Take Me Outside: The new collection at MEC

Imagine a future where spending time outside, learning, exploring and playing, is an everyday activity for our kids. That’s Take Me Outside’s mission, and why they work with a community of schools, educators and organizations to connect more students with nature and foster a love of the outdoors. This year, to celebrate this mission, we’ve got a new collection of Take Me Outside (TMO) clothing available at MEC stores where 100% of sales will go towards getting more young explorers spending time in nature.

This collection might be new, but our work with Take Me Outside has been a longtime partnership – they’ve been MEC Outdoor Impact partners since 2011! We love seeing the work they do, from their Take Me Outside Day (mark your calendars for 2024!), to ensuring students and educators from marginalized or racialized communities have equal access to the outdoors, the work TMO is doing is an inspiration to every nature-lover and outdoors fanatic in our community.

Don’t miss out, this collection is only available until September 30 – when it’s gone, it’s gone.

To celebrate bringing this new collection into MEC stores, we caught up with Take Me Outside (TMO) Executive Director and Founder, Colin Harris.

Can you give us a quick backstory on how TMO began? Where did the idea spark?

Colin: It all started back in 2011 when I fulfilled a lifelong dream of running across Canada – more than 7,600 km from St. John’s, NL to Victoria, BC. Along the way, we visited 80 schools and met with almost 20,000 students, talking with them about the importance of finding balance between the amount of time they spend in front of screens and the amount of time they spend outside. The final day of my cross-Canada run was in late October. To celebrate the end of the journey and to continue the momentum of raising awareness on this important issue, Take Me Outside Day was established. This campaign, along with other programs and initiatives that have since been established, are at the heart of TMO’s mission to have more learners and educators strengthen their relationship with the outdoors.

Why is this work so important?

Colin: A connection to nature and active time outside are essential for healthy childhood development. Making outdoor learning an integral part of every student’s day can increase their overall health and well-being, including their emotional regulation, physical agility, self-esteem, creativity, social emotional skills, resiliency and much more! It’s also highly beneficial for teachers and educators, as they can experience an increase in health and well-being and a decrease in stress after spending time outside.

There’s a new book by Jonathan Haidt called The Anxious Generation on the topic of the screen time and smartphones. How does this relate to your work and what implications does this research have for teachers and parents?

Colin: While TMO is focused on learning that can happen outdoors as part of teaching practices, part of the push for this comes from the current imbalance of screen time and the onslaught of technology that children are exposed to daily. While there is a time and place for all the amazing things technology can offer, we must critically examine how these devices and apps are being used with children, and how often. The evidence-based benefits of more time outside are growing, and so our work is trying to address these benefits through a better practice of balance.

Photo: TMO Be an outsider T-shirt and trucker hat

For teachers and parents looking to implement outdoor learning with their kids or students, do you have any resources you can share?

Colin: Our resource hub is a great place for educators and parents to explore resources to implement outdoor learning. Resources can be filtered by region, age group, theme and more. We are regularly updating and adding to our resource directory, so we encourage parents and educators to check back often!

With help from other outdoor learning partners, you focus on three central themes. Can you share a bit more on these and the important role they play?

Colin: Outdoor learning can be a transformative way to respectfully and authentically integrate Indigenous perspectives & knowledge into every child’s education, which is a significant component of Truth and Reconciliation, healing and justice on Turtle Island. Providing daily opportunities for learners to move, play and explore outdoors, surrounded by nature, significantly contributes to positive benefits in their overall health and wellbeing. In today’s world, climate change and environmental education is more essential than ever. We support outdoor learning rooted in climate justice that provides inspiring, hopeful approaches to climate action and living more sustainably for folks of all ages.

Is there a specific initiative that you’re really excited about in 2024?

Colin: Take Me Outside Day on October 23rd! We’re looking forward to engaging more than half a million educators and learners for a week of learning outside through themes of Indigenous Knowledge, Climate and the Environment and Health and Wellbeing! Educators can sign up their class or school by visiting our website!

Photo: TMO trucker hat from Rambler

What is the most impactful piece of feedback you’ve received on the work you do?

Colin: We received feedback from an elementary education centre in Ottawa, Ontario who told us they, “love this event (Take Me Outside Day) as it is a reminder to teachers to use the outdoors as another classroom for the students.” That their students, “continue to make discoveries and form relationships with other students in outdoor experiential learning spaces.” Receiving that kind of feedback is always impactful and inspiring.

For those looking to support the work TMO is doing, how can they get involved?

Colin: We’re incredibly grateful for all the support we receive. From funding partners, educators, school boards and anyone else invested in getting kids outdoors. A few great ways to get involved:

• Sign up for our monthly newsletter

• Follow us on social media

• Make a donation and spread the word about what we do!

If you’re an educator, you can also:

• Sign up for TMO Day and our Learning Challenge

• Register for our Outdoor Learning Certification Program

• Sign up for a free virtual workshops

...and, most importantly, start taking your learners outside every day!

Want to know more about the incredible work Take Me Outside is doing? Check out their MEC Outdoor Impact partnership page to see how they continue to raise the bar for children and education systems across the country.