“Step Outside, Get Dirty, Connect to Nature” Earth Day Canada is working to help people spend quality time connecting with the outdoors, encouraging everyone to spend time outdoors every day to support health, happiness, and the planet. Here are a few of the things happening this Earth Month! #FreeYourPlay Take a photo and share how you #FreeYourPlay with @Kamik and...
The Great Trail, now consisting of more than 24,000 kilometres of multi-use trails, has launched a new campaign; Deeply Connected which will highlight the connection every Canadian has with the The Great Trail while showcasing the ways the Trail benefits our health, our economy and our diverse cultures. OUR MISSION: We will promote and assist in the...
The Canadian Public Health Association recently released a toolkit composed of infographics, research summaries, decision-making tools, promising practices, and a discussion document. The toolkit provides excellent resources and information on the importance of unstructured play, how to develop policy to facilitate play within schools and communities, and current research in the field of risky play....
OUTSIDEPLAY.ca is a fantastic resource for parents to explore and better understand risky play, why it is so important, and how to have the confidence to encourage risky play for children. The online tool guides users through a personalized journey, allowing them to determine their approach when it comes to risky play, decide what changes they...
More and more parents, practitioners, teachers, and researchers are interested in how nature can be beneficial for children as place to learn,play, socially interact, and become connected. A growing body of research published in the last decade shows promising results that regular classes in natural green environments (e.g. EOtC – Education Outside the Classroom) can...
Nature Canada, a national charitable organization has released a report titled Screen Time vs. Green Time” The Health Impacts of too much Screen Time exposing the negative impacts of screen time on Canadian children and providing suggestions to guide children away from screens, and towards nature. Report highlights and findings In an article summarizing the Screen Time vs. Green...
As we continue to understand the benefits of outdoor active play, and the consequences of screen time, research is expanding to explore the influence of outdoor play and screen time on specific areas of children’s health and development. A recently published study in PLOS ONE titled “Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in...
The Power of Play documentary is now out! Watch unusual inter-species animals play and communicate, as top play scientists examine the root and importance of play among humans and animals....
Save the date! The 2019 Canadian Parks Conference is set to take place in Quebec City on October 7 to 10. Join over 400 Canadian and international professionals and partners from all sectors of society who plan to meet and make positive change to support healthy nature and healthy people, for our generation and the one to come. The conference is focused on expanding Canada’s collective awareness, understanding and appreciation of the...
“In a recent survey, Kamik found that nowadays, children participate in over 5-6 structured activities per week. Hence, there is hardly ever any time left to play freely, outside. In fact, children spend 30-35% less time playing outside than their parents did.” Structured activities, such as soccer practice, swim lessons and dance class can be a...
