National Get Outdoors Day is a new annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun.

Participating partners will offer opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities.

Prime goals of the day are reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors.

 

 

 

Participants from federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and the recreation industry are again teaming up to host the fourth annual National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day) to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun at sites across the nation. On Saturday, June 9, 2012, these diverse partners will offer opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities. Prime goals of the day are reaching currently underserved populations and first-time visitors to public lands, and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors.

Each GO Day event will offer a mix of information centers and “active fun” areas – places where guests, and especially kids, can use a fishing pole, go geocaching, help pitch a tent and more. The sites will provide photo opportunities with characters like Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and other interesting creatures. Many sites also feature areas that focus on other aspects of healthy living, including sustainability and good nutrition. In addition to the GO Day events, participants will be invited to nearby follow-up activities called EchO events occurring throughout the summer, which include introductions to mountain biking and fly-fishing, hikes with rangers to see wildlife, kayaking and rafting and much more.

The pilot effort of National Get Outdoors Day was launched on June 14, 2008. Building on the success of More Kids in the Woods and other important efforts to connect Americans – and especially children – with nature and active lifestyles, the USDA Forest Service (FS) and the American Recreation Coalition (ARC) agreed to lead an inclusive, nationwide effort focusing on a single day when people would be inspired and motivated to get outdoors. GO Day partnered with federal, state and local agencies, key enthusiast organizations and recreation businesses to create a healthy, fun day of outdoor adventure aimed at reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting children to the outdoors. Last year, over 50 official GO Day sites across the nation from Anacostia Park in Washington, D.C. to the Big Bear Discovery Center in the San Bernardino National Forest welcomed thousands of new faces to the joy and benefits of the great outdoors.

GO Day is an outgrowth of the Get Outdoors USA! campaign, which encourages Americans, especially our youth, to seek out healthy, active outdoor lives and embrace our parks, forests, refuges and other public lands and waters. Working with the FS, Get Outdoors USA! hosted six recreation forums in early 2007 and learned that public lands were missing the right triggers to capture the attention of today’s youth. The GO Day concept was first tested at the Outdoor Recreation Village at Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona, which drew over 100,000 visitors.

Even if you can’t find an event in your area I encourage you to ask your family, friends, and neighbors to join you outdoors doing something awesome. 

The Five College Outdoor Festival is a yearly celebration of outdoor sports, wild places, and the spirit of adventure. Our goal is to inspire the Five College and western Massachusetts community to engage in human-powered outdoor recreation. Activities at the festival, in celebration of our 11th year, include: an adventure race, pancake brunch, climbing competition, kayaking in the pool with Zoar Outdoor, spinning with Energia, and the Telluride Mountain Film On Tour! A silent auction and a raffle will be held during the day to raise money for Gardening the Community in Springfield, MA and the Western Massachusetts Climbers Coalition (WMCC).

The Day’s Happenings: 

Try a kayak with Zoar Outdoor
Expert instruction from the professional instructors of Zoar Outdoor. Zoar will be bringing many new 2012 kayaks for folks to try out! 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Robert Crown Center pool, Hampshire College. $5.00 donation for the WMCC and Gardening the Community. Open to any high school or college student 16* or older. Must sign waiver and have proof of insurance.

Pancake Brunch
Free to race, climbing competition, and kayaking participants. $4.00 for others. 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

All Conditions, All Fun Adventure Race: Free event
Registration 9:30 a.m.  Race Time: 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Compete in a fun and challenging adventure race around the Hampshire College campus. Navigate from point to point on the Hampshire campus. Includes a mystery event! Map and compass skills are not required, but may be helpful! Singles and teams from the Five Colleges and community are welcome. A special prize will be awarded to the top-scoring college. All participants must provide their own gear.

Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Robert Crown Center, Hampshire College. Open to any high school or college student 16 years* or older. Must sign waiver and have proof of insurance.

$5.00 donation for the charities appreciated.

You can find the race rules here.

