Hello, I'm Dr Ali Foxon
Author and illustrator of the Green Sketching Handbook: Relax, Unwind and Reconnect with Nature.
I’m a self-taught artist, former climate change advisor and founder of the green sketching movement.
By now, most of us know that our relationship with nature is in big trouble. But reconnecting with nature needn’t be difficult or expensive.
If we can learn to see and appreciate nature with fresh eyes, we’ll start to love and take care of it again.
And the best way to see something is to sketch it!
That’s why I started the green sketching movement; I’m now on a mission to save the world one doodle at a time.
I want to make the joys and benefits of sketching accessible to everyone, not just artists.
Because when we put down our phones, pick up a pencil and step outdoors, we transform our wellbeing and our relationship with nature.
Sketching combines the benefits of mindfulness, nature connection and creativity in one simple, affordable activity.
I promise you don’t have to be an artist to experience these benefits. The quality of your sketch is irrelevant. It’s the looking that matters and changes how you feel.
My Story
I grew up in the bluebell woods and have a soft spot for tiny birds, wildflower meadows and apple blossom trees.
I now live with my family on the edge of the beautiful Peak District National Park surrounded by hawthorn trees and boggy moorland.
My background is in geography and environmental sciences, not art. I have a PhD in climate change and nature conservation from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change and two Geography degrees from the University of Oxford.
Earlier in my career, I worked as a climate change advisor, researcher and scientific editor with a wide range of organisations, including the UK water industry, IUCN and the United Nations Environment Programme.
But during my mid-thirties, soon after the birth of my son, I started sketching outdoors and quietly transformed my life, my career and my mental health.
Find out how green sketching started in my TEDx talk ‘Drawn to Love Nature’.
I’m now on a mission to make nature sketching more accessible, to overcome the common barriers that stop so many of us from picking up a pencil: our lack of confidence, our lack of perceived time and our lack of nature knowledge.
I don’t want anyone to feel inadequate or miss out on the incredible benefits of sketching nature.
I’ve been bowled over by the response to my TEDx talk and The Green Sketching Handbook. It really does feel like the start of a green sketching revolution!
Will you join in and help me spread the word?
