Wellness Matters! (Part 2)
Family fun and the benefits of getting outdoors
By Jess Winn, NIU STEAM Educator
This month, it’s starting to really feel like spring! So for this edition of Winning Ideas, I wanted to explore the health benefits of getting outdoors. Keep reading for some tips for getting your family outdoors. And check out Part 1 of this month’s Winning Ideas to see some health and wellness tips for educators and classrooms.
The benefits of being outside in nature are known to be astronomical. Getting outside with your family can help to lower mental stress, increase physical health, and improve our mental capabilities. Not only that – but being outside with your family can also help build relationships, trust and confidence. It can instill positive memories that change relationships for the better, and for future generations who will also learn to love being outside.
Even if you don’t have very much time, I hope you can try at least one of these activities together with your family and friends. Here are a few of my favorites:
- If you have the means, go out for a frozen treat on a hot summer evening, then sit outside and count the stars.
- Take a walk outside and go find local parks in your neighborhood for your kids to play.
- Reconnect with your community by attending community sponsored events. It’s great to rediscover neighbors and friends after the long winter months of isolation.
- Try gardening or bringing plants into your home to freshen the air and potentially provide some nutrients.
- Remember that the outdoors is for everyone – trails, parks, rivers, and forests belong to all of us, so go explore!
- If you have a little more time to spend, try creating a Cereal Box Garden! Next time your family finishes a box of cereal, cut the box in half and save the bottom that is still sealed. Rinse out the bag and fill it with soil. Set the bag back in the box and gently press seeds into the soil an inch or so apart. Then, set your box in a sunny window (maybe on an old grocery bag to prevent any water damage) and water it once a week.
- Find your closest trail or park. Once you have found it – once a week, if you can, walk the trail and talk about what you are seeing and how things are changing from week to week. Use it as an opportunity to connect with your kids. Keep your cell phones off unless you are looking up plants or animals. Make that effort to be present with your family.
- Make a map of your sky. Help your children draw a picture of their house. When they have their image, go out on a clear night and see if you can map any stars.
I hope this spring you’re getting out and absorbing the healing benefits of nature – and learning the importance of protecting nature. I like to remember the words of Sir David Attenborough: “If children grow up not knowing about nature and appreciating it, they will not understand it, and if they don’t understand it, they won’t protect it, and if they don’t protect it, who will?” Get out there and soak in the healing that is being outside, experiencing the air, wind, sun, and so many more of the benefits nature offers.
As always, don’t forget to share your projects with us! Tag #NIUSTEAM and @NIUSTEAM for a chance to be featured in our weekly newsletter. And as always, do good things, be good people, and make yourself better than the day before.
Hey friends! NIU STEAM Summer Camps are coming up soon! Take a moment to register your kiddos for camp. We offer day camps for students in grades 2-5 and middle school, overnight STEAM camp for middle school at Lorado Taft Field Campus, and college/career focused hands-on resident camps for high school students.
If you know any college-bound high school students with disabilities, be sure to tell them about our Huskies BELONG summer camp, which is free to qualifying students.
References
Conserving Wonder with Sir David Attenborough. Green Eyed Monster Films. (2014). https://greeneyedmonsterfilms.com/portfolio/conserving-wonder
UC Davis Health. (2023, June 4). 3 ways getting outside into nature helps improve your health. health. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/3-ways-getting-outside-into-nature-helps-improve-your-health/2023/05
