Book Nook: The Outdoor Citizen - Get Out, Give Back, Get Active

Fewer cars, trucks, and planes have caused a significant reduction in pollution and an unprecedented improvement in air quality—so while we’ve been sick, the planet’s been healing. The questions are how we can continue to allow the Earth to heal itself, and what are the lessons learned as we move forward? As nature bounces back, we can leverage this disruption and bring about a reconciliation between ourselves, our towns, our cities and mother nature.

In The Outdoor Citizen: Get Out, Give Back, Get Active (Apollo Publishers) John Judge, president and CEO of the Appalachian Mountain Club, America’s oldest (1876) and most vibrant recreation and conservation organization, makes the profound argument that to preserve the environment, a revolution must take place in which every person becomes an advocate for nature and the outdoors. The book sheds light on:  

1. how to become an outdoor citizen and effect change on local, state, national and global levels;

2. how to make the outdoors the epicenter of our communities;

3. how to commit to an active outdoor lifestyle;

4. how to turn our cities into Outdoor Cities, with a wide range of green spaces, outdoor recreation activities, eco-friendly transportation, and sustainable food sources;

5. how to ensure our politicians enact environmentally-friendly agendas; and 

6. how to build a buzzing economy based off funds from outdoor initiatives and green practices and policies.

Author John Judge is an internationally renowned advocate for the outdoors, conservation stewardship, and advancing the outdoor economy. He has led the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) community of hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts, program participants, conservation advocates, members, volunteers and overnight guests, and AMC’s sustainable growth since 2012. To learn more about his mission, visit www.johnjudge.org. John lives in Boston.