I was thinking about this today because it’s a ‘Snow Day’ for a lot of independent schools and I would hope that parents send their kids outside to play in the snow. I do remember as a child if we complained about there being ‘nothing to do’ the immediate adult response was, “go outside and play.” And we did spend much of each day outdoors, even on cold winter days. We had about a mile walk to school and we were allowed to take the city bus if it got to -40. However, I don’t remember once taking the city bus to school even though temperatures certainly dipped that low. The winters in southern Alberta often came with blowing snow which piled into wonderful drifts for tunneling and snow fort building, the coulees were awesome for tobogganing and there was usually a pond or backyard rink for skating and hockey. We need to consider ways to reverse this indoor trend. It would surely also impact how we take care of all that is outdoors.
Listening to the radio yesterday I heard that the average North American spends 93% of their life indoors, 6% in automobiles and 87% inside buildings. That means that we spend only 7% outdoors if those statistics are accurate. The program was an encouragement to architects and building designers to consider creating more flex spaces in homes, workplaces and schools that would allow people to spend more time outside. I don’t remember the number exactly but I believe it said that it was almost a complete reversal from life 100 years ago when 90% of life was spent outdoors for the average person. I know for me the last two years have moved me outdoors for most of my days and it has made quite a difference in my life.
I was thinking about this today because it’s a ‘Snow Day’ for a lot of independent schools and I would hope that parents send their kids outside to play in the snow. I do remember as a child if we complained about there being ‘nothing to do’ the immediate adult response was, “go outside and play.” And we did spend much of each day outdoors, even on cold winter days. We had about a mile walk to school and we were allowed to take the city bus if it got to -40. However, I don’t remember once taking the city bus to school even though temperatures certainly dipped that low. The winters in southern Alberta often came with blowing snow which piled into wonderful drifts for tunneling and snow fort building, the coulees were awesome for tobogganing and there was usually a pond or backyard rink for skating and hockey. We need to consider ways to reverse this indoor trend. It would surely also impact how we take care of all that is outdoors.
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August 2022
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