INSPIRED BY NATURE
INSIDE STORY
The North Shore
How the Adventure Therapy Project is Getting People Outside BY SARA JEWELL
T
he deaths of two good friends and a demanding job had Mike Hudson tying up his trail shoes and going for a long run to cope with his grief and stress. The more he ran outside, the better he felt. This reminded him of vacations with his wife, Ashley, and their two young daughters when they had no cell coverage or cable TV; they spent all day walking on the beach and sleeping soundly at night. When he mentioned this to Ashley, she told him she’d noticed that her mood was affected if she was stuck inside too long. “So we started hiking and spending more time at the beach, and we noticed a difference in our daughters’ behaviours, moods and sleeping patterns,” Mike said. Ashley is an elementary school resource teacher in Oxford and Mike is a Community Outreach Worker with Schools Plus as well as a basketball coach. Working in schools has shown them how little kids get outside and explore, and how they benefit from being challenged. “Most kids talk like they are living in a video game yet have no idea what it is like to take a walk in the woods, to go looking for rocks on the beach or to even lay in the grass and look at the stars,” Mike said. The couple had two questions: How could they help spread awareness of the benefits of being outside? How could they help people get outside to reconnect with nature and fun?
TOP: Sarah Henley sports her Adventure Therapy Project hoody at the shore. BOTTOM: When not organizing public events, Mike and Ashley make a point of hiking with their two daughters as often as possible.
ah! Fall 2020 - 28
