A tree journal: Rediscovering its seasons, one page at a time

Which tree should you choose so you can return to it?

First, choose a tree that’s easy to find again from a place you’re allowed to access. The nearest, most visible one will often be a better fit than a spectacular subject that requires a complicated outing. A bench, path, or window can serve as a reference point, without carving or attaching anything to the trunk.

It should be the same tree from one page to the next. “The big tree in the park” can become ambiguous when several trees look alike. A sketch of the path and a fixed landmark can help you find it again. If you plan to share a page, avoid writing your address or a sensitive location on it: a general place name may be enough for the story.

A deciduous tree makes some changes visible: leaves appear, change color, then fall. An evergreen offers other details, but it doesn’t follow the simplified pattern of losing all its leaves each fall. You don’t have to choose a species whose every stage is easy to photograph. To work this into a route you already take, find ideas for a creative walk along a familiar path.

What should you note on your first visit?

A first page benefits from placing your point of view before describing the tree. Write the date, general location, where you’re looking from, and the visible conditions. “Side light, wind, branch partly hidden” is more useful when revisiting a photograph than a judgment like “beautiful day.”

Then choose a specific detail: the branch above the bench, the lower leaves within view, the entire silhouette. You can combine text and drawing, but make their scope clear. One mostly yellow branch doesn’t let you describe the whole tree as yellow. This small qualification keeps a polished page from conveying certainty it doesn’t contain.

Leave space for your feelings, clearly labeled “impression.” You can write that you like this light without drawing a conclusion about the tree. To find precise words instead of feeling obliged to come up with a pretty phrase, the guide describing a place with the five senses offers other starting points.

What changes should you look for across the seasons?

Buds, leaves, flowers, and fruit offer possible points of focus; they aren’t a calendar that applies to every tree. The species, location, and conditions shape what you can observe. It’s still possible to begin in October: your first page doesn’t have to coincide with spring.

The INRAE defines phenology as the study of periodic events in living organisms in relation to seasonal climate variations. Its fact sheet, updated on September 25, 2024, mentions flowering and autumn coloring, among other examples. In your notebook, this word can name a curiosity; it doesn’t turn your informal notes into standardized measurements.

In winter, a silhouette or visible buds can give you a subject. In spring, look at what is actually opening. In summer, describe the foliage or fruit you can make out. In fall, keep a record of the colors and the parts that have already lost their leaves. These suggestions are ways to approach your writing, with no required start date. A journal for the change of season can make room for a separate account of what this period changes in your own daily life.

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How can you keep a record if you don’t know how to draw?

A few annotated lines are enough if you can tell later what they represent. A line for the trunk, a fork, and an arrow pointing to a branch can serve as a guide for finding your way around. The sketch doesn’t need to look like a botanical plate; its purpose is to help you find a detail again.

You can also choose just words, a photograph, or a mix. An image taken from another angle changes the comparison, so note that change in perspective. A photographed color varies with the lighting and the camera settings; don’t use it as an exact measurement. If taking a picture isn’t possible, “branch obscured by construction” is already a useful note.

To learn a drawing technique without making your notebook depend on a beautiful result, the guide drawing when you think you can’t draw is a better fit than buying supplies. You can keep your practice sketches elsewhere and save this page for observations. A short note can later inspire an observation haiku, without asking the tree to offer a moral about your life.

How can you compare two visits without making up what happened in between?

Compare what the two pages actually allow you to compare. Find the subject, the point of view, and the detail you tracked. If any of these reference points changes, note the limitation before interpreting the difference. “Today, this branch looks less leafy from the bench” is more precise than “the tree has lost its leaves.”

A dated observation describes what was visible during your visit. It doesn’t automatically tell you the exact date when an event began. If you saw a leafy branch one day and then found it bare on a return visit, your notebook preserves both observations. It can’t tell you when each leaf fell between those two visits.

The worksheet below preserves this distinction. It creates text and a CSV file from the fields you fill in. Nothing is saved automatically; keep your export if you want to find it again. The worksheet doesn’t send any observations to a scientific program or identify a species.

A fictional example: “previous visit, leaves present on the marked branch; next visit, branch hidden by a tarp.” The documented change is about visibility, not necessarily the foliage. For the next page, your question can simply be whether you can find the same detail. The ritual around a familiar place also explores this return without requiring a discovery each time.

What should you do with a missed visit or an almost blank page?

Let the missed visit remain missed. A new date and a sentence about what you see now are better than a reconstruction presented as real. You can describe what you imagine in a margin, as long as you label it as such. A missing note is neither a failure nor evidence of absence.

