Unusual Green Summer Activities

Finally winter is over! Summer in the North Eastern part of the US is a great time to get back outside and enjoy those activities that have playing over and over in your head all winter. Enjoying outdoor activities that are better for the environment are a plus too! This summer along with camping, hiking and swimming why not try something different? Here are my favorite more unusual “green” summer activities.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Gardening
I feel the earth move under my feet....well right now it’s a little sloppy but it feels good to start planning this year’s garden. Growing your own food may not sound like an unusual summer activity but once you give it a try you’ll find it’s rewarding and fun.

By growing your own food you reduce the demand for store bought produce which is shipped in to your local market and has a tremendous carbon foot print.When it’s time to harverst you’re efforts are rewarded with delicious fresh vegetables, a feeling of pride and accomplishment and a reduced grocery bill!

Berry picking
Berry picking is another excellent green summer activity that the whole family can enjoy. Exploring and supporting a local farm is a fun adventure. There are numerous choices for picking from blueberries, to apples to strawberries and more. Make a day of it and bring your own containers to reduce the need for disposables. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of this activity is homemade pie!

Geocaching
If you like treasure hunts you’ll love geocacheing. Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt that uses Global Postioning Systems (GPS) to zero in on the treasure. There’s a supportive community of geocachers and thousands of caches hidden all over the planet.
Geocaching is an exciting adventure that the whole family can enjoy, is relatively inexpensive, great excercise and encourages you to get outside and enjoy and appreciate nature. GeoCachers practice CITO Cache In, Trash Out which means that you pick up garbage on the way out to keep geocaching's impact on the environment positive.
Discover more about how to get started here.

Roller Blading, Biking, Trikke
Roller blading, biking and Trikke-ing are all fun green activties and are an excellent workouts as well. Many communities have bike paths that offer flat wide areas designed specically for bikes and roller blading. If you live close enough, why not bike or blade to work? Replacing your commute or even part of your commute can reduce your fuel consumption, improve your health and get you out and enjoying the day.

If you're looking to get fit and discover fun, full body fitness visit our sponsor and join the Trikke revolution and - take a ride.

Disc Golf
If you can throw a frisbee you can play disc golf. To play you only need to find a course near you. Courses are typically wooded or in open fields similar to typical golf courses. Baskets with chains to catch the disc are your targets. Course are generally 9 to 18 holes and most course offer choices of easier for beginners to harder courses for more advanced players.
Disc Golf courses utilize their surroundings as part of the challenge and the sport has a very low environmental impact as a result. It’s a challenging, fun and green sport that’s on the rise in the US. Because “green’s fees” are typically between 0 and $10.00 and inlcude disc rentals it’s an inexpensive way for the whole family to get outside and have fun.
For more information on Disc Golf check out the Professional Disc Golfer's Association.

Camp Driveway
Every year my wife and I hold our annual “Camp Driveway” and invite friends and family to our homemade campground. It’s inexensive, local and still feels like you're camping! We pitch tents in the yard, set up a barbeque, croquet, horseshoes and other activities and simply have fun.
By keeping it local, we reduce the impact of traveling to a distant location, and save on the other fees and expenses that can come with a camping trip. While we still like to pack up the kids for a camping trip or two every summer, supplementing with a few “camp driveway” weekends helps us feel like we’re getting away with out traveling.