Thank you to the Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network for providing this post.

The Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network was formed during the development of the Outdoor Play in Canada: 2021 State of the Sector Report, led by Outdoor Play Canada (OPC), which brought together outdoor play stakeholders from across Canada to identify the wealth of outdoor play resources in Canada, and identify and refine the major priorities for the outdoor play sector in Canada moving forward over the next five years. The wealth of outdoor play resources identified within Nova Scotia was a strong indication that a lot of good work has happened and is continuing to happen on outdoor play in Nova Scotia, which sparked the development of the Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network so that they could remain connected.  

Since that data collection for OPC, the Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network undertook an analysis of their provinces’ data to provide a picture of the past and present state of outdoor play in Nova Scotia. As a backdrop to this analysis, they used the OPC State of the Sector Report (2021), along with Recreation Nova Scotia’s Shared Strategy for Recreation in Nova Scotia (2015)  and Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia (2018). The resulting Nova Scotia Report on Outdoor Play provides a valuable overview of outdoor play in the province, including where we have momentum, where work is happening, what intersections exist, and where we may have room to grow and collaborate.    

The Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network continues to meet regularly to:  

1. reflect on recent initiatives, identify key learnings and what is standing out; 
2. Discuss key outdoor play topics within the group; 
3. Determine important needs and critical areas of work, and 
4. Discuss what should take shape moving forward, roles and next steps. 

If you are interested in learning more about, and/or joining the Nova Scotia Outdoor Play Network, contact Anna Haanstra at anna.haanstra@novascotia.ca.  

Photo by Elyse Turton on Unsplash