Hello!
“Gnome Matter the Weather” is a collaboration between Tacy Quinn and Lauren Theis to help families and friends get outside for easy, fun, and meaningful activities in all seasons. Inspired by the Scandinavian ethos of “friluftsliv” (pronounced free-loofts-leev” and translating literally as “free-air-life”), Tacy and Lauren have spent the last few years partnering to create outdoor winter events in New Jersey. Their experiences with nature, education, and championing environmental conservation all come to bear in this festive endeavor and winter newsletter.
Tacy and her family are the creators of “Friluftsliving Family,” an Instagram account and community where they share ideas for outdoor adventures inspired by Tacy’s Norwegian roots and love of nature. First created in fall 2020 as a way to bring light to some darker days during the pandemic, the family’s friluftsliv journey has been featured in The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day by Linda Akeson McGurk. Friluftsliv became a way for Tacy and her family to pause, restore, and re-energize during stressful times. They created a “15 Weeks of Friluftsliv” challenge to inspire friends and family to get outside, at least once a week, through that toughest of seasons: winter.
The adventure expanded in 2022 with a Raritan Headwaters Association collaboration, where Lauren Theis is the Director of Education, to host gatherings to get families and friends outside for fun, friluftsliving activities from December through March. Although she has a science background, Lauren believes that everyone can find their connection to nature in their own way - through science, the arts, recreation, literature, nature observation, meditation, and more...she has made it her mission to provide opportunities to access the outdoors so others to find their own unique connection to each other and to the natural world! Lauren believes that this connection is vital to creating a happier, healthier human species, and for the preservation of our world. Lauren is also an illustrator, and provides some of the small illustrated creatures/entities you’ll see as you follow Gnome Matter the Weather’s activities throughout the winter!
The response to the winter adventures was so positive that Lauren and Tacy launched the “Gnome Matter the Weather” newsletter to share ideas for ways to get outside and create your own “15 Weeks of Friluftsliv” (from December to March). It includes activity guides, recipes, and inspiration for people to stay active outdoors, and join the community of friluftsliving friends. Tacy’s lived and learned experiences embracing friluftsliv with tweens and teens, combined with Lauren’s expertise in outdoor education and illustration mean they’ll be cooking up some magic and fun to share.
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