Being active outdoors connects us to nature and helps us have balance in our lives. Outdoors, we’re away from the TV, telephone, computer, and other time-consuming, sit-down activities.

While being active outdoors, we become role models for our children, friends, and neighbours. When we’re active as part of a group or team, we build the bonds that help people stay connected. When being active becomes the norm, everyone becomes comfortable being active and involved.

Affordable Ways to Be Active Outdoors

Whatever the size of your community, you can find places and ways to get off the couch and enjoy the outdoors.

Using community facilities and services is a fun and affordable way to be active outdoors. Consider the parks, trails, and programs provided by your local government. If your town has more than 3,000 people, those services may be run by a recreation and parks department. The staff can put you in touch with sports, arts programs, and recreational clubs, and help you choose the activities that fit your interests and abilities. Consider gardening, and see if there are community garden plots available.

If you live in a smaller community, check with your town or village office or with the local agricultural office. It’s also likely that your local recreation centre, county hall, ice arena, or library has information on all sorts of community activities.

Having a place to go also gets us out and about. Beyond work and errands, where else can you go? Many communities offer heritage tours or nature walks. Activities such as orienteering give you things to look for as you walk or run.

You don’t need expensive equipment, just some comfortable shoes or an older model bicycle and maybe a friend for company. Some communities even have programs that give used bikes and other sports equipment to kids and adults who need them. Families can be active outdoors on trails and in parks, playgrounds, and campgrounds.

When choosing a restaurant or theatre, look for one you can reach on foot or by bike. Also think about being active when you plan your holidays. Hiking, swimming, kayaking, golfing…there are so many ways to be active while exploring other parts of the world.

Getting Around Using Active Transportation

Active transportation is another great way to be active outdoors. It can be an environmentally friendly and relaxing way to add activity to your day. Whether walking, cycling, in-line skating, skateboarding, or wheeling a wheelchair, you’re using muscle power rather than fossil fuels to go where you want to go.

Taking an active route to work most days can give you much of the physical activity you need. If you can’t walk all the way to work, consider parking 20 minutes away or getting off the bus early to walk the rest of the way. You may also want to get a group together to walk at lunch time. Try leaving the car in the garage when you do your errands, and walk or bike instead. Besides cutting down on pollution, active transportation is less noisy and helps reduce crime by putting more eyes on the street.

Trails for biking and walking encourage people to use active transportation. A place designed so you can walk anywhere is a walkable community. When people take advantage of walkable design and use self-propelled transportation, they’re helping to create an active, healthy community.

Being Active with Others in Your Community

Being active in a group offers many advantages. The security of numbers can add to personal safety, especially at night. Buddies also help us stick to our goals. What’s more, being active together makes the entire experience more fun.

Longer term, groups that are active together often grow to trust each other, becoming part of the glue that helps communities weather the tough times and celebrate the good.

When finding or forming a group, look for people who share your lifestyle or interests. If you’re a preschool parent, form a stroller brigade, or walk with other parents while your children are in activities together. If you own a dog, invite other dog walkers to join you. If you live near someone who’s headed your way to work, make a point of walking or biking together. If you love to walk or run, check local campuses and running stores for a group you can join.

Setting goals may help you stay active. Wear a pedometer to track your steps, and see how soon you can reach the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Decide to be active at least 30 minutes a day, and chart your progress using a physical activity log.

Getting Out in the Great Outdoors

It’s easy to be active outdoors. Using active transportation and being active with other people are great ways to bring more activity to your day. Choosing activities that are simple, affordable, and fun will mean you’re active outdoors more often.

Source: HealthyAlberta.com

Spring is here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the snow has melted. What do we see after the snow melts? Garbage. The sight of garbage can spoil your experience of the great outdoors, whether you’re in an urban or rural community. And garbage is just one way we affect the environment. We humans have a huge impact, and often we don’t even realize it.

As you enjoy being active in the great outdoors this summer, remember that the quality of your outdoor adventure depends on your respect for nature and for others.

This article gives you advice on how to reduce your environmental impact so that we can all enjoy activities in the beautiful outdoors for years to come.

Respect all things in the natural world
Respect wildlife. One of the reasons we head into the wilderness is to see animals and plants we don’t see every day. They don’t see us every day either. Be respectful of all wildlife. You can observe them, even photograph them, but don’t disturb them. Remember, you are a guest in their home, so act accordingly.

Leave what you find. Take only pictures. Leave rocks, plants and other natural things as you find them. If you take or disturb things, you may damage a habitat. For example, some plants need the other plants around them to survive. And dead trees aren’t firewood, but homes for woodpeckers and other animals that nest in their cavities.

Leave no trace
Always bring home what you take in. There’s nothing better than travelling to a secluded spot for a picnic or a few days camping. The peace and quiet, the animals and the scenery can be exhilarating. So that others may enjoy the same experience, make sure that you leave nothing behind when you depart. It should be as if you were never there.

Travel on durable surfaces. It’s tempting to take off into the bushes for some real “off-roading,” but that can hurt the very things you appreciate in the great outdoors. Cycling or even hiking in some areas damages the forest floor. It disturbs the ground cover, and that disturbs the wildlife. Off-roading can also erode the soil and damage the root systems of trees and shrubs. Stick to paved paths or existing groomed trails.

Obey signs. Signs are there for a reason. They may be protecting a habitat or an ecosystem. They may also be there for your personal safety, keeping you away from dangers such as an unstable bank or poison ivy.

Go one step further
You’ve heard the term “go the extra mile.” In this case it’s taking a few extra steps to pick up at least one piece of garbage on each journey you take outdoors.

If you’re willing to go an extra mile or two, you can get physically active and clean up at the same time by participating in spring cleanup programs such as:

* the 4-H ditch cleanup
* Capital City Clean Up
* cleanup programs organized by your local community league

Think beyond yourself to the greater good of your community and the environment. Take pride in both and chip in. Lead by example, and think before you act. Ask yourself, “If everyone did what I’m doing, would this trail or park still be as nice?”

As American President Lyndon B. Johnson said upon signing the 1964 Wilderness Act: “If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt… we must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.”

Source: HealthyAlberta.com