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Evan Jahn, Will Lehman, Asa Braun FreckStaff Writers
The covid pandemic has created a lot of bored faces and dreary days. With many of the large gatherings shut down, it has been a communal struggle to find engaging outdoor activities that are still safe to partake in. Evan, Asa, and I have been facing these same challenges, and we wanted to explore some of the new ways our Rowland Hall campus can provide a cure for our boredom. As a result, we have spent the last few weeks documenting our attempts at the most bizarre and atypical outdoor activities we could find, so you don’t have to; here are our reviews of the best outdoor activities for students to try during the pandemic to rid themselves of boredom.
6. Ultimate Frisbee
Definition: A team sport in which players seek to score points by passing a Frisbee to a teammate over the opposing team's goal line.
Materials: frisbee; players; large, flat grass field; jerseys
Overall Rating: 4/10
Ultimate frisbee is a great game to play outside, and it can entertain a group for a long time. And while it’s fun for the right audience, it can be quite challenging and not as accessible as the rest of the activities on our list. In addition, it’s a large outing to organize that requires a lot of people and materials. So unless you’re with Mr. Long and his ultimate frisbee club, we would recommend taking interest in some other activities.
5. Hide and Seek
Definition: A game where players hide and see who will be found last by the seekers.
Materials: Just a friend or two!
Overall Rating: 6/10
One of the easiest and simplest activities on our list, hide and seek is a great way to pass the time. It can be played inside or outside, as long as there are some good spots to hide in. It’s a great way to explore an area and get creative in how you can do well in the game. Since we were little kids, hide and seek has always provided us with endless fun. However, standing in one spot can get boring after a while, which is why it is not higher on our list.
4. Bird Watching
4. Bird Watching
Definition: Bird watching, or birding, is a form of wildlife observation in which the observation of birds is a recreational activity or citizen science.
Materials: Binoculars and a field guide.
Overall Rating: 7/10
For nature enthusiasts, bird watching is sure to have a strong appeal, allowing observers to escape from civilization and immerse themselves in nature. Will noticed that for this activity, you have to have a bit of patience, but when you finally catch a glimpse of a bird through binoculars, it’s worth it. Mr. Wilson, an avid bird watcher, said that bird watching “trains and focuses the senses” and that he’s seen an increase in interest in the activity since Covid started. He also enlightened us to the fact that bird watching isn’t just visual, but rather involves all your senses. When we asked him when he does his bird watching, he explained that it’s before he even wakes up, listening to the melodic sounds of the small creatures.
3. Whittling
Definition: Whittling is the art form of carving wood to make whatever you want to create.
Materials: A knife and some wood.
Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Whittling is a perfect outdoor activity for those looking for something that is not too physically taxing. Unlike some other activities on this list, whittling does not require all of your attention, leaving room for conversation, listening to music, or the like. Just be sure to be careful with your knife while shaping your carving. Let your creativity guide you in shaping the wood into whatever you’d like, such as bears, people, or knives so you can complete even more whittling creations. Although whittling is a blast for the avid whittler, the beginner whittler may find the time and the splinters an annoyance. We suggest that you take your time for the sculpture to appear in the wood. As the great whittler, Big Z, once said, “remember the [sculpture] already inside there… and what you’re doing is trying to find it, you know, reveal it.” Such wisdom from an experienced carver shows how, with practice, you too can be one of the greats in whittling.
2. Tree Climbing
Definition: Scaling and sitting in trees.
Materials: A good pair of tennis shoes.
Overall Rating: 8.83/10
Tree climbing is a great activity for those seeking a bit of an adrenaline rush. Once you get past the initial difficulty of getting on the tree, it is an easy and fun sport to participate in. Once you get to the top of the tree, you can enjoy a rest and a view. It is perfect for beautiful, breezy days. Careful on the way down though!
Parkour
Definition: Getting from point A to point B as creatively as possible
Materials: A good pair of tennis shoes, athletic clothes.
Overall Rating: 10/10
As our personal favorite activity, parkour comes in at rank number one. Whether that means doing a 360 over a stair set or backflipping off a bench, the goal is simply to have fun getting over obstacles in a complex environment. The beauty of this activity is that it’s accessible anywhere outside; parkour features can be whatever you want them to be, and it’s simply up to your creativity to see what you can do. Parkour moves range from jumping off small stairs to jumping between buildings. Some beginner activities we have come up with are jumping off large stair gaps, jumping from one bench to another, and for a harder activity jumping off high ledges over bushes or other obstacles. Some downsides to this activity are the danger of falling and injuring yourself, breaking the obstacles if you land on them, and getting in trouble with people who are in charge of the property you are doing parkour on. However, even with these downsides, we highly recommend trying out parkour as it was the most fun activity we tried.
Overall, the activities above provided us with an afternoon of fun. While some are certainly better than others, it is no exaggeration to say that any of them is a great choice in providing some outdoor entertainment. We’ve found it best to participate in these activities in moderation, as too much of any good thing is a bad thing. However, with the right materials, environment, and dedication, these activities can provide amusement and distraction from the current state of the world that will improve your mood. Please feel free to submit any fun outdoor activities you would like us to test and give our review.
*Stay tuned for part two of this series: where we go bigger, better, and more absurd than ever before.
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