plants Archives - The Natural Navigator

The Common or Dog Violet

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020

The Common dog-violet – Viola riviniana – flowers in spring, from April to June. (The ‘dog’ part of the name refers to its lack of…

November 8, 2019November 8, 2019

Hydrangeas are nature’s litmus test, by which I mean they can tell us the pH of the soil they are growing in. There are actually…

October 28, 2019October 28, 2019

My thanks to Alun for sending in this photo of autumn colour near the Kitano Tenman-Gu Shrine in Kyoto. And the following question: “I saw…

October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

A short video explaining how to find north or south and make a map in the woods using ivy (Hedera helix). You might also enjoy:…

July 24, 2019February 14, 2020

Earlier I showed how it is possible to find your way using the colour of tree leaves. Now I’d like to show you how to…

April 15, 2019December 4, 2019

Very nice email in with a helpful photo: I was stargazing this past week in the Davis Mountains in Texas. I had been pointing out…

March 29, 2019March 23, 2020

They say it’s not spring until your foot could cover twelve daisies… but I prefer to feel the glow that comes from spotting the way…

February 18, 2019February 18, 2019

I recently did a podcast interview with Mason Gravley of the Adventure Sports Podcast in the US. (Interview begins about 5.40 mins in.) There are…

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019

A fast introduction to my journey into natural navigation, how it works and why we need it, from a TEDx talk I gave in Calgary.