Halfway through a talk at the monthly gathering of Knox Climate Watch, guest speaker Bruce Guillaume got out a notepad branded with the Fit.Green.Happy® logo and pages titled Outdoors Is Medicine, passing them around to the audience. The pages “prescribed” that an ideal time to spend outdoors is at least 20 minutes. Knox Climate Watch members and guests nodded in agreement that everyone seems to feel better when they can spend time in nature, perhaps aside from spring allergies.
“If you never go outside,” Guillaume said, “it’s really hard to care about the outdoors.” He was invited to share his approach to outdoor programming at Fit.Green.Happy® and Mountain Challenge, programs based at the historic Crawford House on the Maryville College campus. Mountain Challenge gives college students the opportunity to try hiking, kayaking, yoga, or climbing to fulfill physical fitness class requirements. Fit.Green.Happy® offers similar opportunities for the wider community. Guillaume teaches that a healthy outdoor environment supports healthy people. Crawford House is LEED Gold certified and uses clean, solar energy with energy storage, promoting clean air and energy conservation.
Guillaume is one of a variety of guest speakers that Knox Climate Watch invites to its monthly gatherings. The group also connects to a network of other organizations that all care about protecting the environment. You can see the group’s updated website here: https://knoxclimatewatch.org/.
Anne Brock-Rankin is Marketing Coordinator for Solar Alliance, a renewable energy company based in Knoxville. She can be reached at abrock@solaralliance.com.
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