1000 Hours Outside

Dec 31

As January 1st approaches, I always find myself thinking about what I want to prioritize in the new year. Spending time outdoors always tops my list! While the adventures are smaller and closer to home now that I have 2 little kids, I like to challenge myself to continue to get outside in new and meaningful ways. This year, my family of 4 will be taking on the 1000 Hours Outside challenge.

The benefits of spending time outdoors, for both adults and kids, are endless! As lovers of the outdoors, we innately know this. Being outside makes us feel better, healthier, happier. Research shows that children who spend time outside are more physically active, less anxious and sleep better. But exactly how much time outside should kids be getting? Science hasn’t determined an exact number, but I think it’s safe to say you can’t overdose on fresh air! How about striving for 1000 hours over the course of the year? That’s approximately 3 hours outside every day! Does that sound exciting? Just right? Scary? Impossible?

The 1000 Hours Outside movement is exactly what it sounds like: A challenge (or invitation!) to spend 1000 hours outside over the course of a year. It was started by Ginny Yurick, a mom of five based in Michigan. She saw the statistic that American children spend 1,200 hours on screens per year and was shocked! She set out to convert most of those hours “from screen time to green time.” (Similar stats are reported in Canada: The 2022 Children & Youth Physical Activity Report Cards says Canadian Children get an F in meeting the screen time recommendations.) At first, spending an average of 3 hours outside every day with little kids seemed daunting, but they committed to giving it a shot. It impacted their family so significantly that she created a campaign to share the challenge and 1000 Hours Outside was born.

I first heard about it through a work associate. She was doing it with her small children and I loved following along on her social media.

When I welcomed my daughter Juniper in August 2020, I had a fear that we would get overwhelmed and forget what we loved to do before we became parents! As we approached 2021, I remembered 1000 Hours Outside and thought it would be a fun way to encourage and motivate us to get outside as a family. Due to the fact that we are already fairly active people and my husband works outside, we added our own spin: for the time to count towards our goal, we would have to be outside together with at least one other family member! In doing so, our goal became more focused on sharing our love for the outdoors with Juniper.

In the end, we didn’t reach the goal of 1000 hours outside together. In the fall, I got pregnant again and was hit hard by the first trimester exhaustion. We had a couple very cold months and my husband was away a lot, so we didn’t complete the last 50 hours (so close!) But, we found so much joy in the process that the outcome didn’t even matter! Over the year, we walked, skied, camped, watered the garden, picnicked, rode bikes, skated on frozen lakes and sat around the campfire. More importantly, we connected with each other and the natural spaces around us.

What I love about the 1000 Hours Outside challenge is that it’s less about doing things outside, and more so on being outside. Any time spent outside - playing, camping, eating, commuting, reading, gardening, swinging in a hammock - counts. The thing is, kids don’t need an epic adventure to engage and enjoy outdoor spaces. They can find magic in backyards, ditches, puddles, small creeks and a pile of snow. As much as I love a big backpacking trip or skiing into a backcountry lodge, the challenge has encouraged me to try out a different pace, to see the world through the eyes of my little children and to access amazement and a sense of wonder wherever we ventured.

Another thing that’s great about 1000 Hours Outside is that it is very much a DIY challenge - You can make it your own! Their website says: “the spirit behind the journey is one of encouragement - not competition. There are often questions about ‘rules’, but the good thing here is that there really aren’t any! 1000 Hours Outside is about striving for engaged time outside, and that looks different from one family to the next. That’s the beauty of nature play; it works for any age and any stage, in any outdoor environment. Remember not to get bogged down on the details. Adjust the goal if you need to. No matter what, we promise you’ll never regret committing to a year filled with making memories outside.”

So how do you get started?

Pick a start date.
I love the fresh start that comes with January 1st, but it could be any day!
Explore and get inspired.
1000 Hours Outsides creates and shares so many great resources, and most of them are free! Check out the awesome 2022 Kick Off Pack which includes 62 hiking prompts, year-round outside adventure prompts and year-round corresponding book lists! The Founder, Ginny, also hosts The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, which now has over 100 episodes and she has recently published a book!
Determine your goals and parameters.
Figure out what will make the challenge meaningful for you! Like I mentioned, we only counted hours when we were outside together.
Track.
Head over to the website and download a free tracker. We post it on our fridge and use a different coloured pencil crayon for every month. The designs are beautiful and I loved the satisfaction that came with colouring in the little spaces every day.
Go get outside!