It’s Fall y’all and that means pumpkin patches, cold weather, Halloween, and getting outside. The weather is absolutely perfect for outdoor activities, but how many people actually get outside and do them? According to a recent survey 58.7 % of students do not go to pumpkin patches and 63% of students do not go hiking.

Why? Well most teenagers from this generation want to look more at their phones and stay inside instead of admiring nature or spending time outside. Meng Wu, a parent of a Bob Jones student agreed, and stated that students don’t get outside, “because they have their phones to play with.”

Maybe students, and parents in our community aren’t getting outside because they don’t really know about outdoor activities they can do in the Madison-Huntsville area. With a quick google search, one can find many activities to do in our area and most of them are free or don’t cost much.

Another idea is to go to a pumpkin patch like Tate Farms, Lyon Family Farms, and some other smaller patches in our area. Most of the pumpkin patches have other activities besides just pumpkin picking like playgrounds for kids, animals to see and pet, food, etc. A family could easily spend a whole day there and their kids would be getting outside.

Something else a family could do this fall is go hiking. There are lots of places to go in our area like Rainbow Mountain or Monte Santo and many places have very easy trails perfect for small children. Most of these trails are within driving distance and Madison Alabama’s official website has a list of greenways and trails people can try.

Students at Bob Jones can even get involved with the Mountain Biking Team led by Mrs. Polak. “What we are doing currently is working on bike skills and previewing a couple of local courses… Middle and high school students are currently involved in the club and there are a variety of skill levels represented,” said Mrs. Polak when commenting on the recently formed team. The team will also have competitions in the spring against other local teams as well as teams from Birmingham. Joining this club can be a great way for students to get outside, enjoy nature, and get some exercise.

All in all, there are plenty of outdoor activities to get involved with this fall. Plus, we still have a month and a half left of fall! So get outside y’all and celebrate this cooler weather!