Discover ample opportunities for winter fun in the Annapolis Valley
It can be difficult to find the desire to step outdoors in the winter. Summer beckons you outside to enjoy the warmth. Winter demands you suit yourself in armour. But it doesn’t stop being important to go outside, feel the sun on your face and, especially this year, just be somewhere that isn’t work, your apartment or that one friend’s house. You know, the one you bubbled with early on in the pandemic but maybe weren’t prepared to see 100 hours a week for a year.
We talked to the recreation co-ordinators for Middleton, Kentville and Wolfville to try to put together some tips to make it a bit easier to get outside and stay active.
1. ASK A RECREATION DEPARTMENT
When in doubt, reach out. Middleton, Kentville and Wolfville all have websites and Facebook pages that you can contact. Lisa Fenton, Middleton’s active living coordinator, says that as useful as the online tools can be, sometimes it’s best just to pick up the phone and dial a number.
“Rec departments, in particular, we tend to be folks that are happy to hear from you and it’s easy to do over the phone,” she says. “Just to let you know what’s happening, especially if you can say ‘I’m interested in these kinds of things, do you know something that’s going on?’”
2. BORROW
BEFORE YOU BUY
Not everyone can afford to buy skis and snowshoes. And even if you can afford it, do you want to spend a few hundred bucks just to learn none of your kids like snowshoeing? If you’re interested in trying a new activity but lack the equipment, the rec departments can often help there, as well. Julia Stephenson, the active living community co-ordinator for Kentville, is seeing more interest in gearlending programs in the Annapolis Valley.
“We’ve had that for years, but folks have been really interested in it this year,” she says. “And then we can just sanitize it, give it a rest period and then get it back out to folks, so that way people can explore wherever they live and have some new things to do outside to break up a bit of the monotony.” 3.TAKE THE INDOORS OUTDOORS
It’s amazing what a few minutes of fresh air and sun on your face can do to clear your head and brighten your outlook. Many indoor games can be moved outdoors. Some municipalities lend snowblock makers that turn snowfort building into a Lego- or Minecraft-like experience. Even some tabletop games are available in outsize outside varieties.
“We have Yardzee, which is exactly like Yahtzee but with bigger dice that you put in a bucket. You can play that outdoors whether there’s snow or not,” says Stephenson. “Being active is good for our bodies, but being in nature has that added benefit around our mental and physical health. Obviously with COVID ... often if you want to see someone more safely, to be outside is great.”
Municipalities have been working to stock up on games that can be enjoyed by families or bubble groups. Glow-in-the-Dark capture the flag, spikeball, ladderball or even disc golf can be signed out for three days at a time in Middleton, for example.
“Families can go through the list of all the equipment that we have and then they can choose what they want to sign out and they can sign it out for three days so that they have a chance to really utilize it,” says Fenton. 4. DISCOVER OR REDISCOVER YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
I’ve lived in some towns for years before discovering their trail systems or nature spots. Take advantage of this time to get acquainted with a new trail or revisit some old favourites, like the Harvest Moon Trail. If you’re unfamiliar with your local trails, many municipalities and Hike Nova Scotia offer guided hiking programs.
“Going the first time can be intimidating, especially if the trails are new to you and you’re not sure how to navigate,” says Stephenson. “Someone might know that The Gorge is in Kentville but has never been. If they come to a guided hike, we can be socially distanced, we can be outside and then you can show someone the trails.”
5. STAY FLEXIBLE
I’m about as tired of staying adaptable as the next person, but that doesn’t make it any less important in staying active during this pandemic. Nick Zamora, the community recreation, health and wellness co-ordinator with Wolfville, has been revising and updating the town’s programming since last March.
“We’ve had to adapt within the guidelines set by the province. That’s included everything from getting new signage to setting the rules of our facilities and how many people can use them at once, to different cleaning protocols that we’ve had to put in place,” he says. “We’ve tried to shift to having smaller events when we’re allowed. Sometimes that’s been 25 people, sometimes it’s been 10 people. But we have had a few of those and they’ve been really well-received.”
6. DO WHAT YOU CAN
This is as rough a winter as we will hopefully experience in our lifetimes. Going outside for a few minutes won’t make the pandemic go away. Time, public health measures and vaccines are the only cure for that. But in the meantime, why not make the best of what we have in Nova Scotia?
“Even the simple aspect of getting some sunlight in your life has physical benefits to it,” says Zamora. “Obviously being physically active is good for mental and physical health. Even seeing people face-to-face or at a distance, just getting out in the community is a good thing for mental health in particular.”
It doesn’t have to be an hours-long trek into the wilderness, either.
“On my 15-minute break I can step outside my office at Town Hall, walk around Miner’s Marsh and come back to work,” says Stephenson. “And you’ve gotten this great nature immersion and fresh air and physical activity.”