2020 brought challenges that we had never had to deal with before. Life was seemingly normal until about March, when COVID-19 hit the US. Public gatherings were deemed dangerous. Offices shut down and shifted their employees to remote connections. Social spaces closed their doors. Restaurants, gyms, bars, community spaces, and other “third places” were removed from being an option. We didn’t realize how long this shift would last, yet alone imagine the consequences that it would later have on us.

 

Our wellbeing became at risk.

Anxiety and depression were present and rampant before COVID-19, and they became even more dangerous in a pandemic-filled world. Things that would typically ease people’s anxieties and lift people’s moods were now off-limits. We needed to pivot, and we needed to do it fast. Luckily, the seasons shifted in time for us to utilize the nice weather to our advantage and re-create third places outside, where it was safe.

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