On Friday, June 18th, OPC's Dr. Louise de Lannoy presented at the 2021 Virtual Play Conference, an annual educational conference held by the US Play Coalition. This year, due to pandemic restrictions, the conference was held online from April 1st to June 30th, 2021 with weekly networking events and presentations, recorded and available for viewing...
Thank you to Dr. Lauren Pinault, Statistics Canada, for providing this post. Greenness is linked to good health It may not surprise you to learn that living in areas that are surrounded by greenness, such as large trees, gardens, and natural vegetation, can be beneficial to our health. We have previously shown that higher levels of greenness around the home are associated with a lower risk...
You are invited to complete an anonymous survey on the major priorities and actions for the Canadian outdoor play sector (e.g., outdoor play oriented education, research, policy, organizations, community & youth programs) moving forward over the next five years. This survey is being done as part of a larger Outdoor Play in Canada State of the Sector Report, which will serve as an account...
On April 29th, 2021, OPC's Research Manager, Dr. Louise de Lannoy, presented on the importance of promoting, protecting, and preserving access to outdoor play at the Alberta Recreation & Parks Association Summit Monthly Meeting. Cynthia Watson from ActiveCity Collective also gave a presentation, in which she discussed the ActiveCity Collective initiative and their holistic approach...
Thank you to Susanna Abraham Cottagiri, Carleton University, for providing this post. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that only 9.3% of Canadian children and youth between the ages of 5 and 17 meet the recommended physical activity guidelines of 60 mins of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. Active school commuting behaviours, such as walking...
Thank you to Josh Fullan, Director of Maximum City, a national engagement and education firm, for providing this post. In the second spring of what feels like an interminable coronavirus pandemic, nobody would blame kids and parents for surrendering to a just-gotta-get-to-summer feeling. Hope is hard to come by in the third wave of a plague...
On Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, Families Canada will host Active for Life in a new webinar highlighting findings from a recent study in childcare centres on the benefit of active play and physical literacy for helping children cope with stress, build resilience, and engage in a healthy lifestyle. This webinar is designed for practitioners. Learn more...
On April 13th, 2021, the federal and Nova Scotia provincial governments announced they were allocating $7 million for the creation of new, or enhancement of existing, outdoor learning spaces in ~250 elementary schools in Nova Scotia. A government news release outlined that "Schools will be asked to ensure that the spaces are aligned with curriculum and...
On Friday, April 16th at 12pm EST, Outdoor Play Canada will be hosting their next townhall. At this meeting, we will discuss the equity, diversity, and inclusion process among outdoor-oriented organizations. We aim to have an open conversation about this process. We aim to listen and learn, share interesting thoughts and ideas, and gather informational stories...
Thank you to Dr. Negin Riazi, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University, for providing this post. Children’s independent mobility refers to a child’s freedom to travel and play in their neighbourhood without the supervision of adults. However, there has been a steep generational decline in children’s independent mobility which is quite...
