The World We Want: The NAAEE Podcast
Imagine a world where communities thrive, curiosity sparks change, and hope fuels action. Welcome to The World We Want, the NAAEE podcast that's bringing a better future to life, one inspiring story at a time. Join us as we chat with people across continents and cultures who care about education and the environment—the trailblazers, visionary leaders, and everyday heroes making a difference.
Learn more at https://naaee.org/podcast.
The World We Want: The NAAEE Podcast
Nature Journaling with John Muir Laws: Cultivating Curiosity and Observation
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What does it mean to truly notice the world around us?
For naturalist, educator, and nature journaler John Muir Laws—known to many simply as Jack—careful observation is more than a skill. It's a way of building curiosity, deepening understanding, and strengthening our connection to the natural world.
In this episode of The World We Want, host Gerry Ellis explores Jack's commitment to helping people learn through direct experience. Through nature journaling, drawing, questioning, and close observation, Jack has inspired educators, students, scientists, artists, and lifelong learners to slow down and engage more deeply with the living communities around them.
The conversation explores how observation strengthens learning, why curiosity is a critical part of environmental education, and how paying attention can transform our relationship with nature.
Together they discuss:
- Nature journaling as a tool for learning and discovery
- Observation, curiosity, and scientific inquiry
- The relationship between art and science
- Environmental education through direct experience
- Building stronger connections to place and nature
- Why attention is one of the foundations of care
- At its heart, this conversation asks a simple but powerful question:
What might change if we learned to see the natural world more carefully?
Learn more about John's work and find related resources for educators on our website >
The World We Want: The NAAEE Podcast is an educational outreach project of the North American Association for Environmental Education., in partnership with nonprofit GLOBIO.
Find us on:
Instagram: @thenaaee
Facebook: @THENAAEE
LinkedIn: @NAAEE
YouTube: @thenaaee
or
Email us at: podcast@naaee.org
Thanks for listening, and thanks for sharing The World We Want!