The Metro: Tips for thriving and surviving in the winter

We’re a little over a week into the new year and there’s at least one thing that’s notable about it so far: It is COLD. 

The freezing weather we’re experiencing now is part of a broader cold front hitting the midwest and east coast. Winters have been getting warmer on average, due to climate change, but the nature of our changing climate means the weather shifts to the extremes. 

Today on The Metro, we heard from experts and listeners on how to best navigate the coldest months. 

Holli-Anne Passmore, an associate professor and department chair of psychology at Concordia University of Edmonton, joined the show to talk about the psychological benefits of connecting with the natural world, even in the winter.

“There’s also something called nature connectedness, and that’s about the quality of your relationship with the natural world,” Passmore said. 

Ian Solomon, founder of Amplify Outside and communications and engagement manager for the Detroit Parks Coalition, also joined the discussion. Amplify Outside works to remove barriers that prevent people from enjoying the outdoors. 

“The land moves with the seasons, the city does not. So you really have to give first, give yourself grace that you are expected to move at a pace that is unnatural,” Solomon said. “All of us are moving in an unnatural way right now, and we do it every year for four months straight. And so we have to first accept and say, I’m not the problem.”

We also asked our listeners:

“What do you enjoy doing in the winter months?”

George from Southgate said: “I am a winter person to begin with, I love the winter time. But I’m a retired soldier, and when I was in the army our uniforms improved tremendously because of the new technology out there that keeps you warm. Gore-Tex shoes for example, they’re waterproof, but they’re breathable so your feet don’t sweat.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation and other stories from “The Metro.”

More stories from The Metro on Jan. 10, 2024: 

• Beginning this week, Detroit high school students can earn $200 gift cards every time they have perfect attendance for 10 consecutive school days. The program runs through March and students can earn up to $1,000. Jeremy Singer, a professor of teaching at Wayne State University and associate director of the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity and Research, joins the show to talk about DPSCD’s new approach to combat chronic absenteeism.
• The Detroit Film Theatre is launching its winter season this week. Elliot Wilhelm has been the director of the DFT since 1974. He spoke with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper about films to see at the theater this month.
• Last summer, the Michigan State Supreme Court ruled that former property owners are retroactively entitled to profits from tax foreclosure sales. This means if your home was foreclosed on from 2015 to 2020, you could be owed some cash. Detroit Documenters, Outlier Media and five community organizations are working to get this money back in Detroiters hands. Senior reporter Koby Levin and Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade joined The Metro to talk about the new project.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.