Humans Outside

Summer and sunshine are great until you get so excited about them that you lose the focus on the peace heading into nature gives you. It's so easy to just go, go and go some more.    In this Outdoor Diary Amy talks about the push and pull of making the most of summer and wanting to use it for the peace and restoration it gives her. She also talks about how you can get an outdoor inspiration summer...

We know so much about success is determined by having - or not having - a good attitude. So why is it so hard to learn? In this episode Amy talks about a few recent challenges as well as details on their first family camping trip in the Vanimal. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for our newsletter to win a decal: https://humansoutside.com/newsletter Follow us on Instagram and shar...

We spend a lot of time talking about getting the most from nature as humans outside. But we share this big, wide world with a whole host of living things. So this episode is dedicated to our interactions with animals, including the time Luke almost got kidnapped by a sloth. Instead of just interviewing one person about interacting with animals in nature -- although we should definitely do that lat...

How do you tackle an outdoor activity or sport that scares you? If you're Amy, you probably avoid it until confronted with the truth that you are not practicing what you preach. And that's why she'll be taking this sport on the road - literally - all summer long as she works to overcome her fear.    Hear about that fear and how you can mark Memorial Day in a meaningful way in this episode of the H...

After a year focused for better or worse on only the nature within our bubbles, Florence Williams has learned a thing or two about making the most of what you have right outside your door and the tools you already possess to do so. Since Florence, author of "The Nature Fix," literally wrote the book on how going outside creates positive impacts on our mental health and wellbeing, that's really say...

They're calling it -- the van project is done! (Is a van project ever actually done?). After buying a 1997 Coachman Ford E250 Econoline van in September, 2020, Amy and Luke have finished all of the remodel work they needed or wanted to do. So what does that mean? Here's how they did their van conversion project.   Find full show notes at humansoutside.com   Register for our newsletter to win a dec...

We've all heard it: going outside is good for you. We also know from experience that's true. From improved health thanks to exercise to simply feeling better after some fresh air, it's clear that spending time in nature is a good thing, no other evidence required.   But have you ever once had a medical doctor actually prescribe simply heading outside as a solution to a health problem? Unless you s...

It's finally nice outside, but you're still just as busy as ever inside. If you're anything like Amy, you've noticed that you are getting nowhere near the amount of outdoor time you wish you could. So how do you make sure your summer doesn't fly away without you even noticing? In this Outdoor Diary episode Amy shares her best tips for making the most of summer.   Find full show notes at humansouts...

One of the best things about U.S. national and state parks is how accessible they are to every kind of user. Kids to Parks Day, organized by the National Parks Trust, looks to encourage families and kids into parks nationwide. Chris Rief has made a project of taking his young daughter into the National Park units to do the Jr. Ranger program and collect the Jr. Ranger park cancellation stamps. In...

This time of year can be absolutely crazy as the season shifts. Projects and tasks seem to overlap. And it can be easy to forget the power of heading outside to help you deal with the busy. In this episode Amy remembers just how useful getting in nature can be. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for our newsletter to win a decal: https://humansoutside.com/newsletter Follow us on In...

Before Amy really started to learn how to get outside and long before her 20-minute daily challenge, she discovered the National Parks cancelation stamps program and the club of people that enthusiastically participate.  As Humans Outside celebrates National Parks week we couldn't think of anything better than talking to the people who spearhead that club and bringing podcast guests the join of th...

When was the last time you paused to remember why you head outside? In this Outdoor Diary, Amy talks a little about her book project and remembers her "why" behind starting her challenge in 2017 and still getting outside everyday now. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for our newsletter to win a decal: https://humansoutside.com/newsletter Follow us on Instagram and share your outd...

You've probably been to a few National Parks. You might have even spent some serious time there. But have you actually truly experienced the ones you've visited?  That's the goal of Liz and Dan Pollock, two National Parks enthusiasts based in Ohio. In this episode they talk about what has inspired them to tackle this project, why intentionality matters and the intense way they are experiencing Cuy...

