Many of us spend 12+ hours a day staring at a screen, be it computer, television, tablet or smart phone. Which means our lives are now framed by pixels, plasma, glass and ionized gas more than any other point in history.

And honestly, we’re not here to harp. We have to work, too. And when we get home, we’re so damn tired from all the Brand Spanking® we’re happy things like Shark Week exist. Simply sit down, tune in and tune out.

But all signs point to the fact that we’re tuning out way, way too much anymore.

Thankfully, there’s a small band of local individuals here to save us with a single, simple idea: Walls Are Bad. It’s sort of self explanatory, but the premise behind Walls Are Bad is that Southwestern Pennsylvania has some of the most stunning, accessible and downright fun terrain around. And none of us enjoy it near enough because of all the walls in our lives. Thus, walls are bad.

So we should probably tear them all down, live in open-air communes and eat nothing but venison and blackberries.

The Unlikely Outdoorsmen

Ginette Walker Vinski would probably tell us to pump the brakes on all the anti-society stuff. Nature isn’t just for Bear Grylls. You don’t have to get into white water to enjoy it. And more people should have access to it than summering Caucasians and liberal arts students.

As Communications Manager of Sustainable Pittsburgh, Ginette works to encourage people to participate in outdoor recreational activities. Walls Are Bad is part of that effort, a campaign that grew into an overarching brand to designate organizations and companies committed to the awareness of and participation in local, outdoor amenities. That’s why you’ll see the Walls Are Bad logo on websites like Venture Outdoors.

And that logo is meant to encompass the Walls Are Bad brand, which is young and edgy and a little more in-your-face than we tend to expect from the tree-hugger sector. Because getting outside doesn’t have to mean National Forests and mosquito spray — it can mean kayaking on our city’s rivers or leaving your office to eat in a park. You can even wear that precious tie.

To bolster that marketing approach despite any sort of funding — save some foundation and DCNR dollars — Ginette and the gang have partnered with local and national organizations to think outside the walls, as it were. This included working with local celeb Secret Agent L to perform clandestine drops of REI gift cards and Walls t-shirts, water bottles and other swag. “Just to say hey, this is all for you,” Ginette explained.

If you think about it, it’s kind of depressing that love for the outdoors is a Challenger Brand candidate in the first place. But this is one problem with an easy fix, according to Ginette:

Walls are bad. Start saying no to them.