NBC Connecticut: New Website Allows Users to Explore Connecticut Public Trails. “In honor of National Trails Day, Connecticut Trail Finder is a free website where users can find trails in virtually every corner of the state. Users can start browsing trails by an interactive map or filtering by categories such as difficulty, distance or popularity.”
Maine Department of Education: Maine Organizations Launch New ‘Teach ME Outside’ Website for Educators. “A collaborative effort between three Maine organizations called ‘Teach ME Outside’ has recently launched a new website to provide support for Maine educators and community members interested in environmental and outdoor learning for all Maine youth. The site contains educational resources, upcoming training opportunities, and data from across the state. Also featured on the website is the brand new Maine Environmental Education and Outdoor Learning Resource Directory, a dynamic and searchable map and tool that parents, educators, and community members can use to discover and connect with environmental and outdoor learning partners in their area.”
KHQ: DNR launches new website showcasing 100 of Washington’s best geological sites. “Waterfalls, glacier-fed lakes and pacific coastlines are just some of the stunning features Washington has to offer. In efforts to showcase some of the state’s marvels, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources created a website showing off 100 geological sites.”
National Park Service: Find your next adventure with the new National Park Service app. “Created by park rangers with visitors in mind, the NPS App gives the public up-to-date information about all 423 national parks in one easy-to-use app. Visitors can download the NPS App in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store to plan a trip, find interactive maps, download maps and tours ahead of time and find things to do and places to visit during National Park Week and beyond.”
Washington Post: Covid-19 sparked a run on outdoor heaters and fire pits. Which is better for the planet?. “Nelson Bryner has set a lot of things on fire in his career. Buses. Trash cans. Life-sized mannequins dressed in firefighting gear. A five-piece wooden dining set. As chief of the fire research division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bryner spends many of his working days inside the division’s 20,000-square-foot laboratory, analyzing how much heat is generated and what byproducts are produced when various items are set ablaze. With coronavirus cases spiking and the mercury dropping, sparking a run on backyard heating devices, I knew Bryner could tell me what will happen when the fuel for those heaters is burned.”
BusinessWire: State of Vermont, NIC Vermont Launch New Outdoor Recreation Mobile App (PRESS RELEASE). “Built in partnership with the state’s digital government services partner, NIC Vermont, the mobile app provides a wide offering of features, including interactive maps, and enables users to easily access policy information and guidelines for activities, such as hunting, trapping, fishing, boating and hiking in Vermont.”
Augusta Free Press: Records related to Shenandoah National Park creation now digitized. “The Piedmont Environmental Council has completed the digitization of thousands of legal documents related to the Commonwealth’s 1930s-era condemnation of private lands in Rappahannock County for the creation of Shenandoah National Park. The digitization project has made all of the deed book records, court proceedings and individual case files for Rappahannock County properties that are now part of Shenandoah National Park, publicly accessible and searchable for the first time.”
Mountain Journal: How Social Media And Bad Behavior Are Leaving Wild Places Trashed. “In this region we call Greater Yellowstone, we are blessed with an uncommon treasure, vast tracts of untrammeled wild country of the sort most people only read about in history books. Here we can climb a ridge and behold horizons filled with great wide spaces, a wind that seems powered by the divine, and mountains, uncivilized and unspoiled. No wonder those from elsewhere want to come here. There will continue to be more residents and visitors, Covid and other disasters notwithstanding. Instead of Instagramming secret places out of existence, what if we used our phone to snap photos of piles of trash, before and after we spent a little time to clean up?”
BBC: Kashmir’s open-air classes offer stunning solution to lockdown.”Every morning, students in Doodpathri, a town in Budgam district, walk past streams and bridges, and up the hill to their new classroom: a picturesque spot with the snow-capped Himalayas as a backdrop. The outdoor school is a breather for both parents and children after months of a grinding lockdown to slow down Covid-19 infections. The state has reported more than 19,000 cases and some 365 deaths.” The photography with this article is just stunning.
Idaho News 6: Gov. Little launches new Recreate Idaho website. “Governor Little announced a new website to help people recreate safely in Idaho during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website is part of the Recreate Responsibly Idaho campaign that was established to provide guidances and resources for recreating Idahoans to adapt their activities to the situation.”
The City: As City Reopens, Playgrounds Within Parks Keep Green Space on Lockdown. “In Midwood, Brooklyn, local kids have taken to playing on a strip of grass between Kolbert Playground’s locked gates and the sidewalk, while empty benches and open space adjacent to the play equipment remain behind lock and key. In the East Village, the sliver of green space just north of Houston Street is locked around First Park Playground. In the South Bronx, the whole block around Mullaly Park’s skate park, playground and basketball courts is locked, along with two large lawns and seating areas. As summer approaches, it’s unclear exactly when they’ll all re-open.”
Bangor Daily News: New campaign helps Maine residents plan local outdoor adventures this summer. “The new website… offers listings of local guides, public lands and camping options, as well as discounts on guided trips, rentals and outdoor gear, featuring local businesses that have committed to COVID-19 prevention checklists. The website also provides updated tips and resources for safely exploring the Maine outdoors.”
The Atlantic: Social Distancing Is Not Enough. “COVID-19 has mounted a sustained attack on public life, especially indoor life. Many of the largest super-spreader events took place inside—at a church in South Korea, an auditorium in France, a conference in Massachusetts. The danger of the indoors is more than anecdotal. A Hong Kong paper awaiting peer review found that of 7,324 documented cases in China, only one outbreak occurred outside—during a conversation among several men in a small village. The risk of infection indoors is almost 19 times higher than in open-air environments, according to another study from researchers in Japan.”
Phys .org: Leopards spotted in Pakistan capital’s park as virus clears way. “Leopards, jackals and other creatures living in Islamabad’s tree-covered hills have been enjoying a rare respite from the throngs of hikers and joggers that normally pack the trails. Rangers in the Pakistani capital’s Margalla Hills National Park saw animal activity increase soon after the city was locked down in March to counter the coronavirus.”
BBC: Coronavirus lockdown: Can nature help improve our mood?. “While the impact of experiencing nature on our physical health is less well documented, a wealth of studies have demonstrated the positive effects of the natural world on our mental health. Even a brief nature fix – 10 minutes of wind brushing across our cheek, or the sun on our skin – can lower stress, explains Dr Mathew White, from the University of Exeter. If we immerse ourselves in beautiful landscapes, like a rich coastline or a wild forest teeming with an array of species, we feel more intense emotions, he adds.”
