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Policy

The Government of Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Parks Council and Mount Royal University’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability, recently announced the launch of the Pan-Canadian Parks and Protected Areas Research Network. The Network is made up of scientists, researchers, Indigenous knowledge holders, students, and parks and protected areas specialists and managers, who collectively will...

As part of the process of reviewing the Child Care and Early Years Act, the Ministry of Education in Ontario put out a call for submissions to discuss several components of the Act, including the potential to license Forest and Outdoor Programs. In response, Andrew Fleck Children's Services (AFCS), together with Child Nature Alliance of Canada...

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, public health authorities across the country have recommended that Canadians keep their distance, wash their hands, and stay home. To enforce these measures early in the pandemic, restrictions on outdoor behaviour were implemented, limiting access to parks, playgrounds, conservation areas and recreational outdoor spaces. Counterbalancing efforts to create more...

The Children and Nature Network hosts the annual Inside-Out International Conference and Leadership Summit; the largest gathering of nature connection advocates in the world. Conference themes focus on ensuring that children have access to the many benefits of nature and inspire new generations of environmental stewards. In 2020, their conference was held online and focused on...

On September 30th, 2020, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Hon Steven Guilbeault hosted a Sport Community Town Hall to discuss how the federal government will assist in the sport community’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19. Ahead of the Town Hall, members of the community were invited to submit proposals on how Canada may address the...

In their latest article for The Conversation, Dr. John J Reilly, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health Science, University of Strathclyde, and Dr. Mark Tremblay, Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, discuss the negative effects COVID-19 related restrictions have had on children's cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness, the authors explain, is...

The Child in the City Biannual World Conference aims to share knowledge, good practice and research findings from the various disciplines that are important to the shared aim of creating child-friendly cities. Central themes of this conference include connecting green and play, children’s mobility and sustainable futures, urban parenting to urban planning, and immigrant families...

Thank you to Murry Burgess (North Carolina State University), Rachel Szczytko (Pisces Foundation), and Kathryn Stevenson (North Carolina State University), for providing this post. Do children in your life spend time outside? What do they do? Maybe they go on family hunting trips, play organized sports, or spend time alone in the backyard. New research shows...

Outdoor Play Canada, before its formal organization, was responsible for the development and release of the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play in 2015. This Statement had a significant impact on uniting the Outdoor Play sector, providing direction and a common purpose – promoting children’s healthy growth and development through outdoor play. To build on and...

On August 26, 2020, Tim Gill, an independent researcher and International Play Association member, and Robyn Monro Miller, President of the International Play Association, released their study report: 'Play in Lockdown: An international study of government and civil society responses to Covid-19 and their impact on children’s play and mobility'. The study collected data from 25...