Thank you to Dr Michaela James – Swansea University, UK, for providing this post. Play is a vital part of growing up; it is so important that it has been made a right by the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) under Article 31 [1]. Therefore, by its definition, young people have...
BREAKING NEWS. Outdoor Play Canada, the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, Andrew Fleck Children's Services and Algonquin College have recently been awarded $2M for a 5-year project to launch the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, a centre of excellence where practice, policy and research will come together to...
Thank you to Gerben Helleman, author of the blog Urban Springtime and Researcher Public Space and Child-friendly Cities at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, for providing this post. Fortunately, more and more municipalities are working on play-friendly public spaces. However, many policy visions and investments are still based on assumptions made by municipal officials or...
Thank you to ParticipACTION for providing this post. The 2022 ParticipACTION Children and Youth Report Card has arrived! The 15th edition of the Report Card contains grades based on data collected during the pandemic to better assess its impact on kids’ movement behaviours. The pandemic drove a sudden and drastic shift in how kids could access physical...
Thank you to Families Canada for providing this post. This week is National Family Week! This year's theme is Play At All Ages: A Prescription for Wellbeing. Play is the universal right and language of childhood. Through play, children learn, make friends, communicate, stay active, problem-solve, and make sense of the world around them! Since 1985, during...
This posting was originally published by the Canadian Museum of Nature. Humber College Early Childhood Education Program, Etobicoke, Ontario: creation of course for nature-based play that incorporates Indigenous knowledge in the Not for Profit (large organization) is one of the 2022 national finalists for the Canadian Museum of Nature's Nature Inspiration award! Humber College’s Early Childhood Education...
Save the date! The 2023 Breath of Fresh Air Summit will be held from September 27-29th, 2023 in Wesley Clover Parks, Ottawa, ON! Just one year away! Led by Outdoor Play Canada, Breath of Fresh Air is a two-day Outdoor Play Summit where thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers can connect and share best practices. The...
Thank you to Karen Dommett, Director at Calgary Adapted Hub powered by Jumpstart, for providing this post. Who We Are: Founded through the leadership of Jumpstart, Calgary Adapted Hub exists to make sport and recreation more inclusive for children, youth, and families living with disabilities including physical, intellectual, sensory, developmental, or otherwise. Our goal is to maximize...
Thank you to Dr. Shawnda Morrison, Assistant Professor and Scientist, Faculty of Sport at the University of Ljubljana, for providing this post. Record levels of obesity and physical inactivity among children mean they are set to bear the brunt of poorer health effects from rising global temperatures – that’s the stark warning in a new comprehensive...
Outdoor Play Canada (OPC) is transitioning from a national network to an official not-for-profit organization and we are looking for outdoor play leaders across the country to join our Board of Directors! Launched in September 2019, OPC has operated as a national network of advocates, practitioners, researchers, and organizations working to promote, protect, and preserve access...
