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Natural History Writing
[A Course]
With Terril L. Shorb
Please note that the 2008 edition of the natural history writing course offered by Terril Shorb is offered through our Prescott College online Moodle courses. Please find this on the Prescott College home page by followng the links to the Adult Degree Program, then online learning, then Moodle courses. What follows is a description of elements of the course so that you can have a sense of what it is about.
Course description:
This course invites students to deeper experience, understanding, and appreciation of local nature. Students will practice skills of direct observation and documentation of a place in local nature, including making of field-notes, sketches, and/or photographs of native plants, animals, and geologic and climatic features. Students will do background research on the environmental and cultural history of the place, as well as on contemporary (and proposed) human impacts which affect the long-term health of their chosen place on the earth. Finally, students will write a mutually agreed upon number of pieces of nonfiction inspired by local nature and revise these pieces to a sufficient degree of readiness for presentation or publication.
Objectives:
- To deepen understanding and empathy for the beings and habitats of the (local) natural world through direct experience.
- To cultivate skills of field observation, documentation, reflection, and synthesis of experience in nature toward creation of a detailed database from which to write pieces of natural history.
- To better understand ways indigenous people(s) of the past and present were/are woven into local or regional nature and challenges faced to continued life within the natural world.
- To practice decoding, analysis, and judicious use of secondary source materials from, for example, technical reports issued by land-based public agencies; planning documents used by municipal or county entities; popular culture messages from newspapers, magazines, and advertisements.
- To write without undue judgment drafts of personal essays and other forms of creative nonfiction toward maturity of authentic voice in behalf of our other-than-human brethren.
Activities:
1a) I will spend at least 3-5 hours per week in some natural (or human-built place that is well creatured) habitat in the presence of wild animals or plants.
1b) I will consult my “Naturalist’s Field Journal” to create a scientifically consistent format for my field entries.
1c) I will create a word and visual sketch of the immediate area of my study. This will include biotic and abiotic features and creatures.
2a) I will create a field-pack of recording tools, such as notebook, pens, magnifier, binoculars, camera, etc.
2b) I will design a process by which field-notes and sketches are organized and filed for ready retrieval.
3a) I will find contemporary informants to interview, preferably from within the culture; utilize secondary sources where primary ones are not available.
4a) I will visit a regional library with a government documents holding collection to try to locate documents (ex: U.S. Forest Service or other local or county entity) to read, decode, and record pertinent notes useful in an eventual piece of writing.
4b) I will become familiar with concepts and language of ecological science as it relates to ecosystems.
5a) I will create a focus for a piece of writing by identifying an irresistible thought or feeling from my direct experience of a creature(s) or feature of nature. Related to this I will identify my purpose, message, and prospective audience for this piece.
5b) I will create a messy first draft of a piece of writing, promising myself not to halt the process of writing because of self judgment.
5c) I will read the draft aloud, share it with an acquaintance who doesn’t know about the content of the piece, share it with someone who knows a lot about the content, apply Stephen King’s “ten percent” rule, and proceed to revise the piece.
5d) I will return to the place that provided the inspiration for the piece and read it there to see/feel if it is yet true to that place/ creature.
5e) I will be prepared to revise the piece up to four times before considering it ready for query or publication, and will find ways to share it with a local museum, school or public library, or other community database for use in future planning and study.
Materials:
(See attached bibliography of required and suggested readings)
Evaluation:
- I will share with Terril a developmental portfolio of one (or more) piece(s) of writing from field-notes through successive drafts.
- I will share with Terril the above piece(s) in what I consider to be a mature phase of revision.
- *(optional) I will share a short list (2-5) of publication or presentation prospects, including my annotations on why I think my piece is a match for each publication or other entity. Also on this list is at least one community-based entity I will offer final copies of the writings for its database.
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