With all the stress that school brings, San Luis Obispo High School students are constantly searching for a way to improve their mental and physical health. One of the best ways to improve health in general is to spend more time outside. However, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends 93 percent of their life indoors, 87 percent inside, and six percent in vehicles.

  That’s only seven percent spent outside.

  “Students should definitely be going outside as much as possible, especially considering we have to be basically seated for eight hours a day. Personally, I know that going outside and giving yourself the ability to have a clear mental space is essential to living a happy life in and of itself.” said freshman Sierra Caravarin.

  “As a teacher, I spend the majority of my work days indoors. Every other minute of my life, I’m outside surfing with my kids, hiking with my wife, or even backpacking this summer with teachers like Ryan Perez and Seamus Perry,” said English teacher Scott Nairne.

  Fortunately, students and teachers at SLOHS live in a place where finding nature appears to be easy–we’re surrounded by it.

  “In D.C., where I’m from, there aren’t nearly as many places to go and be in nature. It’s kind of sad that students here don’t take advantage of what they have,” said freshman Honey Jones.

  One common argument is that students and teachers have too much on their plates to have the time to spend in nature. Between school, sports, homework, and other after school activities, teenagers appear to not have much free time. This needs to change.