Introduction to Nature and Environmental Writing Online Short Course

Course description

How do we write about nature and our relationship to the natural world? How can we expand nature writing to incorporate the urban, the rural and wilder parts of the landscapes around us?

On the Introduction to Nature and Environmental Writing Online Short Course, we will look at how writing can inspire us to think about the natural world and our relationship to it which is especially pertinent in these times of climate change and disruption. We will discuss how these topics are written about by reading extracts from works by environmental writers from around the world, such as Rachel Carson, Barry Lopez, Annie Dillard, Terry Tempest Williams, Robert McFarlane, Kathleen Jamie, Helen Macdonald, Tim Dee, Lauret Savoy and Robin Wall Kimmerer.

The course will explore how writers have grappled with ecological issues, particularly in more recent times. Nature writing can also intersect with memoir, travel writing, activism, and the essay form in general. We will discuss these intersections and crossovers as part of our weekly conversations.

Students will be encouraged to explore their own personal or individual relationship to an environment near them and to question and delve into their place in the natural world. It is this relationship that they will be invited to write about. Students do not need any specialist knowledge. The focus will be on storytelling and exploring our place in the natural world.

During the course, students will participate in a series of practical exercises and discussions about point of view, characterisation, setting the scene and the ethics of writing nonfiction, which will help them develop their voice and hone techniques to support their writing process. Writing will be workshopped each week and feedback offered. Students will be expected to work a minimum of 3.5 hours (roughly 30 minutes per day) outside of class time in order to complete the weekly assigned writing exercises.

By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of nature writing as a genre and one well-honed piece of writing.

Who should attend this course?

This course is aimed at anyone who has a desire to write about nature, the environment and their relationship to it. There are no formal requirements except a good standard of literacy, a curiosity about nature writing, and a love of reading and sharing work.

Course outcomes

By the end of the course, students should:

• Have good knowledge of some of the major voices in nature and environmental writing
• Be better able to find stories related to nature writing
• Understand how environmental writing has changed, especially in this era of climate disruption
• Have a better understanding of how to fit writing into their lives
• Have a better understanding of the technical aspects of writing
• Have a sense of what online and print outlets might be open to submissions of environmental and nature writing
• Have a better understanding of their writing voice
• Have a sense of how and where they might want to take their writing further

All our Online Short Courses include:

• Live online lessons with the same tutors
• The same course content and learning outcomes
• Lesson recordings, for review
• Access to VLE with course content
• Forums for support
• 2 weeks online access
• Certificate upon completion

Please note that all courses are taught in UK time.