On May 4, 2020, journalist Geoff Mcmaster published an article entitled: 'Why COVID-19 loneliness can be especially hard on teens' for the University of Alberta Folio journal. In the article Mcmaster highlights the observation that social isolation due to COVID-19 restrictions may be significantly impacting the health of teens, adding to a disturbing trend Mcmaster calls...
On May 2, 2020, health and science writer Wendy Glauser wrote an article for Maclean's Magazine, entitled: 'It's time to stop giving the message that kids can't play outside'. In the article, Glauser identifies the way in which public health guidelines during the first few months of the pandemic have ignored children's outdoor play by, for...
Thank you to Dr. Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga (MD, PhD Candidate, Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa) for providing this post. The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (aged 5–17 years) recommend at least 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, no more than 2 hours of daily recreational screen time, and 9-11 hours of...
Many have struggled to access the outdoors, parks, and nature as a result of physical distancing regulations instituted across the country in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. Though most Provincial and National parks have reopened, and reopened again in the third wave, services are limited. At the municipal level, restrictions are being lifted on parks...
In an article for healthing.ca, journalist Katherine Monahan discusses the importance of getting outdoors for children's health during COVID-19 with Dr. Mark Tremblay, chair of Outdoor Play Canada. 'It is absolutely critical for children’s health to get outdoors' says Tremblay. Monahan also interviewed Krystal Taylor, a spokesperson for Ottawa Public Health, who stated: “In fact, it is...
Thank you to Michelle E.E. Bauer, PhD Candidate (Interdisciplinary Health Science, University of Ottawa), for providing this post. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the physical and emotional wellbeing of Canadians across the country, conversations abound on how best to help families cope. Outdoor play, if done safely (only with household members and while adhering...
The 2020 Basecamp Conversations, hosted by the Canadian Outdoor Summit Leadership team, was a series of weekly conversations leading to the writing and publication of the ‘COVID-19 Principles and Emerging Practices for Led Outdoor Activities in Canada’ document. This document aimed to bring together those involved in outdoor led activities to share experience, wisdom, leads,...
Last week, Dr. Mariana Brussoni from the University of British Columbia spoke with Dr. Katherine Frohlich (University of Montreal) and Kate St-Arneault (PhD student, University of Montreal) about outdoor play during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the bilingual webcast, Dr. Brussoni, Dr. Frohlich, and Ms. St-Arneault discuss the consequences of physical distancing on their families' ability to...
The Child and Nature Alliance has published their first podcast in partnership with Evergreen Brickworks and the Trillium Foundation. This is the first of a series of podcasts that will focus on highlighting the Forest and Nature School pedagogy. In the podcast, host Stephanie Smith speaks with Gemma and Natalia, two youth play animators on their...
On March 18, 2020, BBC News wrote an article entitled 'Coronavirus: Should you let your children play with other children?'. In the article, journalist Robin Levinson-King, from Toronto, Ontario, describes how families are wrestling with whether or not they should let their children play with others given recommendations on physical distancing. Dr. Angela Pyle, an assistant...
