There is more happening outside than you realize.

I wanted to help my kids notice what’s happening around us, and that got me thinking: what else is happening around here that’s super cool, and I have no idea? Once I dug in, I realized it’s a LOT.

And I thought - there must be others just like me. So why not share it? And my kids turned out to be the best testers. Share one card with them and you get ten more questions.

Each morning, the local forecast, what’s in the sky that night and river levels are pulled in. Each week, event calendars from places like Mass Audubon, Sudbury Valley Trustees and the state parks are collected too. All of it is checked against a library of local nature happenings, each backed by real sources like Mass Audubon or UMass Extension. Every event links to where it’s listed.

With the help of some AI tools, I built a system that does the legwork and research. Then I review the daily list and make edits. I also take any and all reader feedback into consideration. That’s how the list (hopefully) keeps getting better.

One note on AI. Part of my motivation is this: how do you use AI to get people AWAY from screens? There’s a lot of justified fear about AI tying us closer to our screens, dehumanizing us, speeding us up and pulling us out of the present. I love the irony of using AI for the opposite: sparking curiosity, getting us outside, and getting us wondering about the world around us instead of what’s on our phones. Sudbury Weekly wrote about it.

I want bite-sized facts myself - a quick morning snapshot I can take in within a minute, and I think most people are the same. So the goal is to give you a few things worth noticing or doing right now, near you, not bury you in content.

Read it, then go look for it yourself, or go tell someone about it.

Yes. The morning email and the site are both free. You can also save things for later with a free account on the site.

Greater Boston and MetroWest for now, and I’m working on the rest of Massachusetts. Add your zip when you sign up and you’ll get the list closest to you. If you’re farther out, sign up anyway and add your zip. Those zips tell me where to go next.

Down the line, I’d like to add some personalization too. Say you’re really into fishing, or you have a dog: it would be great to tailor your list to your interests.

Thank you! I’d love to hear from you. If there’s something you want covered, a source I should be using, or a local group worth featuring, tell me with the form below or email me at hello@outsidenow.site. I read every one.