There’s awesomeness around every corner. The Backyard Badge celebrates creativity, imagination and finding adventure close to home. Check out the posts below, turn off the TV and put on your awesome pants. More added each week so check back often.
If you have something awesome you did/do that you’d like to share, check out our Submissions Section or add your stories, videos and photos to our Facebook page.
Fighting climate change in awesome new ways, Our Horizon launches its #16yearsleft campaign and needs your help. Yowzers! Has it been this long since I last posted?? Shameful, I know. In my defense it’s been an insanely busy couple of months here in snowy Waterloo, Ontario. Throw a nasty bout of strep throat into the [...]
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Yesterday I told you about the charity Polar Bear Dip I’m participating in this Janaury. Jumping into the icy waters of Lake Erie isn’t something I’d normally do but it’s for a great cause so I thought, sure, let’s do it! (Click here to visit our donation page!) Of course, there are people out there [...]
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Photo scavenger hunts are a great, low-impact, low-cost alternative to the classic “find and collect” game. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity for your corporate event or just want something to do with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon, a photo scavenger hunt is a quick and easy thing to whip together. As the [...]
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My brother Dan added a comment on the Tri-Pong post, introducing me to a great variation of classic Dodgeball. Here’s Dan to explain: “At the school where I teach, students are in charge of organizing and running intramural activities this year. They have started with an old-school favourite: Dodgeball. However, they have introduced numerous variations [...]
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Here’s a simple idea that’s both a fun social activity as well as a way of beefing up your personal cookbook (or vegging up as the case may be). Throw a Recipe Swap party. The rules are simple. Invite your friends over for a Recipe Swap party. Everybody must prepare a favourite dish of theirs [...]
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Backpacking can introduce you to all sorts of fascinating customs and traditions. Hostels and guest houses serve as the hippie equivalent of the United Nations – a convergence of cultures, nationalities and ideas. This exchange of ideas can revolve around politics, music, religion, philosophies, worldviews and other big discussions. It also facilitates the spread another [...]
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Rainy days at cottages are the mothers of invention. This week’s Backyard Badge goes to Rob Shirkey for introducing me to the awesome game of Tri-Pong. A couple years ago, while visiting his cottage near Minden, Ontario, Rob taught us how to play this simple, yet exhausting version of ping pong. A big difference from [...]
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Ever wanted to be a pirate and search for buried treasure? Is your favourite part about Easter the egg hunt? Do you pride yourself in your ability to find lost car keys? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then geocaching just may be for you. I’ve wanted to go geocaching for years. [...]
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Spoons is a card game that was very popular in the Martin household growing up. I’ve played a few variations of it over the years but the general idea remains the same. One fewer number of spoons than there are players are placed in the center of the table (a la musical chairs). The goal [...]
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I never took physics in high school. But friends of mine did and I remember them having to build miniature catapults (and other medieval instruments of destruction) as part of their coursework. I’m all for kids getting excited about education. But what happens when your students get too excited about physics, and decide to apply [...]
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A recent visit to Cowapolooza (Woodstock, Ontario’s annual cow festival) got me thinking about all the cool events happening in our own backyard. You could spend an entire year hopping from one local festival to the next. It seems every community has one, even if some of them make you scratch your head. Driving through [...]
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This week’s Backyard Badge of Awesome comes to us via Kendra Barrick of Ottawa, Ontario. Sometimes having no destination in mind at all leads to the best journeys. Random road trips where the only goal is to have a fun time are awesome. Here’s Kendra with her version of “Get Lost”: “Have you ever played [...]
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A sure way to add excitement to a game of cards is to add the element of consequence. And nothing screams consequence like the prospect of having to shovel a heaping spoonful of garlic, turmeric or curry powder into your mouth. This is Crazy 8 Countdown… for spices. You can add the spice consequence to [...]
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Croquet: The Gentleman’s Game? Not where I come from. Growing up, my brothers and sisters used to play this backyard game in very un-gentlemanly ways. We’d send our opponents’ balls flying into the bush, down our long driveway and into the little creek that ran next to our house. Out-of-bounds was for sissies and sending [...]
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How useless would you or your friends be in a post-apocalyptic world? The Tribe Game is a great road trip/time-killer game that answers this question. Are you an SEO expert? Does your résumé brag about things like “results-based management”? Do you excel at Excel? Do you have an in-depth knowledge of branding, social media or [...]
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Call me Spartan Martin. These past couple years I’ve participated in the Spartan Race near Toronto, Ontario. A 5 km+ race, the course involves 15+ obstacles of mud, blood and barbed wire. With 50 Spartan Races held around the world, odds are you’ll find one in your own backyard. Here’s a little taste of the [...]
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Picture this. You’re in a pitch black room. You strain your eyes in an attempt to see something–anything!–but it’s no use. Fear and adrenaline course through your veins and you just hope the enemy can’t hear the heart pounding in your chest. Suddenly a small glowing orb of light appears across the room, seemingly floating [...]
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What’s funnier than a pair of underwear landing on someone’s head? Nothing. If you’re looking for a unique way to entertain your little kids, consider the Fan Game: an underwear flingin’ good time. This week’s Backyard Badge of Awesome goes to Damien Martin (yup, my brother) for introducing us to the awesomeness that is Fan [...]
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Road trips rock. Road trips that end in deliciousness rock even harder. For a lot of people, summertime means great local food is in season. Whether it’s an established farmer’s market or a roadside stall selling homemade pies and sweet corn, local food tastes better, supports our farmers and helps connect us with the food [...]
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This week’s Backyard Badge goes to the Blindfold Game – one of the most disorienting and entertaining activities you’ll ever play. Thanks to the Van Osch family for submitting this week’s winner – your Backyard Badge of Awesome and free ebook are on their way! I recently had the pleasure of joining the Van Osches [...]
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In recent years the “dude-that’s-awesome” factor at my extended family’s Thanksgiving get-togethers has increased 10-fold. Why? Two words: human foosball. You may have seen this Backyard Badge recipient at a corporate event or summer festival. But as my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Art demonstrated, there’s nothing stopping you from bringing it to your own backyard. [...]
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Mr. Rogers wasn’t exactly “cool”. He was soft-spoken, wore cardigans and had a trolley running through his living room. Odds are you’d never see him on the cover of GQ. No, he wasn’t cool. But MAN was he awesome. Like millions of other kids, I grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighbourhood. He was as much [...]
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