Do you ever get that feeling? The kind where sweat drips down every inch of your body as grass bits get caught on your leg and stain your socks?

I get that every time I mow my lawn, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When I finish, I am exhausted and fulfilled.

My lawn looks gorgeous after a nice trim, and so do most of the other lawns in town. It makes going outside in Bowling Green a treat.

Some of the townspeople may recognize me as that boy that walks around the town all the time. Well, you have your impeccable landscaping talents to thank for keeping me outside, and I thank you for your effort.

Thinking about this made me begin to wonder what it would be like to be responsible for an entire campus, and whether anyone else enjoyed the being outside as much as I did.

When I wrote my story about the grounds team on campus, everyone I interviewed brimmed with enthusiasm. For the amount of time they spend out there every day, they need to. Their hard work really shows up in the open spaces outside of the library and the Mathematical Sciences Building, where the green lawns always show signs of life even on a hot and muggy day.

The Outdoor Program also provides a group of people with an appreciation for fresh air and environmental conservation. I was particularly intrigued at the prospect of organizations taking its members on team-building retreats through the group’s efforts. That goes to show the power the outdoors can have on our interpersonal relationships.

Going outside also helps me to think about things when I am alone as well.

When I go on walks my stress levels go down because I love the combination of open space, fresh air, trees and even some nice houses scattered about. Since I consider myself an average person, I figure the health benefits I get out of the outdoors must apply to others.

My ideas grew as I hiked through Wintergarden/St. John’s Nature Preserve and swatted mosquitoes off my body. Even though this was annoying, I loved the smell of the leaves and the canopy of green leaves that surrounded me.

It is a nice experience when I need to get away because it is rare that I see any fellow students in the forest. However, I also began to wonder if any other students utilize the parks offered by the city, or if it was something I just knew about as a townie.

Judging from the amount of passion students have for the outdoors in these stories, I am sure that I am not the only one to wonder these things.