Ready to start writing about the natural world?
In this eight-week online course, you’ll explore nature and environmental writing, and how to conduct research and ‘notice’ the natural world around you. Whether you’ve already started writing and need guidance to move forward, or simply have an idea you’d like to develop, this course will provide you with the essential tools to progress confidently.
Through a combination of insightful lessons, interactive exercises, and practical assignments, you’ll learn how to conduct research and record data, structure compelling narratives, and articulate your unique perspective of the environment. Experience meaningful progress with personalised one-to-one feedback from your tutor, tailored specifically to your work.
This course will cover…
- Exploring some of the major voices in nature and environmental writing
- What nature writing is and why we do it
- How to hone your practical field observations – learning how to do it and what to record
- The importance of landscape, climatic issues and relationships
- Editing and researching, and how this increases the impact of your writing
Start date
Monday 23 March 2026
Location
Online
Length
Eight weeks (please see course schedule below)
Price
£300*
*Payment plans available. Drop us a line at [email protected] to find out more.
By the end of this course you will have…
- A greater precision in the recording of your sense impressions and an ability to ‘notice’ and record vital detail
- The skills required to create and map rich worlds in non-fiction or fiction writing
- A greater understanding of how to fit writing into your everyday life
- Greater confidence and comfortability with your writing voice
- Produced a standalone piece of nature writing or significantly developed an existing creative non-fiction or fiction project
Course programme
Week one – What is nature writing?
This week, you’ll start to discuss what nature writing is, both in terms of its tradition and its current popular form. You will start to explore the power of nature and environmental writing, and discover what you will need to avoid going forward.
Week two – Practical observations and perspective
The focus will turn to practical observations and the experience of nature, whether in a remote, rural or urban setting. You will start to look at ideas about note-taking, perspective and potential pitfalls. You will learn the importance of ‘noticing’, and how to re-engage with your environment.
Week three – Landscape
This week, you will consider how we (as writers and humans) connect with landscape, and start to add your personal stories and memories to your nature writing. You will also submit your first assignment for feedback.
Week four – Research and experimentation
Experimenting with new ways of writing can often help hone the story that we are trying to tell, so you will be playing around with form this week. You’ll also focus on deepening your writing through research, and what to avoid when conducting research.
Week five – Editing
This week will see our attention turn to how to edit and refine your work. You will discuss ideas around structure, line edits, and proof-reading, and start to apply these to your own writing.
Week six – Final submission
Time for your final submission! This can be up to 3,000 words of a nature diary, creative non-fiction chapter, poetry, journalistic feature or a work of fiction incorporating nature and environmental writing.
Week seven – Feedback
In the final week, you will receive written feedback ahead of your one-to-one tutorial. You can use this time to discuss your writing, the industry, and potential next steps.
Week eight – Tutorial
In the final week of the course, you will have a one-to-one tutorial with Matt to discuss your writing and next steps.
Live sessions
There will be two live sessions for this course, which will take place over Zoom. Timings to be confirmed.
Matt’s insights and gentle guidance really helped to coax the words out of me.
Why study with National Centre for Writing?
National Centre for Writing has been supporting writers to develop their craft for over 25 years. Our online tutored courses are developed in partnership with University of East Anglia, home to the prestigious School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, which boasts award-winning alumni including Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan and Anne Enright. Our course tutors are all published writers, many of whom have studied or taught at UEA themselves.
While many online writing courses are available worldwide, ours stand out by offering:
- One-to-one feedback on assignments, directly from your course tutor
- A tailored learning experience with a maximum of 15 students per class
- The flexibility to progress through the course from anywhere, at any time
- Support and structure to help you develop a consistent writing routine
- Essential skills and knowledge to enhance your craft
- Increased confidence in your ability as a writer
- The opportunity to join our NCW Alumni—an international network of like-minded writers and translators
Meet the tutor
Matt Gaw
Matt Gaw is a writer, journalist and secondary school English teacher, who lives in Suffolk. He is the author of the acclaimed The Pull of the River: A Journey into the Wild and Watery Heart of Britain and Under the Stars: A Journey into Light. Matt’s most recent book, In All Weathers, is a lyrical and personal exploration of rain, fog, wind, ice and snow (and everything in between). His nature writing and journalism has been published in, among others, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Times and Countryfile magazine.
I have been able to re-evaluate my experience of some writers in the genre, for which, thank you Matt. And I have come away inspired to delve deeper into my project. I have made a start and feel supported by the feedback I have received.
How does this course work?
We have partnered with digital learning platform Teachable to host our self-paced courses. The platform is accessible across a range of devices, simple to use, and does not require any specialist equipment.
We want to make sure that you get the most out of our tutored online courses and feel confident that you’re choosing the right course. Each course contains a mixture of teaching content, reading to prompt discussion, writing exercises for you to hone your skills, and group and one-to-one feedback.
Click to read more about how they are structured and what equipment you may need.
Got a question?
If you still have questions, get in touch with the learning team by emailing [email protected] or call (+44) 01603 877177 between our working hours of 9am – 5pm BST, Monday to Friday. We’re here to help!
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