The Children and Nature Network hosts the annual Inside-Out International Conference and Leadership Summit; the largest gathering of nature connection advocates in the world. Conference themes focus on ensuring that children have access to the many benefits of nature and inspire new generations of environmental stewards. In 2020, their conference was held online and focused on...
What is Outdoor Classroom day? Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to inspire outdoor learning and play. On this day last year, hundreds of schools and over 3.5 million children joined together to bring awareness to the importance and benefits of bringing the classroom and playtime outside. These benefits include improving children’s overall health and...
On September 30th, 2020, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Hon Steven Guilbeault hosted a Sport Community Town Hall to discuss how the federal government will assist in the sport community’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19. Ahead of the Town Hall, members of the community were invited to submit proposals on how Canada may address the...
In their latest article for The Conversation, Dr. John J Reilly, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health Science, University of Strathclyde, and Dr. Mark Tremblay, Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, discuss the negative effects COVID-19 related restrictions have had on children's cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness, the authors explain, is...
The Child in the City Biannual World Conference aims to share knowledge, good practice and research findings from the various disciplines that are important to the shared aim of creating child-friendly cities. Central themes of this conference include connecting green and play, children’s mobility and sustainable futures, urban parenting to urban planning, and immigrant families...
Since 2009, the Equinox Holistic Alternative School, within the Toronto District School Board, has led the way for holistic academic excellence with a focus on nature-based learning. They have attracted national and international attention with their full-day outdoor kindergarten program, and now in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has shifted to full outdoor...
Outdoor Play Canada, before its formal organization, was responsible for the development and release of the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play in 2015. This Statement had a significant impact on uniting the Outdoor Play sector, providing direction and a common purpose – promoting children’s healthy growth and development through outdoor play. To build on and...
In light of most summer 2020 sport leagues, camps, and outdoor activities being cancelled or put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ParticipACTION launched the Invent-a-Sport Campaign to encourage Canadians to get active locally and connect with friends, family and neighbours (while remaining physically distant) by inventing a new sport. Participants were invited to share...
On August 26, 2020, Tim Gill, an independent researcher and International Play Association member, and Robyn Monro Miller, President of the International Play Association, released their study report: 'Play in Lockdown: An international study of government and civil society responses to Covid-19 and their impact on children’s play and mobility'. The study collected data from 25...
In the August 2020 series of HELP Coffee Talks, host Dr. Eva Oberle from the Human Early Learning Partnership at the University of British Columbia, discussed the state of outdoor play in Canada with Outdoor Play Canada's Leadership Group member, Dr. Mariana Brussoni, and the role of outdoor learning in schools and how teachers can...
