The Grinnell System for Keeping a Nature Journal

The Grinnell System has helped me become a better naturalist.

I've been keeping a naturalist's journal for a long time. But a year or so ago, I felt my journal writing had stagnated and needed a boost. I went searching for a way to make my nature journaling more scientific. What I found was the Grinnell system.

The Grinnell System is designed to aid scientific investigation. It is the method most often used by professional biologists and fieldnaturalists.

The method was developed by Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939), a field naturalist, teacher and the first director of the University of California's Berkely Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. He taught this method to his students and used a variation of the system himself.

The method consists of four parts:

a field notebook - to directly record observations as they are happening.
a field journal - of fully written entries on observations and the information
species account - of detailed observations on chosen species
catalog - a record of where & when specimens were collected.


It takes practice to use the system but it is well worth it.

My nature journal information has improved probably a hundredfold. My observations are more thorough since I follow the suggested observation list of what to include. The species account has tied together various entries from the span of a year.

The Berkely Museum of Vertebrate Zoology had started a project to put all of its collected field journals online. This is an wonderful opportunity for naturalists all over the world, to read information and see the field notes of professional scientists.

This is the only book that I have come across that discusses the Grinnell System in-depth. I treasure my copy. It is also available from the original publisher, Buteo Books. At the same price, though.

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