If nothing seems different to you, describe one stable detail and close your journal. “Same marked branch, no visible difference from this spot” is enough. Your perspective has limits too: distance, time available, light, your interest in the moment. You don’t have to record personal progress at every visit.

You can pick it back up after a long break by rereading only the last page. The guide pick up a journal without catching up on the missed pages helps you keep that freedom. Avoid turning the activity into a mandatory daily streak if that rhythm doesn’t suit you.

When should you move from a personal journal to community science?

A scientific contribution requires the protocol of the program you choose, not just an illustrated page. The Observatoire des Saisons explains its approach : species, site, individuals being monitored, and stages to record. Its estimates for the start and peak of an event should not be replaced with a general impression or a rule made up for this journal.

The CNPF also provides a protocol and a tree monitoring sheet. These documents serve a specific purpose. Consult the program’s resource before submitting data; keep your personal notes alongside them if you’d like to include a memory or a color.

For a complementary perspective, watch this video from PBS LearningMedia™.

What can you conclude about the climate or the tree’s health?

A short personal series isn’t enough to attribute a change to the climate or diagnose a tree’s condition. The journal helps you describe what you see and frame a question. A broken branch, unusual foliage, or an inaccessible area may sometimes call for notifying the site manager, without touching anything or intervening yourself.

In an article published on December 17, 2024, INRAE reports that cherry trees in France have been flowering 10 to 15 days earlier since the 1990s. This finding comes from a research study and a specific context. It doesn’t let you predict when your subject will flower or draw conclusions from a single photograph.

A sentence like “I wonder if this difference is related to temperature” remains a hypothesis. Add the source you’d like to consult instead of turning it into a certainty. Curiosity still has a place when the answer is unknown.

How can you observe without disturbing anything, and pick it back up when going outside is difficult?

Stay on authorized paths and keep your observations at a distance. Don’t pull off a leaf or piece of bark to fill in a page; don’t move a nest or branch. If the weather, construction work, or your comfort makes the visit unsafe, reschedule it. The journal can wait.

At home, you can prepare a page layout, look for a resource, or find a drawing. Don’t call that a new field observation. From a window, simply describe what’s visible. If you share a photo, check that it doesn’t reveal a recognizable person or location information you wanted to keep private.

A boundary can also be a choice: observe only the silhouette without identifying the species, or keep your notes to yourself. You don’t have to turn every hobby into a public contribution. The little things to enjoy without obligation offer another space for a bit of light or a detail you appreciate.

What small step can you keep after closing your journal?

Choose a concrete next step, however small: find the same bench again, check the assumed name, or prepare a blank page. A sentence like “next time, I’ll look at this branch from the same spot” gives you a direction. It doesn’t require any particular feeling or success.

In Miraya, “My Little Steps” lets you keep an intention, an action, and what you take away from it. You can note that you’d like to take out your journal again; the app doesn’t identify trees or replace tracking them. If this format speaks to you, discover Miraya’s little steps or try Miraya on iPhone or on Google Play. The home page presents a 7-day free trial for eligible new users; no practice guarantees a result.

Separate a visible change from its assumed cause

You return to the tree and notice more leaves on the ground. Start by stating what you are comparing: the same branch, side of the trunk, or patch beside the path. If the first drawing showed only part of the tree, the comparison concerns that part. A new viewing angle may reveal a detail that was already there but unrecorded.

Describe the difference before explaining it. “Two yellow areas visible on the branch I watched” keeps the scope clear; “the tree is suffering” already offers an interpretation. Keep an idea in a separate hypothesis section with a question mark. Writing it several times does not turn it into an explanation.

The day’s conditions can accompany the entry without being named as the cause. A weather journal helps separate the observed sky, a measurement, and a copied forecast. A shower during your visit does not explain the condition of every leaf. Seek qualified advice about tree health or identification rather than conclude from the notebook.

On the next visit, return to the same landmark if it is safe. Keep missing days and changes of viewpoint visible. This continuity gives rereading a thread without requiring you to correct old pages or turn every difference into a discovery.

Sources

• INRAE/TEMPO: definition of phenology, updated September 25, 2024.
• Observatoire des Saisons: take part and understand the protocol, accessed October 21, 2026.
• CNPF Hauts-de-France Normandie: observing budburst, protocol and form, accessed October 21, 2026.
• INRAE: Climate disruption sends a chill through fruit trees, December 17, 2024.
• What Happens When You Start Nature Journaling? · PBS LearningMedia™.