It's remarkable how a single day of nice weather can impact attitudes -- and Amy is no different. In this episode of the Humans Outside weekly Outdoor Diary, Amy considers the huge impact a swing towards warmer temperatures has had on her. She also updates us on the project to remodel the interior of their 1997 Ford Coachman conversion van. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for ou...

When Linda Mohammad immigrated to the U.S. from Malaysia it was not with the plan of visiting all of the country's National Parks. But that's exactly what she did -- at least until the system added another one in late 2020, knocking her away from her goal again, at least temporarily.  Now she's sharing with us some awesome tips and tricks for National Park lovers of all stripes. In this episode Li...

Sometimes everything in normal life just seems harder than it should be. But for that we have a change of perspective gifted by heading outside, looking around, doing something challenging and seeing something new.  In this Outdoor Diary episode, Amy talks about three experiences she recently had that helped her hunt for and find the good. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com   Register for o...

In 2017 when Amy picked 20 minutes as her minimum daily outdoor time, she based that decision on some research she read in passing that said 20 minutes is enough time to spend outside and see health benefits from doing so. But Amy isn't a social scientist or a scientific researcher, so her choice of 20 minutes wasn't overly scientific either. That and every other outdoor decision she's made is jus...

Winter seems to be just dragging on and on in Alaska, and to pull herself out of a late-winter funk, Amy spent a week reminding herself about the things she actually likes about Alaska by doing some of her favorite winter activities.  Listen to this week's edition of Amy's Outdoor Diary to find out what those winter things are and be inspired to make the most of whatever season you're in. Find ful...

When Ben Cross took over his family's UK-based flower farm, he faced an uphill battle of competing against the cheaper flower imported from overseas into UK marketplaces. His British Flowers Rock campaign looks to teach flower buyers the importance of supporting local flower farmers not just for sustainability, but for bringing a slice of their local nature inside.  In this episode Ben talks about...

Hitting 1,300 days in a row of heading outside for at least 20 consecutive and starting work on a book proposal has Amy thinking about the gifts of building an outdoor habit and the things she's learned from heading outside.  In this Outdoor Diary Amy shares just a few of the things she's learned during her outdoor diary.   Find full show notes at humansoutside.com   Register for our newsletter to...

We've spent years thinking about and experiencing going outside impacts your life. But we never once realized that getting into nature would help us learn how to forgive. But all of that changed when we found the work of Sara Schulting Kranz. A wilderness guide, a life and leadership coach and a certified Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model therapist, Sara's book, Walk Through This, guides reade...

How are you embracing spring? In Alaska it means marking the Vernal Equinox and finding ways to lean into those bright spring sunshine hours. Hear in this Outdoor Diary how Amy is doing that, plus details on how to submit your crazy wildlife story and appear on an upcoming Humans Outside episode. Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for our newsletter to win a decal: https://humansou...

Hetty Key was so curious about how people experience the outdoors and what it does to their lives and attitudes, that she started her own research company to look specifically at women in sport. Her U.K-based firm, Women in Adventure, has now produced three studies on women in the outdoors. In this episode she walks us through her findings about mental health and nature, detailed in her 2019 repor...

One thing you may not know about Amy is that she hates birthday parties. Like, cannot stand them. In this outdoor diary, find out what the Bushatz family does instead and how they make heading outside part of every birthday! Find full show notes at humansoutside.com Register for our newsletter to win a decal: https://humansoutside.com/newsletter Follow us on Instagram and share your outdoor life w...

So often when we think about heading outside, we think about what it's doing for our body and emotions -- how we feel. But time in nature and, specifically, doing things outside your comfort zone has a real impact on your brain, which then has an impact on everything else. And one of those brain things is creativity.  In this episode, positive psychologist and creativity expert Cordele Glass talks...