Mindful Birding & Nature Journaling with Holly Thomas & Cheryl Fallstead – G26090402
Please call Pauline Davis at 505-685-1019 to register for this program.
Mindful birding and nature journaling are perfect partners for creating a deeper connection to the natural world. Over the course of our time together at Ghost Ranch, you’ll be invited to slow down, notice, and give shape to moments of wonder.
Mindful Birding
When we weave together the observation of wild birds with mindfulness, this is mindful birding.This joyful practice offers us a chance to be present with what is: to reflect and appreciate while experiencing gratitude, wonder, and awe.
The simple act of focusing attention on the present moment with kindness and without judgment can be a gateway to well being, but this isn’t always easy. Attentiveness in nature — noticing the sights, the sounds, the smells, and sensations that arise — can be a form of mindfulness practice that comes more easily for many people. With mindful birding, the birds themselves — their movements, behaviors, sounds — can serve as the anchor for our attention.
Nature Journaling
Another way to focus attention on what we experience is through nature journaling, which is the practice of recording observations using words, pictures, and numbers. Whether focusing on birds, plants, insects, or even the clouds in the sky, we can form deeper connections through nature journaling.
Using a sketchbook (we’ll make two different journals) and basic mark-making tools, we can observe closely, then record our observations and wonderings. This practice can be done anywhere and any time, helping develop both curiosity and our connection to nature.
Join birding enthusiast and mindfulness meditation teacher Holly Thomas along with birder and nature journaling educator Cheryl Fallstead as we explore the beauty and wonder of Ghost Ranch — with nature as our guide. We’ll spend a week together with sit spots, mindful walks, journaling, and sharing our moments of connection.
Instructors
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Holly ThomasHolly loves sharing two of her greatest passions – birding and mindfulness!! She began a love affair with birds as a child and discovered mindfulness through her father’s meditation practice.
Her career path took her to UC Berkeley, where she got a PhD in Physiology and researched stress and the inflammatory response in an effort to understand how our bodies recover from injury and how we can optimize well being.
Over many years, Holly noticed that often the way she felt when she was birding, exploring nature, was the way she felt when deep in meditation. That brings us to mindful birding – the weaving together of birding with mindfulness practice.
Holly is a registered yoga and Mindfulness Meditation teacher, also trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and Brain Longevity®. She leads birding outings and workshops, is a founding member of the Mindful Birding Network, and co-hosts The Mindful Birding Podcast.
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Cheryl FallsteadCheryl Fallstead is a teacher, writer, and photographer who deepens her connection to the natural world through birding and nature journaling. She is a nature journaling educator and ambassador with the Wild Wonder Foundation, and is president of the Mesilla Valley Audubon Society in southern New Mexico. Upon retirement at the end of 2025, Cheryl is focusing on her goals of traveling, birding, and teaching nature journaling throughout the Southwest and beyond.
As part of her goal of inspiring others to take up the practice of nature journaling, Cheryl is co-leader of the MVAS Nature Journal Club, organizing monthly activities and outings. She has taught workshops for homeschool groups, the Native Plant Society, the New Mexico Watercolor Society, at New Mexico Historic Sites, and at national and regional leadership conferences of the National Audubon Society.