Outdoor Days for 2021
I’m kind of dorky, and I love “celebrating” these national holidays! 🙂 I like to plan activities for my family to recognize and celebrate the outdoors and all it offers to us. It increases my mindfulness around these things and helps me be intentional about teaching my kids- plus it’s just fun! 🙂 I’m a paper planner kind of gal, so I pencil these in each year. Here are some for your convenience!
January 1- First Day Hikes. Missouri State Parks often put on First Day Hikes, as well as other conservation and wildlife areas. Check them out here.
January 5- National Bird Day. Lucy is a big bird lover, so we love this day! Here are some fun bird activities from A Day in Our Shoes.
March 3- World Wildlife Day. Even as an adult, it is so thrilling to see wildlife in their natural habitat! Here are some ideas for how to celebrate World Wildlife Day from See What Grows.
March 5-6- National Day of Unplugging. Unplugging can mean lots of different things to different people. There are many ways to observe this. I try to do this weekly with a No Social Sunday (no social media on Sunday) or Technology Free Tuesday/Thursday… Here is the official site with lots of resources and ideas.
March 12- National Girl Scout Day. We love scouts at our house, so I had to include this one! 🙂
March 22- World Water Day. This is a really cool day to discuss the importance of water, water access, climate change, all kinds of things! A cool day to visit a hydroelectricity plant, a reservoir, or a dam, or even do a water service project! Here is some info from the UN on the significance and history of this day.
April 17-25- National Parks Week. Guys, I LOVE National Parks! My boy is going to be in fourth grade next year, so I’m trying to plan some trips to some National Parks and Monuments! (Here is more info on their Fourth Grade Pass program.) The National Parks Service has some cool ways to observe, celebrate, explore, and help here.
April 22- Earth Day. There are TONS of resources and ways to observe Earth Day with your family and in your community. This is one of my favorite days- and it’s right around my birthday!
April 30- Arbor Day. Another personal fave. Here are some resources to celebrate from the Arbor Day Foundation.
May 21- Endangered Species Day. This is a great one! My son loves the bald eagle and his fascination came in part from this day. Often zoos have events for this day. The US Fish and Wildlife Service held an endangered species art contest this past year, and the deadline was in March, so keep your eyes open for this! Here is their site.
June 5- National Trails Day. This is a day for a good stewardship/service hike! This day is sponsored by the American Hiking Society and there are usually events set up all over to help you find your trail. Check out their site here.
June 8- World Oceans Day. This day is to take action around ocean conservation (official site here). We do not live near an ocean, but my kids LOVE the ocean, so they are very interested in all the creatures that live there and how we can help them.
June 12- National Get Outdoors Day. This day is meant motivate Americans to get outside for a “healthy, fun day of outdoor adventure”. While the original website has since been taken down, the day itself has taken off. Parks across the nation continue to celebrate each year. You can usually find events put on by your state parks or DNR.
August 4- Great American Outdoors Day. This is a brand new one! President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, providing funding for National Parks and Public Lands, among other things. At this time, August 4 was designated Great American Outdoors Day. Read more about it here.
September 25- National Hunting and Fishing Day. This is another day that local entities often set up events for, including free kids fishing days! Check out your local state parks and DNR sites, or check the national site here. It’s a great discussion starter with kids about the purpose of hunting and fishing as it relates to conservation.
November 17- National Take a Hike Day. My favorite, of course! I usually arrange a hike for this day, but so do many of your local hiking clubs and parks. Use a website like All Trails or the Hiking Project to find a new trail to hike on this day!
November 26- #OptOutside. This is Black Friday. REI put this movement together, and it is actually the movement that really kicked off my hiking habit. It is also my personal go day for my yearly hiking goals. I love all the resources REI has put together on their site here.
December 11- International Mountain Day. The mountains are calling and I must go.” is basically the outdoors version of the cliche “live laugh love” but that’s because it’s so true! The mountains are so compelling! And they house a huge amount of Earth’s biodiversity and are a source of freshwater for us. It’s a great day to educate our kids and do beautiful mountain activities and projects. Here’s a quick mountain watercolor tutorial by Let’s Make Art.
