The day begins to wane as you watch the vibrant sunset from the comfort of your trusty canoe, allowing the sun’s fleeting rays to warm your soul. As you paddle along you take note of the tiny turtle family sunbathing amidst a floating log on the nearby bank, and the rhythmic lull of the flowing river as the bow of the canoe bisects the current. You begin to comment on the perfection of the pristine panorama you are beholding, but what is that in the distance obstructing your view…a pile of tires? Unfortunately this has happened to me and many others across the world as we face an epidemic of illegally dumped tires in our lovely waterways, parks, roadsides, and just about anywhere imaginable. As un-anesthetically pleasing as this may be, abandoned tires cause far worse problems to our environment and health. With a little education and effort we can eradicate-or take steps to prevent- the tire pile-up by recycling, re-purposing, or reusing these tires in new and innovative ways.
The Sun Salutation
This week’s AdventureBlog post is guest written by Leah Lillios King, owner of Kali Yuga Yoga. Thanks to the ongoing partnership between Kali Yuga Yoga and Lightning 100’s Team Green Adventures, Nashvillians can once again enjoy a season of FREE outdoor yoga with our Yoga in the Park series between June 7th and August 30th.
Each Yoga in the Park session is beginner-friendly. Whether you’re a yogi-master or completely new to the activity, this week’s AdventureBlog explains how to properly do the Sun Salutation, so you can get the most out of your practice!
Get Schooled- on Your Bike
May is Bike Month so we’re kicking off the first AdventureBlog of the month featuring an interview with Nashville’s number one source for cycling education and advocacy: Walk Bike Nashville. Check out what Daniel McDonell, the Program Coordinator for Walk Bike Nashville has to say about the organization:
Nutrition on the Go!
Let’s face it: life is hectic. Some might even call it crazy.
Between work, school, family, and every extracurricular activity in between, we are constantly on the go. Whether you are in the office, traveling for work, or simply making that daily commute, we have a tendency to forget about our next meal. Before you know it, our hangry-side comes out and we make irrational eating choices to solve the problem. Unfortunately, these poor meal choices take a toll on our body and often leave us bloated, groggy, and down right disappointed with ourselves.
You don’t have to live this way! There are simple changes we can incorporate into our fast-paced lifestyle to ensure we are properly fueling our body for even the most chaotic schedule.
Blueways Blues
At Lightning 100’s Team Green Adventures, we love the outdoors. We are passionate about maintaining a clean, sustainable environment for all to enjoy, and it is our goal to get the community of Middle Tennessee involved in our efforts. That’s why we incorporate as many community service events as we can to help raise awareness about environmental concerns.
Each year Team Green Adventures hosts multiple waterway cleanups to collect litter from our beautiful creeks and streams. In 2015, over 100 volunteers gathered for six different waterway cleanups; together we gathered 167 bags of trash and 118 tires!
Inspiration- A Running Theme
This week’s AdventureBlog is written by Nicole Ginley-Hidinger with Ragnar Relay, and spotlights a very inspiring group of runners who have every excuse in the world not to run, yet do. Hopefully their stories will provide some inspiration in your own life to get active, and run!
Eating For Energy
It was t-shirt weather, not the overwhelming kind, but just enough to enjoy sitting outside in the shade behind the Nashville Farmers’ Market. Our Team Green Adventures Nutrition Workshop group sat on picnic tables facing the park as Amber Robertson from Bliss Holistic delved into the Eating For Energy edition of our monthly series.
Stress can be inversely linked to energy. Why? Stress triggers your body to store up as much energy as possible. The problem is that most of us automatically go for the foods that give us the quickest boost of energy– a sugar spike. Those foods aren’t stable sources of energy; first you get a boost and then you crash hard when that spike wears off, leaving you feeling drained.
Clear the Way- Trail Building 101
Have you ever thought about how a trail is actually created? When I first began hiking, I was far too consumed with my natural surroundings to consider the work put in to design and construct a trail. Then I spent a Sunday morning rerouting the Fiery Gizzard Trail with Team Green Adventures, and my outlook on hiking trails was changed forever.
Hiking trails do not just appear out of thin air. They are created with in-depth forethought and are paved by nature lovers abound. Designing a trail requires proper vision with the most sustainable route in mind. Think long-term. How can we design a trail so it can be used for the next 50+ years, with the minimal amount of maintenance needed to keep it safe and functional?
ASSERT Yourself
Last week Team Green Adventures partnered with KSA Martial Academy for our first-of-three Intro to Self Defense classes. The mission of Team Green Adventures is to get our Lightning 100 listeners and community members outdoors and active, and we emphasize safety on each of our adventures. For that reason we certify our trip leaders with Wilderness First Aid Training or First Aid Training, open these certification classes to our participants, provide an overview of Wilderness Safety on our Resources page, and finally, educate our audience about basic self-defense skills.
This week’s AdventureBlog recaps our Intro to Self Defense course, based on the ASSERT Program. ASSERT stands for Adrenal Stress Strategy Emergency Response Training. Whereas other self-defense programs focus on logical step-by-step skills for getting out of a self-defense situation, the ASSERT program is catered to the adrenal response system using natural day-to-day movements.
20 RAGNAR Realities
This week we introduce guest blogger, Becca Babicz with RAGNAR Relay. In addition to our RAGNAR Relay Training Tips from August 2015, Becca shares 20 things you’ll learn about RAGNAR… while running RAGNAR!
Maybe knowing these in advance will help get your team ahead of the curve!
The AdventureBlog 