{"id":17927,"date":"2019-06-13T09:08:36","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T14:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/blog\/uncategorized\/\/"},"modified":"2019-09-04T09:02:14","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T14:02:14","slug":"getting-outside-to-connect-people-and-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/blog\/greenheart-club\/getting-outside-to-connect-people-and-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Outside to Connect People and Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s June – and in Chicago, that means the weather is finally warming up, and we’re ready to get out of the office, our apartments, and shed our winter coats! For Greenheart staff member, Allison Yates<\/a>, she’s taking this month to reflect on\u00a0Greenheart\u2019s mission of connecting people and planet – and she says “there is no easier way to embrace this motto than by spending time outdoors, enjoying the Midwestern landscapes.”<\/p>\n

Why Should You Get Outside?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a society, we build walls to nature, box ourselves in offices and transit from one air-conditioned space to another \u2013 but\u00a0we weren\u2019t meant to live this way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur brains aren\u2019t tireless three-pound machines; they\u2019re easily fatigued. When we slow down, stop the busywork, and take in beautiful natural surroundings, not only do we feel restored, but our mental performance improves too,\u201d says University of Utah professor David Strayer in a\u00a0National Geographic<\/a>\u00a0article.<\/p>\n

Summer in Chicago is a fun, easy excuse to ditch Netflix and spend more time unwinding outside.<\/p>\n

What’s There to Do?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right out our front door (speaking of \u2013 have you heard of\u00a0Out Our Front Door<\/a>?) we have accessible nature. Even within the city limits, you can experience\u00a0bird sanctuaries<\/a>, botanical garden, kayaking in the Chicago River, and swan boats in Humboldt Park. Venture a bit further and you can hike and camp at Starved Rock, boat and picnic in Busse Woods, and reenergize at the Skokie Lagoons. Just over the Illinois border, Indiana Dunes\u00a0has 15,000 acres of trails, dunes, and rivers.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

If you don\u2019t have time to kayak this month, even simple swaps can have an impact, like opting to commute to work on a bike (hey,\u00a0bike commuter challenge<\/a>!) rather than the CTA.\u00a0 You can grab lunch on the go (in Tupperware instead of plastic, preferably!) and eat in the park \u2013\u00a0Washington Park<\/a>\u00a0is a Greenheart favorite.\u00a0Use your break to take a quick walk rather than scroll through Instagram.<\/p>\n

And when you enjoy and appreciate nature, you\u2019ll be moved to protect it. As\u00a0Greenhearts,\u00a0we\u00a0already are. By mid-June, Greenheart staff will have completed 79 hours volunteering in environmental endeavors with the Chicago Park District, Green City Market, and Heartland Alliance Urban Farm. This summer, we\u2019re sending\u00a048\u00a0Chicago youth on full scholarships to immerse themselves in nature in Wisconsin<\/a> and Puerto Rico<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Take a Stand<\/strong><\/p>\n

This month (and every month) we have the chance to make small changes and reconnect with original habitat for a calmer, healthier, more centered day.\u00a0Here are some suggestions to get you started:<\/p>\n

Personal Action: <\/b>Get outside! Change one of your weekend plans, and instead of hanging out indoors or at a restaurant, go on a hike, hit up a park, or walk along the lakefront.<\/p>\n

Collective Action: <\/b>Gather your friends and coworkers – and hold one another accountable by taking part in the\u00a0Bike Commuter Challenge<\/a> from June 14-28!<\/p>\n

Greenheart Action: <\/strong>Follow along with our adventures as we embark on our first Camp Greenheart<\/a> of the season!<\/p>\n

Eager to share YOUR stand with the environment? Log your volunteer hours in the\u00a0Greenheart Club<\/a>\u00a0and share your environmental actions with us on both\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s June – and in Chicago, that means the weather is finally warming up, and we’re ready to get out of the office, our apartments, and shed <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7210,"featured_media":17489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[217,218],"tags":[103,309,308,310,306,280,307,302,304,323,305,59],"class_list":["post-17927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenheart-club","category-greenheart-international","tag-chicago","tag-bike","tag-camp","tag-commuter-challenge","tag-connect","tag-haveagreenheart","tag-nature","tag-outdoors","tag-outside","tag-standing-with-the-environment","tag-sustainable","tag-volunteer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/7210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/17489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}