Friend,
This Black Friday, we're leaving our shopping carts behind and choosing to #OptOutside instead!
In addition to de-centering consumption and spending, it's an opportunity to send a powerful message: Our parks, public lands, waters, and wildlife are vital to our individual and collective well-being.
The holiday season can be stressful, and the last few weeks have been especially difficult. We hope you get a chance, no matter how brief, to step away from all the buzz and connect with the land, waters, and wildlife around you.
Plus, it's good for you! Spending time in nature lowers stress, strengthens health, builds self-esteem, improves academic performance, and creates stronger community ties.
However, that access is not universally shared. The nature equity gap is a term used to describe the reality that many communities, especially Black communities, Indigenous communities, communities of color, lower-income communities, and urban communities, often have less opportunities to experience nature.
Today, we encourage you to close your laptops, put your phones on Do Not Disturb and #OptOutside. Together, we can venture outside and advocate for improved community access to outdoor spaces. Above all, #OptOutside is about adopting a mindset that prioritizes gathering outside with loved ones, and spending time in community.
Check out our social media toolkit to spread the word and invite your friends and family to join you and #OptOutside today.
Happy trails,
Sierra Club | 
