NATURE lovers in Shropshire are being encouraged to keep a diary or scrapbook of the different things they see in and around them in their everyday lives.

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust has published information, including a blog, on how to get started with nature writing as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.

“Moments in nature are great for our wellbeing and for sparking creativity,” they said in a Twitter post.

“Why not channel it through some creative writing or with a nature journal and record what you can see and hear? There’s no better way to learn about wildlife than by putting notes, sketches and photographs in a scrapbook. Over the years you will build up your own collection to look back on.”

On the trust’s website you can learn all the tricks of the trade by following John Walters’ blog on how to keep a nature diary.

Do you love wildlife? Would you like to learn how to draw the things you see? John tells you how to get started with your own nature diary, and shares some of the wildlife that he loves to draw.

John said: “I’ve loved wildlife for as long as I can remember. I began drawing the butterflies, moths and caterpillars that I found when I was growing up in Hampshire, and those sketches became my first nature diaries.

“Today I am still drawing, painting and learning about the wildlife around me.”

See more of John’s drawings at www.johnwalters.co.uk and to find out more about his hints and tips for creating a nature diary, visit https://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/blog/john-walters/how-keep-nature-diary.