ABOUT Wild Wonder 2020

Hosted in Partnership with The Foster.

Our 2020 Online Virtual Event was held October 7-11, 2020. Thanks to the dedicated work of our team and the generous support of our partner and sponsors, we offered our first-ever virtual Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference in 2020! The event was 5 full days, with a rich schedule of classes, panels, lectures, nature journaling challenges, social time, journal sharing, and an online auction. Please see below for more details on the event including our amazing line up of teachers and speakers. NOTE: The best way to be sure you receive the latest updates on future events is to sign up for John Muir Laws’ mailing list here. Please read all the information and details on this page, and if you still have any questions or suggestions, please direct them to the Wild Wonder planning team by emailing wildwonderconf@gmail.com.

What is the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference?John Muir Laws and the Nature Journal Club are thrilled to partner with The Foster to host Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, an annual event that gathers people who are passionate about nature, art, science, curiosity, and wonder to share ideas, learn from each other, support each other, inspire each other, and have fun together in nature’s beauty. 

Click here for conference FAQs

Why “Wild Wonder?”We chose this name for many reasons. We chose Wild, because nature journaling connects us with the wild of nature, and wild because we feel wild and free when we journal, and we also wanted our conference name to give a nod to poet Mary Oliver, who asked in her poem “The Summer Day”: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” The name includes Wonder because paying close attention to nature brings wonder as in curiosity (I wonder…?) and wonder as in awe. 

THANK YOU TO OUR WILD WONDER 2020 PARTNER AND SPONSORS
We are grateful for the generous support of our Partner and Sponsors, which helps make this event possible. We welcome additional sponsors. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please email us at wildwonderconf@gmail.com.

PARTNER

  • The Foster: The mission of The Foster is to unite, enrich, and share artist-explorer Tony Foster’s powerful exhibitions of watercolor Journeys to inspire reflection, discussion, and education about art, wilderness, and the natural world.

SPONSORS

WILD WONDER 2020 TEACHERS AND SPEAKERSThe planning team is deeply grateful that so many wonderful teachers, thought leaders, and naturalists joined us for this event and shared their ideas and experience with you. Click on the teacher’s name to learn more about him/her. (Note: The list of teachers is subject to change.)

CLASS SCHEDULE
Review the Class Schedule Here. We had 5 full days of classes, panels, and speakers, from approximately 9am to 9pm PDT each day. The event included 30 classes and events. NOTE: The majority of the videos from this event will not be shared later for free. 

PRICING AND REGISTRATION
The regular price for the WW2020 Virtual Conference Pass is $75 (plus processing fees), which included your choice of live classes and events on Wednesday through Sunday as well as our evening programs (speakers and keynote talks). It also included unlimited access to the video archive of all the events so you can watch them all later (or again) until April 2021. The event included 30 classes and events in a schedule that will NOT feature concurrent classes, so most attendees will be able to attend most classes. If you can’t attend a class, you can watch a recording later. NOTE: Unlike most of John Muir Laws’ online classes, the majority of the videos from this event will not be shared later for free. Only paid participants will have access. 

VIDEO ARCHIVE PASS
This $45 pass, on sale here, gives you access to the archived recordings after the event concludes, and videos will be available until April 10, 2021. Note: Those who paid for the full live conference pass will already have this access through April 10, 2021. This pass is for those who missed the live conference but want access to all the recordings. NOTE: Unlike most of John Muir Laws’ online classes, the majority of the videos from this event will not be shared later for free. Only paid participants (video pass or full pass) will have access. 

VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers will receive a full conference pass and access to post-conference recordings. Volunteers will help moderate at least 3 Zoom classes during the conference. (Zoom experience required.) We are grateful that many people have offered to volunteer for 2020, and we are not in need of more volunteers at this time.

SCHOLARSHIPS
Thanks to our raffle ticket fundraising from 2019, we were able to offer some partial scholarships for students and others in need, which reduced the conference price to $25 (including full live access and full post-conference video access). 

DONOR GIFT
We created a limited-edition Wild Wonder 2020 Conference Pouch (similar to our 2019 conference pouch), which will feature original art by John Muir Laws as well as other goodies inside (to be announced). Those who made a donation of $100 or more (in addition to the $75 registration fee) during registration received this donor gift in the mail after the event (shipping to addresses within the U.S. is included). More details when registration opens.

NEW! WILD WONDER 2020 ONLINE AUCTION FUNDRAISER
Thanks to all who bid on our first-ever Wild Wonder 2020 Online Auction Fundraiser, which closed Oct 19. This online auction was shared with the worldwide nature journaling community (not just conference attendees). This is a great way to promote your work, your business, your products, and/or your classes while supporting our Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference. (All proceeds from this auction will go toward scholarships and other support for our 2021 event.) Please note: To simplify this process since this is a virtual event in the time of Covid, we asked donors of “tangible” auction items to also ship the item to the winner and cover the shipping cost (within the US only). Thank you so much!

THANK YOU TO OUR WILD WONDER 2020 PLANNING TEAM!

  • John Muir Laws
  • Roseann Hanson
  • Elizabeth Kelley Gillogly

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QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS?
Please help us stay organized by not emailing John Muir Laws with your questions, comments, and suggestions for the conference. Also, please do not reach out to the leadership team members through Facebook or personal email addresses. Instead, please email the conference team at wildwonderconf@gmail.com. Thank you for your help!