On July 16th, 2020, Outdoor Play Canada Project Manager Dr. Louise de Lannoy spoke with CBC Ottawa regarding the reopening of outdoor playgrounds in Ontario. "When children are outdoors and when they’re playing, it gives them a sense of agency, a sense of control. It’s also important in times of stress and adversity to help them...
In an article for the Ryerson City Building Institute, Ryerson Associate Professor, urban planner, and Outdoor Play Canada Leadership Team Member, Dr. Raktim Mitra describes the findings of his latest research on the importance of access to safe and welcoming outdoor space and maintaining healthy movement behaviours among Canadian kids during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a...
Press Release: Summer homework – get kids outside and recalibrate healthy lifestyles A national survey commissioned by ParticipACTION shows evidence of collateral damage to the lifestyles of Canadian children and youth consequent to public health restrictions imposed to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Restricted access to playgrounds, schools, childcare, playdates, and instructions to “stay home” have...
In a piece recently published in The Conversation, Dr. Mark Tremblay, director of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group within the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, and Dr. John Reilly, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health Science at the University of Strathclyde, discuss active commuting to school as a priority...
In Andre Picard's latest opinion piece in the Globe and Mail, the health columnist suggests a new mantra be adopted as reopening measures are put in place across Canada: 'Go outside, but do not congregate'. He suggests that part of easing restrictions on outdoor activity should include creating more space, i.e. closing streets to allow for...
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...
In her daily news briefing on April 29, 2020, Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer, re-iterated what she has been saying throughout the COVID-19 outbreak: enjoy BC's outdoor spaces, safely, and with immediate family members. Dr. Henry highlighted the observation that transmission of the virus by briefly passing by someone who sneezes or coughs...
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...
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...
