Naturalist guides KT Blue and Marilynn Blacketer led the six-week nature journaling workshop series at Circle Creek. 
Participants were encouraged to use a combination of pictures, words, and numbers (easily remembered through the phrase Pacific Northwest), or select just one, through which to engage the focus, center their meditation, and document their real-time experiences during the workshop sessions. 
Since the workshop series took place entirely at Circle Creek—albeit at different spots around the sprawling reserve—KT and Marilynn chose “Sense of Place” as the central theme for the summer.
Nature Journaling on the Land
Workshop highlights the art of nature journaling
In Summer 2025, NCLC introduced a new activity for community members: a six-part workshop series on the art and practice of nature journaling, designed to give participants a meaningful way to engage with nature on the Oregon North Coast and beyond.
Volunteer naturalist guides KT Blue and Marilynn Blacketer—avid nature-journal practitioners themselves—led the workshop series, which took place weekly during mid-July to mid-August at Circle Creek Habitat Reserve, as part of NCLC’s Together in Nature (TIN) program.
According to Community Programs Director Lynette Villagomez, the nature-journaling workshop series was a fun avenue to bring people to Circle Creek, which has been reestablished as the organization’s central hub since the completion of the Circle Creek Conservation Center in Fall 2024. In terms of how NCLC imagines people engaging with Circle Creek, “the possibilities are pretty broad right now,” Lynette says, adding that NCLC staff is exploring the many ways in which they can engage community members and introduce them to the new facilities at Circle Creek.
NCLC hopes to offer similar opportunities and activities in the future, giving community members a unique way to be Together in Nature and to connect with local conservation. Read More