Like many businesses and arts organisations, NatureArt Lab had to completely rethink its 2020 plan due to social distancing restrictions. For the Canberra studio, this meant replacing their regular offerings of botanical art and nature journaling workshops with the residency program, Reflections on Nature.

The online program has invited artists of all levels to respond to the natural environment in the Canberra region over 12 months.

"It is a lot about documenting your observations ... and the wonderful thing about this program is that you don't have to be an artist to be able to do that," NatureArt Lab founder Julia Landford says.

"You can sketch and draw and write notes about how you're feeling about a particular subject. Or you can ask questions about why it might be the way it is, or what sorts of birds might be pollinating a particular flower, what sorts of insects might be visiting a particular plant.

"It's incredibly important for mindfulness, mental health and wellbeing, but it's also important for the environment in terms of getting to understand nature and what's happening out there a little better."

The program encourages participants to observe and interpret the seasonal changes of flora and fauna through sketches, drawing and note-taking, as well as considering the possible impacts of recent weather events such as rain, hail or drought, as well as the bushfires.

"Here in Canberra especially, we've been through a very traumatic and a very unusual set of circumstances over the last six months," Landford says.

"Going from drought to bushfires, to hailstorms and the catastrophic effects of that on wildlife and environment.

"To then go to a social isolation setting, with COVID-19, it became very obvious to me that this was a really important opportunity to document what's been happening around us."

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There are plans for regular online tutorials that participants can take up as well as their own work, starting with one focusing on drawing fungi with ink on Saturday.

Participants are also given fortnightly topics to guide their observations, starting with colour.

"Even if you're not surrounded by the incredible deciduous trees that are planted in Canberra, there's colour everywhere at the moment," Landford says.

"The skies look even bluer than normal and the sun is sitting lower in the sky so we're looking longer shadows, textures in contrasting light. We're looking at eucalyptus foliage which is shiny and bright with the sunlight."

People are then encouraged to post their work in NatureArt Lab's Reflections on Nature Facebook group, with works expected to be collected at the end of the 12-month program for an exhibition at in the M16 Artspace in Griffith.

For more information on the program find NatureArt Lab on Facebook or email info@natureartlab.com.au.