The pandemic taught us the vital nature of nature. Fresh air and green spaces – those naturally majestic or inventively urban, became critical to our national mental health and physical well-being. Our new appreciation for the outdoors offers an inflection point. Scandinavians embrace a tradition called friluftsliv (pronounced free loofts liv) literally translated, free air life. Nineteenth century Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen is credited for coining the term, which has evolved from a full immersion in nature, to spending quality time outdoors. Does friluftsliv explain why Scandinavians are happier, healthier, and greener? Could Americans become happier, healthier and greener as friluftslivers? Lets look at the numbers.
Happiest Nations….
The UN World Happiness Report, a survey of 156 countries and cities, initiated in 2011 invited nations to consider happiness and well-being as a measure of social and economic development. In 2020, Scandinavian countries once again dominated with Denmark ranked 2nd, Norway, 5th, Sweden 7th with Finland three-peating at #1. The US ranked 18th, its worst showing yet. While Nordic exceptionalism is explained by a virtuous cycle of high trust, and generous social welfare benefits. Environment was added as a function of happiness. “Activities that are typically undertaken outdoors and in nature have the largest effects. Walking or hiking predicts an increase of two percentage points in happiness, while gardening, nature watching, and sporting activities each add on between four and seven points. Finally, simply being outside has a positive association of its own, on top of the environmental interaction effects mentioned above: outdoor responses are just over 1.5 percentage points happier than indoor ones.”
Healthiest Nations….
The Bloomberg Global Health Index ranks the 169 healthiest/unhealthiest economies by a multiplicity of factors including pollution, life expectancy, clean water, obesity, access to good health care and others on a 100-point scale. The 2020 rankings found Spain at the top (92.75) despite their penchant for late nights, and good wine. This is a country of walkers (40%) who enjoy a Mediterranean diet. Sweden came in 6th (90.24), Norway 9th (90.09) and Finland 14th (85.89). The US was 35th (73.02) primarily due to obesity. For countries in the top 10, outdoor exercise was more popular than indoor gyms.
The Greenest Nations…
The Environmental Performance Index “provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analyzing, and understanding environmental performance for 180 countries.” In 2020, on a scale of 100, Denmark was first with an EPI of 82.5, Finland 7th, 78.9, Sweden 8th, 78.7 and Norway 9th 77.7. The US was 24th 69.3.
How do we move (literally) from outdoor toe-dippers to full-fledged friluftslivers?
Make Parks More Inclusive
Ensure our parks are welcoming to all. Recognize people of color have legitimate concerns and feel neither welcome, or safe. That extends to women and people from the LGBTQ community Recruit and promote diverse candidates at all levels into the National Park Service and other conservation, park-based, and outdoor organizations to bring representation, perspective, and newcomers to the outdoor experience.
In a powerful article for National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/more-diversity-how-to-make-national-parks-anti-racist/ journalist and author James Edward Mills recounts how prior to the end of WWII, Jim Crow segregation was in full force in the National Park Service parks, campgrounds and picnic areas. Black Americans, wishing to hike or camp, encountered, “For Whites Only” signs in theses sanctuaries preserved with federal tax dollars. In 1945 Interior Secretary Harold Ickes issued a mandate desegregating all national parks, but change was glacial, and Black and brown Americans never felt welcome or frankly safe.
Mills acknowledges times are changing. “People of color across the U.S. are empowering themselves and others to become outdoor enthusiasts.” Numerous organizations like Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors, and Venture Outdoors are among the many groups welcoming folks to experience joy in the natural world.
Historic Pick
Biden Nominee for Secretary of the Interior
Tomorrow, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vet President Biden’s nominee to head the Department of the Interior. If confirmed, New Mexico Representative Debra Haaland, would be the first Native American to lead a cabinet agency, a huge step forward. DOI oversees the National Park Service as well as tribal affairs and energy.
Turning Industrial Ruins into Imaginative Green Spaces
Expand access to parks. Over 100 million people do not have easy access to green space according to The Trust for Public Land. TPL embarked on an ambitious initiative to work with cities and towns to create a park within a 10-minute walk of every citizen. Since the program’s inception in 2017, over 200 US mayors have taken the 10-minute walk pledge for their cities. Allocating funding and creating public/private initiatives have turned brownfields and industrial ruins into lush parks across the country improving quality of life and increasing economic prosperity.
Just 120 minutes a week
Scientists in the journal Nature report spending just 120 minutes a week in nature improves good health and well-being. Yet employees cite work as the biggest obstacle to getting fresh air. In Scandinavia, friluftsliv policies give employers tax breaks for creating opportunities for people to get outside. Whether WFH or frontline employees, rewarding outdoor exercise makes good business sense.
Start Early
Continue to add outdoor, conservation and environmental education into K-12 curriculums. Dr. Nicole Ardin, Stanford University Graduate School of Education and Woods Institute for the Environment, and her colleagues reviewed over 119 studies over 20 years to determine the impact of environmental education. They concluded it goes deeper than the knowledge. It positively impacts academic achievement, critical thinking, civic engagement, and personal growth. One teacher explained, before using the environment-based approach, she heard, “Why are we learning this? When are we going to finish? Now when we are out in the field and sorting macro-invertebrates, I have to make them stop after four hours for lunch.
Build on the investment momentum of The Great American Outdoors Act, passed last summer, which provides billions of dollars to national parks and public lands for overdue maintenance and ongoing conservation work including a guarantee that the $900 million dollar Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) be codified to park spending.
In an article for The Atlantic, a diverse group of outdoor executives created a road map for change including economic accessibility. Their strategies included investments in subsidized or free transportation for low-income families, more affordable housing options, and free admission for first timers.
Friluftsliv, America’s NEXT Best Idea
A more friluftsliv-centered approach to living is attainable and necessary. Who would have predicted, it would take a global pandemic to awake us to the wonders and benefits of Mother Nature? Importing friluftsliv is America’s NEXT best idea.