The Blog
#RediscoverNature Photo Contest
Take Me Outside, in partnership with Nature Valley and Banff Lake Louise Tourism would like to thank everyone for their participation in the #RediscoverNature photo contest. We are excited to announce Jennifer Alexander as the Grand Prize Winner! Jennifer’s family has won a 4 day all expense paid trip to Banff to enjoy Canada’s oldest National Park. We are so thankful that Banff Lake Louise Tourism donated this prize to encourage more families to rediscover nature throughout these past few weeks. Below is Jennifer’s photo that was randomly selected as the ...
Changing Our Default Settings
At the tender age of 13, I found the piece of electronic equipment that was going to change my world forever – the ghetto blaster. It wasn’t just any ghetto blaster either. It had dual cassette tape players, FM stereo and detachable speakers on each side. I would make mixed tapes for my junior high crushes, and always be up to date on the latest singles from Depeche Mode and Twisted Sister. I saved my allowance for months and even offered up doing extra chores an exchange for more dollar bills (still to this day, the smell of dusting with lemon Pledge haunts me). When ...
Rediscover Nature Day
This summer, my parents along with my sister and nephew, visited me here in Banff. It was my nephew’s first time to the mountains and some of our favourite moments included canoeing the Bow River, hiking up Tunnel Mountain and throwing rocks into Lake Minnewanka. The weather wasn’t great, but that didn’t matter. The time we spent together outside created memories that will last a lifetime.
Nature Valley and Take Me Outside are excited to announce Rediscover Nature Day! On Sunday, September 20, we are asking families across Canada to spend at least one hour outside ...
I. Am. Canadian.
I’m staring out the window of a hotel in Jasper on the verge of tears, looking at fresh snow in the mountains peeking through low lying clouds, a gentle breeze on the lake below and a Canadian flag at half-mast.
Humans are storytelling creatures. The stories that we tell shape our history and culture. As Canadians, we sometimes question our sense of identity – the stories we’ve told and the stories we’re telling that shape who we are as a country and who we are as Canadians. In the wake of this week’s tragedies, mass media, politicians, schools and workers ...
Take Me Outside Day 2016
6 years ago, I had just begun my journey of running across Canada. I was making my way across Newfoundland in the heart of winter, and visions of reaching the west coast seemed a distant dream as I slowly ran westward on the TransCanada Highway. It would take 9 months of running 40-50 km a day. For the full story, check it out here - https://takemeoutside.ca/the-run/
In the final 3 weeks as I made my way through British Columbia towards the Pacific, Take Me Outside Day was born. We wanted a way for schools to celebrate not only the end of my run across Canada, but more ...
Answer Found in Solving Climate Change
A recent discovery is making waves across North America and around the world today as scientists, academics and children claim a solution to the climate change crisis.
I’m tiring quickly of my newsfeed being bombarded with bold claims and teasers that just beg the reader to click and read on. My favourite to mock are the ones that entail lists, and end with the tagline “I couldn’t believe No. 7” or some nonsense like that. So in the spirit of playing along and joining the masses of trying to “sell” this story, the title and tagline were my best attempt.
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George
CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos agreed to chat and give his two cents about being a city boy, his use of social media and how important it is for him to disconnect sometimes and find a little piece of nature in Toronto.
Jeremy Fisher Interview
I think independence is key and I’m not judging anyone because I’m not a parent myself but I’ve noticed from talking to friends of mine who are parents that they they’ve observed that there is less independence for children. There’s a lot more danger in the world… I walked the kilometer to school and back each day… now I sound like an old man! But that unstructured time of walking through alley ways and poking sticks at things – just exploring the world without adult supervision… I can see how that might be terrifying for parents to relinquish that control, but I think it’s essential to pique kid’s curiousity with the world.
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau – Interview
I asked Liberal MP Justin Trudeau whether he would be willing to talk about his experiences outside as he was growing up and how it shaped who he became. He agreed, and this is the interview that resulted.
Being Blue
One of the books I’ve enjoyed reading over the past few weeks has been the Steve Jobs biography. When he passed away last fall, there were several of his quotes that circulated through various channels. I was close to finishing my run and some of these quotes really resonated with me, particularly references to leading a life outside the norm. Aside from the media frenzy surrounding his death, I didn’t know a lot about him other than I owned a couple of his products that I really, really like. What surprised me as I began to read his life story was how poorly ...
