This week, the thermometer reached 20 degrees Celsius on two consecutive days in Nova Scotia. In other words: if you鈥檝e been looking for an excuse to shake off the winter doldrums and head outside, your cue has arrived.
Dal鈥檚 Elizabeth May Chair in Sustainability and Environmental Health, together with Dal Human Resources, is hoping to inspire everyone on campus to spend more time outside this moth by taking part in the .
The challenge is simple: spend 30 minutes a day outside for each of the month鈥檚 30 days. The idea is to encourage people to take time away from their desks and daily tasks and enjoy the outdoors. The overall 30 x 30 initiative, launched by the David Suzuki Foundation, focuses on engagement with nature but Daniel Rainham, the Elizabeth May Chair, says the challenge is also about encouraging healthier lifestyles.
鈥淲e know that sedentary activities like spending time in front of screens and, as many of us do for much of the day, is not healthy behaviour,鈥� explains Dr. Rainham. 鈥淭he evidence tells us that too much sedentary behaviour is unhealthy, even if we are often physical active.鈥�
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The organizers of the Dal challenge are helping make it easier for faculty, staff and students to incorporate outdoor activities into their days by outlining different activities for the various days of the week. For example, on 鈥淢eeting Mondays,鈥� they encourage people to try holding a meeting outside, while 鈥淲alking Wednesdays鈥� invite people to take short walks on their lunch breaks.
On 鈥淭ouring Tuesdays,鈥� the 30 x 30 team has organized that you can sign up for online. These include campus sustainability, the Schmidtville neighbourhood, a photo tour and more. 鈥淭ry-It Thursdays鈥� are about experiencing a new activity (the challenge鈥檚 website has while 鈥淔ood Fridays鈥� feature a weekly picnic gathering.
鈥淲e want people to think of the positives of being outside: physical health, mental health, connecting with the environment and just having fun,鈥� says Dr. Rainham.
, too: all you have to do is Tweet a photo of your activity with the hashtag #DalOutside or email your photo to emaychair@dal.ca. Each Friday one entry will receive one of several great prizes, including gift cards to Mountain Equiment Co-Op and the Dal Bookstore, Air Miles points and a massage visit.
As for Dr. Rainham personally, the fact that he runs and regularly bikes to work means he regularly hits 30 minutes of outside activity each day. But he鈥檚 hoping to live up to the true spirit of the challenge and take an outdoors break during the workday: 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to get out of the office for 30 minutes each day. It鈥檚 challenging, but it鈥檚 a good habit to adopt鈥�
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