Climbing Competition and Silent Auction

Climbing Competition: 1-4 p.m. $5.00 donation to benefit the WMCC
Open to any high school or college student 16* or older. Must have your own shoes, harness, and belay device. 1-4 p.m., Robert Crown Center, Hampshire College. Must sign waiver and have proof of insurance.

Spinning with Energia
Two 50-minute workshops will be offered for folks wanting to spin on our stationary bicycles. No experience necessary. First come, first serve; limit 14 persons per session. Workshop #1: 1-1:50 p.m.  Workshop #2: 2:10-3 p.m. Must be 16 years* or older. Must sign waiver and have proof of insurance. $5.00 Donation to the charities appreciated!

Chair Massage
Come meet local massage therapist Lauren Abend. She’ll be offering free chair massages from 10-3 p.m. Donation to the charities appreciated!

Martial Arts Demonstration: 10:30 a.m., Robert Crown Center Playing Floor! Marion Taylor and Sam Kanner. A short introduction to Shotokan Karate, Aikido, Kyudo and Iaido!

Telluride Mountain Film On Tour

An action-packed 3-hour adventure film series. Come enjoy great short movies and raise money for a good cause with the always popular intermission raffle!

$10 Admission (1 raffle ticket included). Additional tickets will be available for purchase at the door.
FREE to Hampshire, Smith, Amherst, and Mount Holyoke Students with valid school ID.

7-10 p.m., Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College.

Dean Potter - One Crazy Man!

Just watching clips of this guy make me a nervous and want to throw up a little, I’m not sure I can take a full show of watching his crazy adventures…

One of the world’s most renowned rock climbers, Dean is also an adventurer and nature enthusiast who leaps off cliffs and mountains while wearing a special “wingsuit” that helps him soar before deploying a parachute and then landing.  In 2009, he set a world record when he scaled the Eiger Mountain in the Swiss Alps and leapt from an 8,800-foot drop, spending almost 3 minutes in flight.

Now, Dean embarks on a new adventure. His goal: climb Mount Bute, a 9,000-foot granite wall on Canada’s western coastline … and then jump.  Before Dean attempts the record-setting flight from Bute — which is about seven times as tall as the Empire State Building — he has three months to perfect his technique, design his wingsuit and prepare himself mentally.

The Man Who Can Fly premieres Sunday, February 12, at 8 PM ET/PT on National Geographic Channel

Man Who Can Fly Trailer

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/extras/explorer-2/ngc-the-man-who-can-fly/

photo by sierrasportsmen

June 4 & 5 2011 — STATEWIDE FREE FISHING WEEKEND! Take a friend or family member fishing for free–you won’t need a fishing license to fish any waterbody statewide for these two days! It is time well spent with family and friends. Your purchase of a fishing license directly supports fishing, stocking, education and fish habitat management programs.

Another great outdoor book made movie is out on disk today. 127 hours (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) is an inspirational story about Aron Ralston who spent 5 days trapped with his right arm pinned under a fallen bolder. He does the inevitable to free himself saving his life.

The movie does a great job at telling the story and keeping you on the edge of your seat. The cinematography is truly a work of art, capturing the pain and struggles Aron must have faced… Do not hesitate to pick this movie up. Available to purchase today on DVD and Blu-ray.

From the Big MOE website:

A Brief History:
The Massachusetts Outdoor Expo, fondly referred to as The Big M.O.E., started out with a group of sportsmen and women who wanted to create an opportunity for kids of all ages to learn more about outdoor skills, wildlife and conservation. They approached the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club in Sturbridge to host the Mass. Outdoor Expo, due to its central location, facilities and the connections the group had to the club. An annual event was born!

A couple years later, members of the Mass. Outdoor Expo group approached FAWNS, (Facts About Wildlife & Nature Society) a non-profit group founded in 1998 to promote the connection of people to the outdoors. FAWNS was interested in promoting educational experiences focusing on the outdoors. A “natural” connection between the Expo group and FAWNS was obvious.  A partnership was formed and FAWNS became the organizing entity supporting the Big MOE.

Hope to see you there!
The Mass. Outdoor Expo is September 27, 2009 from 9am to 4pm at the Hamilton Rod & Gun Club in Sturbridge, MA (directions)