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A catalog tracks the objects you collect. This is a separate section of your Grinnell field journal or a separate book altogether.

• It assigns a number (starting with 1) of all the specimens such as pine cones, rocks, etc. that you pick up during your field observations.

This is a separate section of your Grinnell field journal or a separate book altogether.

• At the end of the year, the print format record is closed out. The last page of a year ends and a new page is started for the new year.

Professional naturalists employed by museums donate their collections to their employing institutions to preserve specimens. It is often a condition of their employment and they have legal licenses to collect.

Please note: I only pick up fallen objects. Such as pine cones, leaves, shells, acorns, nuts, a feather, rocks, etc. I don’t pick live plants or bird’s nests. Good Outdoor Manners

Setting Up the Page

• Title each page “Catalog”
• Label or tag each specimen you collect

For each specimen tag or label. Include this same information in the catalog.

• item number
• date collected
• location of collection
• collector’s name
• identification of object

A note about identification for the hard-core scientists among us. For professional naturalist collections, a taxonomist, who specializes in species identification will identify a specimen. The field collector may not. A professional field collector may sometimes write the species scientific name on back of the label – in pencil. In case they make a mistake. But this shouldn’t stop us amateurs.

• If you draw, photograph or attach an object to your nature journal page, including this information will be very helpful in learning about your area.
• A record of where you found or collected an object makes that object more useful to your nature study.

I had a box full of leaves that I had collected over the years that had no record of where I found them. I could only say this is a “Scarlet Oakleaf”. But, couldn’t return to the tree to see if it was still there or if there was any news to find out. I eventually composted my collection. It had limited nature study value.

Buy a Guide to the Grinnell Method

My book on using the Grinnell Scientific Nature Journal method is available through lulu.com. Read more about it Grinnell Scientific Nature Journal (PDF and Paperback)

More on the Grinnell Method

Grinnell Method for Nature Journals

Grinnell System Field Journal

Grinnell Field Notebook

Catalog for the Grinnell System

Species Account of Grinnell System