Outdoor Activities

Get out and Walk in your Local Park



Top 10 Reasons to go Outside

1.) Get “away” from it all - Going outside gives you an opportunity to forget about the phone, TV, Internet, and to-do lists. We tend to carry our hectic schedule wherever we go, and getting outdoors is one good way to relax and recharge our body and mind.

2.) Get moving! – Going outdoors will inspire you to move. You can stretch your legs, or use them over a variety of terrain. This creates a greater development of coordination and the muscles, which stabilize the body. Soft and smooth surfaces adorn almost every floor of civilized society, so much so that we’ve literally lost touch with the natural environment around us. Try going barefoot , and you’ll see what I mean about being insensitive to your natural surroundings.

3.) Get some sunshine that is packed full of vitamin D – Getting enough vitamin D is super-important for maintaining a healthy immune system. This vitamin has been proven to help prevent osteoporosis, cancer, and Alzheimer disease. It also may help in the prevention of Diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease.

4.) Get an opportunity to take chances, and develop independence – Going outdoors is a little more risky than staying in the safety of the confined indoors. This is an opportunity to try new things, to develop new skills, and test yourself in unique ways such as climbing a tree.

5.) It’s good for your eyes – In our mostly seated culture, we tend to focus our eyes directly in front of us when looking at a computer screen or paperwork. There is no over-stimulation, TV, or computer to stare at when you step out into Mother Nature. Your pupil’s contract, similar to muscles, when looking at various distances. Simply by walking around outdoors, your eyes have a chance to both focus on the ground in front of you and the landscape around you, which is great exercise for TV and monitor over-stimulated eyes.

6.) Get in better touch with nature – There is so much to be experienced out in nature, it’s almost silly to try to describe it on our website! Listen to birds, smell the trees, feel the wind and the heat of the sun. Watch an animal going about its daily routine.

7.) Get some fresh air – Depending on where you live, going outside involves breathing fresh air. There are no toxic chemicals in the great outdoors – no cleaners, detergents, plastics, building materials to touch or breathe in.

8.) Better mental clarity, longer attention span – Researchers from the University of Michigan found memory performance and attention spans improved by 20 percent after people spent an hour interacting with nature. They also believe the findings could have broader impact on helping people who may be suffering from mental fatigue.

9.) Boost energy levels – Going outdoors has unseen therapeutic effects that actually increase your energy levels, and no one can argue with that!

10.) A new, tangible community – When you step outside your doors, you have a chance to enter a whole new environment – not just physically, but relationally too. By visiting a park, paddling a river, taking a bike ride or run, you can make new connections with people that would have never been possible. You will learn more about someone from one hour of playing outside than you will in a year of working with them.