ARE YOU OUTDOORSY OR OUTSIDEY? I’m definitely the latter. If you don’t own a tandem kayak or subzero sleeping bag, if your idea of communing with nature is less scaling El Capitan and more walking in the park near your house, you may be too.
I went to a small college in Maine, where I was surrounded by backcountry skiers, competitive mountain bikers, and hard-core hikers (they had special boots!). One guy even went on to race the Iditarod. OK, so maybe I hadn’t attended wilderness survival school, but I had spent endless hours in the forest in my parents’ yard, mesmerized by the giant old weeping willows and teeny green aphids. Every walk along the river felt like an adventure, every mallard duck worthy of scientific observation.
Even now, when I step out into the evening to sort the recycling or let out our dog, Rusty, I always look up and clock the cloud patterns and the moon, or find the Big Dipper. I breathe in and watch the dark pines swaying in the deep blue night. These days, I do own hiking boots, and I’ve been known to follow a wilderness trail or two. But I’m in it for the fresh air, trees, grass, sky. I was, and remain, committedly outsidey.
Outsiders, this issue is for us. Being in nature is good for humans, and you don’t need a membership to REI to reap the benefits. In the story starting on page 60, we help you get your mind out of your phone and into the woods. And because relationships are a two-way street, that story also shares how to give back to Mother Nature. Elsewhere, we solve the hardest parts of sustainable living, the stubborn pain points that hinder us on our quest to be more responsible consumers (page 40). We show you how to reach your earth-friendlier gardening goals on page 78, and (spoiler alert!) explain that recycling is worth it and does work on page 104. If you’re ready to spend some time tidying up inside, check out our anti-spring-cleaning guide (page 37) and “Cut the Clutter” (page 70), which will inspire you to find new, loving homes for your excess stuff .
This issue is filled with stories meant to enhance your time on earth and your relationship to it. I’ll be taking my copy outside to the patio and reading it between glances upward at the sky, to gaze at the miraculous shifting of the sun and clouds.
Lauren Iannotti
EDITOR IN CHIEF
LET’S CONNECT!
Follow me on Instagram at @laureniannotti.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FELIX WONG
STYLING BY LIZZY ROSENBURG; HAIR BY CLAY NIELSEN USING LEONOR GREYL; MAKEUP BY DEBORAH ALTIZIO FOR CREATIVE MANAGEMENT USING GLOSSIER; MAKEUP ASSISTED BY ALYSSA ZABAWA