Download Nature Journal: Using the Grinnell System

Name______________________________________________________________Class______
Keeping a Nature Journal: Using the Grinnell System
Spring is an exciting part of the year as plant life actively continues its life cycle. The area that we will
observe is around the school grounds of Paint Valley located in Bainbridge, Ohio Ross County. During
the nature walk, you will take notes in a field guide (your journal) and later write a formal naturalist
journal entry using the Grinnell system, which is described below. For the description of your area,
include the major plants and identify them as best you can. At minimum, describe whether the plant is a
tree, bush, or herbaceous (non-woody) plant with some of their defining characteristics. Observe the
plants very carefully-- are they producing shoots, budding, blooming, fruiting, etc. Describe them using
drawings or in word form. Also notice any interactions with insects or other animals. Can you find
partnerships (symbiotic relationships), predation and/or evidence of other interactions?
The Grinnell System is designed to aid scientific investigation. It is the method most often used by
professional biologists and field naturalists. The method was developed by Joseph Grinnell (18771939), a field naturalist, professor and the first director of the University of California's Berkeley
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. We will use it to concentrate on observation skills. It is journals like
these that have documented the continuously earlier returns of birds in the spring and fewer days of ice
on lakes in the Midwest due to global warming.
Use this observation checklist so that you can write your nature journal more accurately.
Following it can improve your note-taking and develop skills of consistent observation.
Every journal entry should contain this information:
 Start time (use 24-hour clock
format, aka Military Time. Ie: 14:35
for 2:35p.m.)
 End time (also 24 –hour format)
 Date (use international format: 03
September 2013)
 Locality (place, usually the county
and the distance from a "permanent"
marker of some sort is included (ft or
m from a crossroads etc.)
 Route (how did you get there and
from where-- include in your first
entry)
 Weather (temperature, cloud types,
wind, rain, etc.)







Habitat (backyard, type of forest,
etc.)
General vegetation type (e.g.
Douglas Fir forest)
Species seen, describe if you can't
identify
General notes on insects animals,
plants, and their interaction-competition or partnerships?
Sketches, maps, photos, information
Though not part of the Grinnell
system, end your entry with a
question or two-- something that you
wondered about that day.
Time Spent (in minutes)
Name______________________________________________________________Class______
Example of a page from a Grinnell field journal http://donnallong.com/2011/01/17/grinnellsystem-overview/ , http://donnallong.com/2011/01/18/grinnell-system-format/
Margins - 3 cm (1 3/16 inches) on left side of sheet and top
Date day-month-year (example – 01 June 2008).All four components of the system are written
based on one full calendar year. One year per notebook, journal, catalog and species account.
Use the day-month-year format to eliminate confusion.
Time 24-hour clock (example – 1408 is 2:08 p.m.) Remember to note time changes, such as
daylight savings time.
Page Numbers - All pages should be numbered.
They can be number consecutively thorough all the observer’s journals, where the first journal
starts with page one and the numbers continue with each new journal. Say, the first journal has
page numbers 1 through 218. Then the next year’s journal would start with page number 219.
Or each new journal can start with page one.
Write on one side of the sheet only- I think since most people are right-handed, most people
write on the right side of the page only. I suppose lefties could do the opposite. Writing on one
side makes sure the ink doesn’t “ghost” or “shadow” on the other side making the writing hard to
read. Also, it leaves the opposite page for sketches, drawing, maps, photos, etc.
Species lists should be written at the end of a journal entry. Sometimes, in our journals we make
a list of blooming plants, birds seen, etc. These lists should be placed at the end of a journal entry
after the day’s account has been written.
Numbers Use the numeral instead of the word. Example: use “1″ instead of “one”.
Abbreviations Avoid them. Instead use the full word, because later you may forget what them
mean. Also, anyone who reads your journal or notes after you may not know what the
abbreviations mean.
Underline species names Scientific species names should be underlined with a straight line.
Common names with wavy line. This may seem a bother, but I have found it is very useful when
I want to make end-of-the-year-what-did-I-see species list in the back of my nature journal.
Write in full sentences. You should be able to lift a quote or full sentence right from the journal
entry and use it in a publication.
Write with a pen.