our natural world. Join artist, educator, and author Alex Boon for this class on how to draw river scenes in graphite, fineliner, and coloured pencil. He will also include tips and techniques on mapping and making river phenology wheels, including drawing river birds and river insects.

  • MICHAEL BOARDMAN

    Field sketching is a unique way to tell the story of a certain place and time, a record to be shared, and a way to fall in love with a landscape. My practice has led me to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to help relate stories of the amazing natural history of the tundra. This class will be part travelogue about the Arctic Refuge and my artist residency there with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, part tips on using nature journaling to advocate for wilderness and making the most of the science/art connection, as well as several draw-along demos of arctic wildlife. I'll also discuss artist residencies with tips for applying and how to maximize your time in the field.

  • LAURA WATSON

    Bridge the gap between artistic freedom and scientific observation in this class that merges botanical illustration with nature journaling. Using a 3-step approach, you’ll learn how to document plants with accuracy and beauty while keeping the process approachable, helping you create pages that are both informative and artful—without losing the joy of spontaneous exploration.

  • REBEKAH LOWELL

    Over the past eleven years. I’ve rescued, raised, and released more than 1,500 monarchs. I’ve spent thousands of hours watching monarchs closely, in all phases of their lives, never tiring of their wonder, strength, and fragile beauty. The way they enter this world as a speck, crawl on the ground in mesmerizing stripes, liquify themselves in the chrysalis, and then take to the skies on glorious and colorful wings will continue to astound me as long as I live. Each season I spend with monarchs, I discover something new–especially when I record my observations in my nature journal.

    In this workshop, we will explore the life of the monarch and uncover the story they are telling us by how they live and make their way in the world, including what they need to survive (hint: milkweed and a safe space to change!). We’ll sketch the monarch in each of their phases and learn about and observe the powerful changes they endure. By studying monarchs closely, we can be inspired by their astonishing life and can learn more about how we can support them and other cohabitants of our natural world.

  • TALK BY CHRISTIAN COOPER, AND CONVO WITH AMY TAN

    Live from The Foster Museum, Palo Alto, California

    Hosted by John Muir Laws

    “Birding shifts your perceptions, adding new layers of meaning and brokering connections: between sounds and seasons, across far-flung places, and between who we are as people and a wild world that both transcends and embraces us. In my life, it has been a window into the wondrous.”― Christian Cooper, Better Living Through Birding

    “My start in nature journaling and drawing came through workshops with John Muir Laws. I not only learned to draw, I discovered I could live more deeply in the moment, with curiosity, awe, and gratitude. It was restorative in a time of turmoil. I hope you can join me and share the joy.”—Amy Tan, avid nature journaler, bird artist, and bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles

    Join Christian Cooper—avid birder, New York Times bestselling author, and Emmy-award-winning television host—and Amy Tan—New York Times bestselling author, and avid birder and nature journaler—for a special evening about birding and nature connection, hosted by award-winning author and educator John Muir Laws. 

    First, Christian Cooper will give a talk about his recent books Better Living Through Birding and The Urban Owls. Then Amy Tan will join Christian for a conversation about connecting with nature through birding and wonder. Christian and Amy Tan are friends who often bird together in Central Park.