On April 29th, 2021, OPC's Research Manager, Dr. Louise de Lannoy, presented on the importance of promoting, protecting, and preserving access to outdoor play at the Alberta Recreation & Parks Association Summit Monthly Meeting. Cynthia Watson from ActiveCity Collective also gave a presentation, in which she discussed the ActiveCity Collective initiative and their holistic approach...
Thank you to Josh Fullan, Director of Maximum City, a national engagement and education firm, for providing this post. In the second spring of what feels like an interminable coronavirus pandemic, nobody would blame kids and parents for surrendering to a just-gotta-get-to-summer feeling. Hope is hard to come by in the third wave of a plague...
On Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, Families Canada will host Active for Life in a new webinar highlighting findings from a recent study in childcare centres on the benefit of active play and physical literacy for helping children cope with stress, build resilience, and engage in a healthy lifestyle. This webinar is designed for practitioners. Learn more...
On Friday, April 16th at 12pm EST, Outdoor Play Canada will be hosting their next townhall. At this meeting, we will discuss the equity, diversity, and inclusion process among outdoor-oriented organizations. We aim to have an open conversation about this process. We aim to listen and learn, share interesting thoughts and ideas, and gather informational stories...
Thank you to Dr. Negin Riazi, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University, for providing this post. Children’s independent mobility refers to a child’s freedom to travel and play in their neighbourhood without the supervision of adults. However, there has been a steep generational decline in children’s independent mobility which is quite...
Thank you to Tracey Coutts and Scott Bailey, Ever Active Schools, for providing this post. Looking for a versatile, cost-effective way to increase physical activity and improve literacy in your school community? Well, have we got a tale for you. Trail Tales was launched in Parkland School Division 70 as a means to promote physical activity and literacy,...
The LEGO Foundation recently released a new report entitled 'Learning Through Play: Increasing impact, reducing inequality', a review of evidence from around the world on play and learning in early childhood programs. Among the main findings of the report include the observation that learning through play can help children from all backgrounds develop the wide range...
On March 30th, 2021 at 12pm CST, Sask in Motion will be hosting their final Leaders' Series webinar. The panel talk will focus on the City of Calgary's experience creating a play charter and adventure playground, featuring OPC Leadership Group member Heather Cowie, in addition to Adam Bienenstock (Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds), Stephanie Won (City of Calgary)...
Thank you to Eun-Young Lee, PhD, School of Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Stephen Hunter, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and Mark S. Tremblay, PhD, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada,...
'The role of PLAY in the self-reported healthy movement, school experiences and well-being of Canadian children and youth', is an analysis from Maximum City's COVID-19 Child and Youth Study, an ongoing survey of 2,100 pairs of children/youth and parent/caregivers on children and youth's behaviours, school experiences, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this analysis, the...
