Sometimes all we need to rejuvenate our minds, bodies and spirits is a bit of fresh air. Fortunately our outdoor adventure contributor, Stacy Tornio, has created a concept that utilizes the nature that surrounds us.
Tornio says her plan, called the 21-Day Recharge, "is really just a way of getting outside for 21 days in a purposeful way. You can't count walking into Target, or even walking the dog...it has to be above and beyond what you'd normally do."
The concept originated as a way to get kids outside to play and interact with nature, but Tornio notes that "it works for adults, too."
In a world where people live such busy lives, we don't think we have time to get outside, she says. "Even if it's 15 minutes, even if it's that walk after dinner or taking time on your lunch break," Tornio says, "it's amazing what that can do and how that can just brighten your day."
She notes that even doctors have prescribed nature and sunshine to patients to get outside.
Wisconsin, however, isn't always a sunny oasis of chirping birds.
But even on those challenging days, when she and her kids just wanted to plop in front of the TV after dinner, Tornio says she's happy about her choice to do otherwise. "We go out, and I find that it actually gives me more energy. So, whenever we come back, I have energy to do the dishes, or hang out with my kids," she says.
Tornio has been chronicling the experience with photos onInstagram,under the hashtag #21DayRecharge, and on Twitter.
Some of the experiences that Tornio have tallied up with her family include going to Lapham Peak to climb the tower, observing muskrats and finding a park off the beaten path to play basketball.
She says the intent of the recharge is also to spark a sense of adventure that reaches beyond 21 days. Even before the period ended, Tornio and her kids made a plan of "going out to somewhere new once a month. Whether it's a day after school or on a weekend, going to a park we've never been to, visiting a body of water we've never gone to. Just to experience things in new ways."
Tornio is the author of nearly a dozen books related to nature, gardening and getting kids outside. She also runs the website DestinationNature.com.
