Temple University is launching a new program to help families living near their campuses in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Ambler to connect with nature and the fun of the outdoors to take advantage of nature’s healing benefits through HOOT - Healing Ourselves Outdoors Together.

Take a walk through the woodlands. Travel a nature trail. Wander through public gardens or along a riverbank.

The benefits from getting outside and engaging in outdoor activities for the mind, body and spirit are well-documented. They help to create a lasting connection to nature and wildlife that helps promote happiness and good health.

Not everyone, however, has the same access to outdoor recreational opportunities. Temple University Harrisburg is working with community partners to rectify that inequity through the new program Healing Ourselves Outside Together, or HOOT.

“Children today spend about half the time playing outdoors as their parents did and children in urban settings are at the greatest risk of not getting enough outdoor activity,” said Lindsay Price, Conference, Event, and Program Manager at Temple University Harrisburg, who will be coordinating the HOOT program. “Outdoor exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for children, including improved physical and mental health, lowering the severity of issues like ADHD.”

“The goal of HOOT is to make outdoor recreation more accessible to urban families, particularly people of color living near Temple University's campuses: the Harrisburg, Ambler and Center City campuses and Main Campus,” said Price. “HOOT is intended to provide relief particularly during COVID, when outdoor activities are the safest and when mental health is being challenged. Outdoor recreation, environmental education, and the mental and physical health benefits of nature should be accessible to all communities.”

HOOT organizers “recognize that accessibility to outdoor recreation, particularly in urban areas, has its barriers,” Price said.

“We hope to offer programming that can break down those barriers and provide the healing benefits of the outdoors — reduced stress and anxiety and elevated moods,” she said. “We know how much being in nature positively influences our own health; we just want to share that with others who may not have that opportunity.”

According to Link Martin, Director of Temple University Harrisburg, the HOOT program evolved organically from discussions among the campus staff and community partners.

“Over the last couple of years as our country has been trying to deal with inequities in society, we were exploring what can we do at a university level and campus level. We spent a lot of time at a staff level talking about how Temple can be more engaged in the community to promote equity,” he said. “One of the areas that came out in those discussions with community members is the inequity that exists in terms of accessing the outdoors. What was brought to us by some community groups is that they saw that many families of color were not taking advantage of outdoor recreational opportunities — we wanted to help them think through how a program could be developed and look for funding to encourage outdoor recreation and make it more accessible to urban families.”

“HOOT received an $85,000 grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Community Conservation Partnerships Program to begin developing programs with community partners,” said Martin.

One of the partners, Let’s Go Outdoors based in Philadelphia, which is led by African American women, employs an innovative approach to overcoming barriers to bring urban families into nature by meeting them where they are and gradually expanding their comfort zone.

HOOT Fall Schedule

Click Here to see the HOOT Fall Schedule of activities.  The program runs from September to November.

Families living Temple’s campuses in Philadelphia, Ambler and Harrisburg can register, check the schedule of activities and get a free HOOT Kit when you register, by visiting the HOOT - Healing Ourselves Outdoors Together webpage.

Questions should be directed to Rachel Howe by sending email to:  rachelhowe@temple.edu or call 717-221-1639.

(Reprinted in part from the Temple University website.)

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[Posted: August 10, 2022]

8/15/2022