The 1000 Hours Challenge 2022 - as of 834 hours and 5 minutes!

 by Laura Burden

Back in February, I wrote http://portsmouthpoint.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-1000-hours-challenge-2022-as-of-56.html  about a new year’s resolution for 2022 that I was determined to keep - the 1000 Hours Challenge https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/. 

The 1000 Hours Challenge exists to inspire individuals and families to “match screen time with green time” and, in the face of the average American child spending 1,200 hours a year in front of a screen, spending more time in nature.

When I embarked on the challenge in January last year, focusing on time my (now) 4 year olds spent outside but trying to be outdoors with them, I always realised that we were unlikely to hit the target. However, the challenge is a key case of winning even when you fail. What is most important, in the face of a myriad of daily distractions, is to be intentional about your time. Even when it’s raining, the wind is gusting over the Solent and I’m buried under a pile of marking, I’ve hauled everyone into wellies and out the door more than I otherwise would have done.

Local favourites that we loved visiting again have been Arundel Lido and the tulip festival at Arundel Castle; Littlehampton beach; Harold Hillier Gardens; Enlightened at Staunton Farm; the woods around Rowlands Castle the Summerfields Farm pumpkin and sunflower events and the harbour tour in the Historic Dockyard. The National Trust membership has been worked hard and the Wind in the Willows Christmas at Hinton Ampner and the Narnia Christmas trail at Mottisfont (which involved finding wardrobes on a trail) were particular highlights in December.

The challenge has also been a great way of discovering new local places. Moving slightly further afield, The Vyne in Berkshire has beautiful grounds and the website https://theamblingpath.co.uk/ has been a great source of recommendations for walks a short drive out of Portsmouth. 

There have been some memorable moments along the way. We hit the 500th hour with a ride on the actual car used to film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Beaulieu Motor Museum. Soon after our one year old started walking, I leaped forwards to save him when he went too close to the River Adur and, slipping, accidentally kicked him into the water instead (he was fine!). In Kew Gardens we found an Indian horse chestnut tree that was planted the same year my grandparents were born, in 1928, and have successfully managed to germinate eight of its unusual conkers. Keeping an allotment brings great joy: there’s something so absorbing about planting vegetables, watching their incremental growth and harvesting them. Already I’m seeing small green shoots emerge from the bulbs I planted in the autumn.

However, the 1000 Hours Challenge is more than just an individual challenge: it’s a connection and a community. The podcast https://1000hoursoutside.libsyn.com/  is packed with fascinating interviews with biomechanists, CEOs, psychologists, podiatrists, novelists and educationalists, all of whom offer practical advice about how to live a simpler life and to celebrate even the small, local “microadventures”. Linked with the podcast is a book club that suggests a wealth of non fiction - I’m currently reading Glow Kids by Nicholas Kardaras, about the addictive nature of social and recreational technology.

My goal for 2023 is to repeat the challenge but, this time, to beat the 834 hours we reached in 2022, even if this is just  by an hour. The world we live in is fragile, noisy and complex: getting outdoors in all weathers just that little bit more does so much for mental balance, family relationships and our ability to feel rooted in the natural cycles of our planet.