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You are here: Home / Opinion / Challenging Times Remind Us of The Importance of The Great Outdoors

Challenging Times Remind Us of The Importance of The Great Outdoors

August 24, 2020 By Dick Cook and Contributed Article 1 Comment

These unprecedented times have altered the daily routines that often fill our days and our minds. With our own personal worlds upturned, we can find ourselves uneasy today and uncertain about the future. As we navigate the current world, where can we go to sort through our thoughts?

Thankfully, our investments in the great outdoors can repay us in the most meaningful ways.

The outdoors gives us a destination beyond our homes. Across the state, those who were already active outdoors are going out more. And those who may have been unacquainted with the beauty of Tennessee, are exploring previously unknown gems a short drive from their home and discovering the amazing public lands and waters our state has to offer.

Nature calms and restores. Witnessing the stillness of a sunrise. Feeling the gentle sway of a rocking boat on the water. Hearing the creak of trees in a push of wind, or the calls of a songbird. Nature engages all of our senses.

Even if you don’t set out to experience these small doses of tranquility when you head outside, it’s almost guaranteed that your attention will be drawn to them for brief, but beautiful, moments. 

For as short as they are, they can ground our perspectives while navigating the issues in the rest of our lives.

Collectively, we have conserved these lands and experiences because we inherently know that they restore and fulfill us. Despite differences, so many Tennesseeans have made our natural resources a priority. 

Now when we need it most, we can be united by our love and support of wildlife, waters, and wild places.

_ Michael Butler, CEO of Tennessee Wildlife Federation

 

Filed Under: Opinion

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.

About Contributed Article


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