SEGD Atlanta Chapter | Yonder Nature walk

The best reference material is still growing outside.

There’s a kind of attention that only shows up outdoors. The moment you pause to marvel at how a fern unfurls, how light moves through a canopy, how a spider’s web holds tension across open air. It’s slower than scrolling, and it asks more of you.

Most of us don’t embrace this way of seeing anymore. For years, the reflex when we needed inspiration was to open Pinterest. Now it’s an AI model trained on the same endless scroll. Useful, sure. Especially when deadlines reward speed over depth. But it’s also a little played out, and a few steps removed from anything real.

This “Wandering” is an experience designed to reclaim our attention and tap into a natural fountainhead of inspiration. We’re gathering a multidisciplinary group of architects, designers, and other creative practitioners for a slow walk through Blue Heron Nature Preserve. The walk itself is easy — through the preserve’s woods and wetlands, with a few stops along the way for some guided noticing practices. Then there’s time to sketch whatever caught your eye, and translate what inspired you into your own field.

What to bring

A sketchbook and something to draw with, a water bottle, and comfortable walking shoes. Leave your phone in the car, or at least on airplane mode in your pocket.

This event is hosted by YONDER, presented by the SEGD Atlanta Chapter as part of the Atlanta Design Festival.

This event is free to attend, but a donation of $25 or more to Blue Heron Nature Preserve is requested in lieu of a ticket, as part of registration. Donate here.

Blue Heron Nature Preserve is maintained by the nonprofit that founded it 26 years ago and later donated the land to the City of Atlanta. The preserve receives no city funding for its upkeep, so registration donations go directly toward the land we’ll be walking through.