National Get Outside Day

This September 26^th, National GetOutside Day provided the chance for us all to spend some time outdoors and be kind: to the environment, to others and to ourselves. Ordnance Survey marked the 26^th of September as the national day to celebrate the great outdoors, whilst simultaneously championing inclusivity and positive environmental impacts. Despite being a busy Sports Marketing agency, the team here are great admirers of the outdoors and will take any opportunity they can to get outside!

Like the great poets, artists and writers that have come before, who gained a magnitude of inspiration from the outdoors, we too here at Mongoose find ourselves intertwined with nature. Whether it be the brands we work with, or our own excursions into the great outdoors, National GetOutside Day is certainly one close to the hearts of all our geese.

Our client The North Face offers an illuminating example. The brand is considered the face of the outdoors, and no one embodies that more than their very own Fernanda Maciel who recently teamed up with the UN and their #TheHumanRace campaign. The campaign aims to use the medium of running outdoors to raise awareness of the pressing issue that is climate change. In her own words, Fernanda candidly stated that she is “excited to run for the most important goal in our lifetime: to save our planet and the people living on it. We run every day, for ourselves. Why not run for something bigger? Everybody should join this campaign because we need compassion. It is time to run together,”. Fernanda is leading by example and encouraging us all to be kind to the environment to avoid catastrophe, how can you follow her lead? Check out Ordnance Survey for ideas to help inspire you.

Our resident athlete and Account Manager, Harriet Cooper, reminded us to recognise and enjoy the small things in life that make us happy, and how getting outside allows us to do so. In her own words, “GetOutside Day wasn’t about getting out for a big adventure but appreciating what’s on my doorstep. I decided to see how much of the outdoors I could explore in my local area, searching for a route I hadn’t taken before and a spot to drink a coffee and soak in the peace and quiet of nature.”  

Another of our geese, Senior Account Manager, Beki Tovey, also goes wild for the outdoors and, in fact, has been an Ordnance Survey #GetOutside champion in the past, encouraging more people to get outside more often. For Beki, the benefits of spending time outdoors include a real mental boost, giving yourself the opportunity to “get out of the house, breath fresh air, enjoy a gorgeous sunset and find some headspace”. Getting outside can be a way of being kind to yourself, allowing you to clear your mind and find some inner peace amongst the hustle and bustle that is everyday life!

Following in the footsteps of my colleagues, I too used GetOutside Day as a chance to restore some calm after what’s been a busy few weeks. My family and I took our dogs for a walk in the local park. It was a great way to spend some quality time together and to just appreciate the little things in life that often get overlooked, all the while in some beautiful surroundings.

Whilst we have touched on what it means to be kind to the environment and to ourselves, here is a great example of what it means to be kind to others in the outdoors. Black Girls Hike continue to dismantle the status quo by encouraging black women to reconnect with nature and providing a safe space to explore the outdoors. The organisation was founded in 2019 and is committed to diversifying the outdoors, their aim is to develop services and projects to increase the participation and development of Black women in the outdoors, and opportunities to engage. The organisation is truly inspiring and they provide a brilliant example of what getting outside and being kind to others looks like.

We encourage you all to take some time this week to experience the many joys that getting outside can bring. Tag us in your stories, your tweets, and your posts @mongooseagency so we can spread the word about getting outside and being kind to ourselves, others, and the environment.