Save the Date! The Breath of Fresh Air Summit 2025 will run from September 25-27, 2025 at the Ottawa Forest and Nature School and Wesley Clover Parks Campground in Ottawa ON! This three-day Outdoor Play Summit will bring together thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers from across Canada and internationally to connect and share best outdoor...
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, an opportunity for the public to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, the intergenerational harm they caused to Indigenous families and communities, and to honour those affected by this injustice. This federal holiday is an effort on behalf of the Government of Canada...
Thank you to Søren Præstholm, Head of Children & Nature Denmark for providing this post. In recent decades, national surveys in Denmark have identified a substantial decrease in the time spent outside and in nature among children compared with earlier generations – similar to trends in many other countries. However, a new national survey of more...
This article was originally published on the University of Lethbridge website. Parents today likely won’t be surprised to know their children have far less freedom to travel in their neighbourhoods than they did. But what they might not know is how that could affect their children’s mental health. Dr. Richard Larouche, a Faculty of Health Sciences professor...
Over the next 4 years, our colleagues at the University of British Columbia will be collaborating with Green Communities Canada, alongside Université de Montréal, Queen's University, Toronto Metropolitan University, 880 Cities and Centre d’écologie urbaine to evaluate School Streets in communities across Canada. The team will work together to build a greater understanding of the impacts...
Join us, June 27th 4:30-7:30pm at 415 Corkstown Rd in Ottawa to celebrate the grand opening of Forest Explorers, a licensed program of Andrew Fleck Children’s Services and home of the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play! The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play and Forest Explorers – a multi-use building located on 900 acres of National Capital...
June 21st is National Indigenous People's Day, a national celebration of the heritage, cultures, and achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. This day overlaps with the summer solstice, which is a significant day for many Indigenous cultures. It also falls within National Indigenous History Month, which this year will highlight specific aspects of...
BREAKING NEWS. Outdoor Play Canada, the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, Andrew Fleck Children’s Services, Algonquin College and the Canadian Disability Participation Project have recently been awarded funding for a 4-year project to address challenges in the built and social environment for outdoor play and learning in natural spaces for young children living...
Thank you to Nathan Zhang, summer student at the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, for providing this post. On June 11, 2024, we will celebrate the first-ever International Day of Play! This will mark the beginning of an annual global awareness day adopted by the United Nations in collaboration...
Thank you to Dr. Ulises Charles Rodriguez, Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Calgary, and Dr. Richard Larouche, Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, for providing this post. The last few decades have been marked by increasing global migration, with millions crossing boarders in search of refuge, more opportunities or improved standards...
