Save the Date! The Breath of Fresh Air Summit 2025 will run from September 25-27, 2025 at the Ottawa Forest and Nature School and Wesley Clover Parks Campground in Ottawa ON! This three-day Outdoor Play Summit will bring together thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers from across Canada and internationally to connect and share best outdoor...
Thank you to Sarah Forrest, second year journalism student at Carleton University, for providing this post. Outdoor risky play is key for childhood development, says Canadian Paediatric Society, but it’s not quite so simple. In a statement released on Jan. 25, CPS defined risky play as “thrilling and exciting forms of free play that involve uncertainty of...
This post was originally published on After Babel. Thank you to Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, for providing this post. [Preface from Jon Haidt:] In April 2023 I was invited to give a lecture at the University of British Columbia. As long as I was flying out to Vancouver, I wanted...
This article was originally published by the Canadian Pediatric Society. Safety measures that aim to protect children can become harmful when they are too restrictive, says Dr. Émilie Beaulieu, paediatrician in Quebec City and lead author of a new position statement on the importance of risky play. “Children should be kept as safe as necessary during play,...
POSITION: MSc / PhD Studentship Opportunity (through Carleton University) PERIOD: January 2024 (for 2 years - MSc, 3 years - PhD) SALARY: MSc: $20,000 annually + $1000 Professional Development Allowance – for two years PhD: $25,000 annually + $2500 Professional Development Allowance – for three years REPORTS TO: Dr. Mark Tremblay, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research...
The 2015 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play served as a galvanizing force for the outdoor play sector in Canada and inspiration for stakeholders globally. It brought together previously disconnected groups from education, community, health, environment, wildlife, ecology, law, and Indigenous rights that collectively shared a passion for outdoor play. The Position Statement provided direction...
Thank you to Dr. Louise de Lannoy, in-coming Executive Director of Outdoor Play Canada, for providing this post. When Outdoor Play Canada started the process of developing the 2021 Outdoor Play in Canada: State of the Sector Report, they envisioned the report consisting of three components: 1) a review of where the outdoor play sector has...
Thank you to Dr. Louise de Lannoy, Research Manager at Outdoor Play Canada, for providing this guest post. The 2015 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play highlighted the unequivocal benefits of outdoor play for children’s physical, mental, emotional, social and environmental health, well-being and development. The Position Statement invigorated the outdoor play sector, bringing together many...
Thank you for Dr. Richard Larouche, Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, for providing this post. Outdoor Play Canada was founded shortly after the release of the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, which stated that "Access to active play in nature and outdoors-with its risks-is essential for healthy child development. We...
Thank you for Dr. Richard Larouche, Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, and Dr. Ransi Nayakarathna, MSc student in Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge, for providing this post. As discussed in the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play (Tremblay et al., 2015), children who spend more time outside are more...
