For the last decade, National Day of Unplugging (NDU) has been celebrated the first weekend in March with thousands of in-person, unplugged events engaging hundreds of thousands of participants around the world. Plans for NDU during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a new approach.

As people are restricted from larger-scale in-real-life experiences, the conversation about limiting screen time has to be more nuanced. Unplug Collaborative, the team behind the awareness campaign, is careful not to add guilt or shame on top of the anxiety people are already feeling after a year of unprecedented chaos.

This year’s NDU efforts will focus on safe, in-home, and outdoor small group activities, along with contests and charitable partnerships aimed at amplifying social impact. With a list of 50+ things that you can do on NDU ranging from the simple to the adventurous — there is an access point for any person looking to answer the collective call to unplug for 1 hour or 24 hours.

San Diego is leading the way as a model community collectively unplugging with five neighborhoods organizing Little Free Libraries (LFL) scavenger hunts on March 6. Each hunt will have between seven and 20 stops. Locations include La Mesa, North/South Park, Santee, Clairemont Mesa and Coronado. La Mesa has a repurposed outhouse at the first stop! Local authors Richard Louv, Sebastian Sloven and Nick Carter are partnering with Book Fairies, hiding their books (on digital wellness and nature) in LFLs.

Addresses of the first stop of each hunt to be revealed on March 4 on the NDU website, bit.ly/37KKrG4. Hunt kick-off is March 6, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at all locations. People can pick up instructions and maps to all other stops at that time. Can’t make the hunt then? Many stops will keep the clue up until March 12.

How does a LFL scavenger hunt work? A clue is taped to a little library at each stop. People will look for clues at each of the stops and if they feel comfortable, they can pick up books and other goodies that some stops will be putting out along the way (book marks, bike safety items, dog treats, craft kits to take home, etc.). A participant can visit as many stops as they would like and at the end go to the NDU website to check answers and to get a link to a recorded story time reading by “Nocturnal’s” author Tracey Hecht.

Participants can register for this free event at www.bit.ly/37MXtCW.