Funding for Outdoor Play in Canada supports funders and grant seekers in finding common ground and building partnerships to advance the multiple issue areas that overlap with outdoor play. To find out more about current themes and trends, read the full Funding for Outdoor Play in Canada Report here....
WILD CHILD is an free outdoor play program for families run by childREACH in London, ON. The program is run three times per week all year round (no matter the weather) and is held in local wooded areas to support play in natural settings. childREACH recently developed a new component of their program called WILD...
Recreate Place provides strategic planning, facilitation, design services, and activation support for communities that want to engage with children and youth to create better outdoor spaces and neighbourhoods. Child-friendly approaches are at the core of their work. They create age-appropriate, responsive processes that prioritize the meaningful participation of children and young people. They meet children where they are! Learn...
In 2017, Peterborough Public Health undertook an extensive review of evidence related to outdoor playspaces for children in response to an observed increase in playground injury rates in Peterborough compared to the rest of the province. The review focuses on evidence related to the benefits of outdoor play, safety and risk, injury prevention, physical activity,...
Get Outside & Play is an Alberta-based organization that supports nature connection and outdoor experiences for young children. Resources include online training sessions on play and learning, inspirational blog posts, as well as how-to guides on topics such as dressing for the weather, teaching the 4 elements, and outdoor play for parents and children. Check out...
The Benefits of Being in Nature factsheet by the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Nova Scotia Health Authority summarizes evidence on the benefits of being in nature including the benefits of outdoor play for children's healthy movement, which references the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play. Also included in the factsheet is a list of...
UpLift for Healthier Generations, a policy initiative focused on unstructured outdoor play for children and youth in Nova Scotia, aims to promote community contribution to physical activity and complement school physical activity policy. The policy development framework of UpLift consists of the following: Examine child health and well-being in communities Develop a definition of unstructured...
The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute is an organization that strives for excellence in primary prevention and knowledge translation, transfer, and exchange. Their knowledge products include pages on Play and Risk in Play, with definitions, tips, and resources (including a webinar featuring Outdoor Play Canada leadership group member, Dr. Mariana Brussoni). See the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute's Play page...
KidActive provided secretariat support for a collaborative leadership model to co-ordinate and gather existing and potential resources, social networks, data, opportunities and insights to further the reach and deepen the impact of the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play across Canada. KidActive convened the Canadian Outdoor Play Working Group, which evolved into Outdoor Play Canada....
From 2015-2017, Vivo for Healthier Generations implemented its Play Ambassadors pilot outdoor play program in north-central Calgary. The goals of this program were to: 1) Increase unstructured, outdoor play through the creation of enriching environments for play. 2) Increase the quality of unstructured, outdoor play by training community members as Play Ambassadors in an evidence-based curriculum for...
