You can keep a nature diary for each community you study. Get a separate notebook for this. Make entries according to the given instructions, add something interesting for yourself. You can fill in the diary regardless of whether you have already studied the community or not. You can add a drawing or a photo of the community.
Guide to filling in the nature diary
- Where did the observation take place?
Date
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Ecological community
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Location
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- What was the weather like?
Air temperature
Wind speed
Cloud cover
Precipitation
...
...
...
...
- What species did you see?
Plants
Species |
Place of growth (in the direct sunlight / in a shaded area) |
Frequency (many / some / only a few) |
Special characteristics |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
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Animals
Species |
How many did you see? |
What does it feed on? |
Special characteristics |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
- Make a food chain of the species of this community. If possible, use the species that you observed.
- Add a soil sample: Press your finger on the soil and press a fingerprint on the paper. Cover it with transparent tape.
- Tape the parts of the plants (leaves, flowers, small fruits) typical of this community into the nature diary and add the name of the plant. The plants must first be dried between the newspaper and under some weight, over a number of days, before it's ready to tape to the notebook. You can also use photos and scanned files.
- If you find traces of an animal's activity, or bird feathers that are easy to take with you, tape them into the nature diary. If they are too large to carry, try drawing them.
- Write down what traces of human activity you noticed.
- Write down what traces of animal activity you saw.
- Add other observations.
- Draw a simple diagram or a map of where you went.
- Describe the community in ten sentences.
