Writing has long been a means of exploring and understanding the natural world. Nature writing also provides an opportunity to personally reconnect with the natural world and build a sense of place for our larger community. This intensive introductory course focuses on how the work of writing nature helps to re-establish a sense of place, recalibrates our internal compass to what is vital in life and raises awareness of both the human place in nature and the impact humans have on the natural world. We will review the various forms of nature writing (essays, articles, poetry, journals), review critical thinking skills, begin to ask how and why, reflect on our own experiences of nature and expand those reflections into coherent and well-formed essays using concrete details, point of view and creating vivid scenes. The class will take place outside and will involve hiking into two of our region’s natural treasures. Taos writer Jim O’Donnell is the author of “Notes for the Aurora Society: 1500 Miles Across Finland on Foot” and “Rise and Go”. He is also to blame for numerous articles, sordid tales, brilliant observations, half-finished novels, angry letters-to-the-editor and other scribbling. His work has appeared in National Geographic Maps, BBC Travel, Trend, New Mexico Magazine, Matador, Peaks and Plains, Traveler’s Tales, Perceptive Travel, Vrai Magazine and many others.