The David Suzuki Foundation is urging Canadians to step away from their screens and get outdoors with the launch of its annual 30 x 30 Nature Challenge.
Now in its fourth year, the challenge encourages Canadians of all ages to spend 30 minutes in nature every day for 30 days. The campaign carries the tagline “Nature is Calling,” and officially kicks off on Earth Day (April 22.)
According to research by the David Suzuki Foundation, spending time in a park, wetland, community garden or beach can reduce blood pressure, lower stress levels and boost immunity. It’s also been shown to have tremendous benefits for children, with an increase in curiosity, creativity, physical fitness and coordination cited as results.
The Foundation has launched a campaign in support of the challenge that was developed in-house, except for the social portion of the effort and a series of posters, which were created by Toronto-based shop Elemental. The agency has been working with the organization on and off for the past three years, but this is the first time it’s produced work for the 30 x 30 Nature Challenge.
Playing off the fact that people spend too much time in front of screens, and to bring the “Nature is Calling” concept to life, Elemental created memes, which feature a representative of nature- a bird or squirrel- calling on your mobile phone, inviting you to come outside.
“It’s using the sort of ridiculous notion of nature actually calling you through a device that generally you use in your everyday life to remind you that nature is all around us and to get outside,” said Brent Wardrop, creative director at Elemental.
“We get used to being inside, and forget that our cities are full of parks and there’s lots of places to go and spend time with Mother Nature…just take a moment to step away from technology and get the benefits of the sun and the fresh air. Nature’s just at our doorstep, go and enjoy it,” he added.
All work on the “30 x 30 Nature Challenge” was done pro bono and the campaign contains no paid media. It’s slated to run across English Canada for four weeks.
