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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 24 ,2 02 2 | 4 Mention this ad to recieve the Weekday $5.99 Breakfast Special! Open fOr indOOr dining 2-1899 Ironoak Way,Oakville (Upper Middle & 9th Line) 905-337-0045 www.sunnymorning.ca Join us for Breakfast or Lunch Follow us on instagram and Facebook (@sunnymorningoakville)Breakfast & Lunch Limited time only for Oakville Beaver readers.Ask your server for details. Copyright © 2022 by Sunny Morning Franchising Corporation.All rights reserved. DIAMOND WINNER 2021 PLATINUM WINNER 2021 Winner of 10 readers choice awards, including best all around restaurant give Oakville's BeST a Try! our changed world ROBERT TANG BEVERLEYCAYTON-TANG 905-633-8808 Join danceScape and let themusic move you danceScape Inspiring the world to move to music, one dance step at a time is danceScape's mission. The Burlington-based dance club/studio offers learning adventures in ballroom, salsa/Latin, wedding dance, danceTONE cardio anddanceFLOWqigong/ taichi aswell as social dance events featuring "live"music. Founders Robert Tang and Beverley Cayton-Tang are three-time Canadian and two-time North American Ballroom Champions who have embraced technology to propel the success of their club/studio that will celebrate its 22nd anniversary in September. Just days after the pandemic hit in March 2020, they accelerated plans for online teaching and launched virtual dance and fitness programs. "We have students learning virtually as far away as Nova Scotia, Vancouver, St. Catharines and even California," notes Robert. Their app includes a library of tutorials and classes available anywhere, anytime. The couple has been featured on theMarilyn Denis Show, Dragons' Den, Healthy Gourmet and in ParticipACTION's "Get Inspired. Get Moving" program and are most recently showcased in a series of short dance videos they're presenting on Instagram, Facebook and their new Tik Tok channel. They've had overwhelming response for more of thesemotivational videos which include challenging others to do the cha-cha while shoveling snow, as well as waltzing outdoors during (or after) a snow storm. Says Beverley, "We want to inspire the world tomove tomusic!" Shall we dance? 2077 Pine Street Downtown Burlington dancescape.com - ADVERTORIAL - the Halton Outdoor Club. As COVID-19 disrupted normal daily routines and shut down public facilities like gyms and arenas in Oakville and across the re- gion, residents gravitated to the natural world in droves. Walking alone around the block or through the lo- cal park, however, became quite underwhelming af- ter a few times out, said Fernandez, whose organi- zation has seen a steady uptick in memberships; people seeking opportuni- ties to stay fit outdoors, such as hiking, cycling and paddling. "For many of our mem- bers, this is a change of life- style that they enjoy and will continue to enjoy even after COVID is but a cold, cruel memory," said Fer- nandez. Conservation Halton's multiple parks experi- enced approximately 150,000 more visitors in 2021 as compared to 2019. "Nature has been such a big part of our communi- ty's pandemic experience. We believe it has changed peoples' views of the natu- ral world for the better," said Mark Vytvytskyy, Conservation Halton COO. Regardless of age or oc- cupation, people are realiz- ing that nature and the connection to it is so im- portant to their physical and mental well-being, said Vytvytskyy. "Becoming more fit, having more energy and fitting into smaller sized clothing have been wel- come byproducts after be- ing shut down by COVID," said Fernandez. Halton is rich in green- spaces that offer perfect year-round backdrops for hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowshoeing and snowboarding. "We had a huge uptake in mountain biking, a huge uptake in skiing lessons and in snowboarding les- sons," said Vytvytskyy. When Glen Eden ski hills were forced to close, CH introduced snowshoe- ing. The program was so successful that staff had to reach out to local vendors to help meet the huge de- mand for rentals. "When you are sur- rounded by nature, you are your true self, because there are no digital pieces. The way I look at nature, it allows you to almost cleanse yourself, cleanse your mind of things that af- fect your day-to-day. Ev- erything in nature hap- pens on its own and it's fas- cinating to realize that. To me, this resiliency of na- ture, the ability to bounce back, is unbelievable." Nathalie Trepanier, who moved to Oakville in April of 2020, said she has always been an outdoorsy type, but "I have definitely upped my game." "In the back of my con- do, I saw trails and started walking during my lunch since I had to work from home for a few months," she said. Cycling around Halton and hiking at Bronte Creek Provincial Park led to membership in the HOC. "All summer I cycled and hiked with the club; in the winter, I ski and snow- shoe and hike as well. This has made my move and life in Oakville so much more enjoyable. It has helped my mental health as well." It's always a good thing to meet different people and try different things, said Debra Owens, a for- mer Oakville resident now living in Toronto, who ven- tures west to take advan- tage of Halton's outdoor spaces. "It's always more fun to be with a group, pandemic or not, but particularly during the pandemic," said Owens. Research by clinical psychologists suggests that it takes anywhere from 21 to 256 days to form new habits, and as we ap- proach over 720 days since the beginning of the pan- demic, it's safe to say that people who have joined HOC have had more than sufficient time to crystal- lize their new activities in- to long-term habits, said Fernandez. "Turns out you just can't get enough of nature. And it is habit forming," he added. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As the pandemic forced many to abandon their usual recreational activities, people turned to the natural world for exer- cise and solace. We wanted to discover why, and if this trend of outdoor enthusi- asts will last. OUR CHANGED WORLD Continued from page 3 NO SHORTAGE OF HALTON PARKS TO EXPLORE SCAN THIS CODE for more coverage of Our Changed World.