Levelling the playing fields (LTPF) is a project by the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre (MUEC) and the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal (ESPUM) to deploy free-play pilot interventions in five Canadian communities using two innovative models of re-allocating urban space in favour of young children: the school street and the play...
The new imaginative, educational, and playful wildlife series, 'Zamzoom's Animal Adventures', is now available online in Canada for streaming in both the TVOkids website and TVOkids Youtube channel. The series follows Zamzoom, an intrepid space alien, and his robot partner Orbie as they travel around planet Earth discovering wildlife and exploring what makes each species unique, all...
The Great Trail of Canada has released their 2019-2020 Annual Report, highlighting the many projects and successes across the country including increased accessibility, expansion of greenways, and support for Indigenous-led projects. Read the full report here....
Between 2016 and 2018, EcoKids worked with 6 school communities in the Toronto District School Board to implement the OPAL pilot program. The Transform Lab, led by Dr. Raktim Mitra, Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University, evaluated that pilot project. The researchers found that the OPAL program led...
On July 13, 2020, the Lawson Foundation released a statement on the importance of outdoor play as a public health strategy to support the reopening of early learning and child care (ELCC) centres, and for children's development and learning. The statement was prepared with input from public health and ELCC sector advisors, and includes guiding principles...
Andrew Fleck Child Services, in partnership with Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group and Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, is constructing a multi-purpose iconic building on National Capital Commission (NCC) property, with the goal of promoting children’s play and learning outdoors on a regular and repeated basis. This building will house three primary functions: ...
During the COVID-19 closure of the Andrew Fleck Ottawa Forest and Nature School, the education team launched a blog to continue nurturing the connection between children, their families, the land, and each other. With school and some programs back up and running, the blog has morphed into a place to share specific supports to Take the...
Adapted with permission from Ottawa Public Health. Ottawa Public Health has put together a guideline on how to get active and get outside safely during COVID-19. They provide guidance on precautions to take when using sidewalks, streets, multiuse paths and dog parks. The guideline also includes a useful chart to help identify who can be safely active...
The Government of Canada has put together the Risk mitigation tool for outdoor recreation spaces and activities operating during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist those responsible for parks and outdoor recreational places and programming (e.g. federal/provincial/territorial and local/municipal authorities, Indigenous leadership, sports and recreation organizations and coaches and leaders) in considering risks associated with operating their...
The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) put together a shared folder of COVID-19 resources to promote knowledge sharing and provide support for the parks and recreation sector in their efforts to address the challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions. In this shared folder there are templates, tools, and guidelines including those...
