Join Our Outdoor Early Childhood Education Community of Practice
The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play collaborative invites those interested in outdoor early childhood education to come join our community of practice!
Our community of practice is geared towards early childhood educators across Canada that are interested in and/or already in support of regularly bringing children outdoors.
The overarching ethos is to promote collaboration, avoid duplication of efforts, empower practitioners to promote outdoor play opportunities across a variety of settings, and ensure outdoor ECE programming is culturally appropriate and place-based.
Some specific goals include the development of quality indicators for best practices in licensed outdoor ECE programs and the development of an outdoor ECE needs assessments to inform the ongoing development and evolution of outdoor ECE resources and tools.
The CCOP Community of Practice hosts online and hybrid quarterly gatherings focusing on discussion and engagement around various topics related to outdoor play and learning. You can access recordings of the presentations on Outdoor Play Canada’s Youtube Channel.
Past & Upcoming Gatherings
| Gathering Theme | Description | Date | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Outdoor ECE Framework | An online celebration and discussion on one-year since the launch of Canada’s Outdoor Early Childhood Education Continuous Professional Learning Framework. Together, we will explore the Three Rooted Principles from the Outdoor ECE Framework and how they are coming to life in early learning spaces across Canada. Hear stories of success from the CCOP network, and be inspired by students from Algonquin College’s Play, Learn, and Teach Outdoors Certificate as they share how their capstone projects embrace innovation and the Rooted Principles in meaningful, practice-based ways. Bring your own stories, experiences, and curiosities—your voice and reflections are what make this community flourish! | Upcoming (December 2025) | |
| The 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play | At the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play Community of Practice October 2025 gathering, Dr. Louise de Lannoy presented the 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, highlighting how early childhood educators may see themselves in the Position Statement and the many calls to action. | October 2025 | Recording |
| In Person Gathering (Ottawa) | April 2025 | N/A | |
| Supporting Outdoor Play for Children with Disabilities | On November 18, 2024, Outdoor Play Canada co-hosted an interactive webinar in partnership with Children & Nature Denmark on Supporting Outdoor Play and Learning for Children With Disabilities. The webinar began with an overview of our respective projects, transitioned into break-out groups (not recorded), followed by a summary discussion of the conversations in those breakout groups on how to support children living with disabilities in outdoor play and learning in natural spaces. | November 2024 | Recording |
| Launch of the Outdoor ECE Framework | In this webinar by the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, the authors of the Educators Teaching Educators: Canada’s Outdoor ECE Continuous Professional Learning Framework describe the process of developing the framework, its intention, its current use, and our dreams for the future. | November 2024 | Recording |
| Interview with Debbie Groff | Kim Hiscott, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Andrew Fleck Children’s Services sat down with Debbie Groff, Child Care Deputy Senior Administrator for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) in Washington State. In 2021, Washington State became the first state in the US to license outdoor, nature-based childcare programs for preschool and school-age children. In the interview, Debbie shares insights on that process and discusses ways their model may inform licensing outdoor childcare in Canada. | October 2024 | Recording |
| International Day of Play Celebration | “Safe as Necessary, Not as Safe as Possible” — The Canadian Paediatric Society recently released a position statement on outdoor risky play, urging members to add risky play to their “clinical toolbox” to help manage many of the common challenges they see in clinical practice. The Statement recognizes that risky play is essential to children’s development and wellbeing. Join this panel to explore what this Position Statement means for Canadian children and their families. | June 2024 | Recording |
| Environmental Kinship: Inspiration and support for learning in nature | In this webinar, we explore how online documentation can capture and communicate the learning that takes place in outdoor spaces. The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play joins to discuss inspiration this webinar can provide in relation to the Outdoor ECE Community of Practice and the development of Canada’s Outdoor ECE Continuous Professional Learning Framework. | January 2024 | N/A |
| Risky Outdoor Play Webinar | This Risky Outdoor Play Webinar featured talks from three research groups on projects measuring risky play among children and participatory planning in outdoor space design that includes elements of risk. | May 2023 | Recording |
Not quite ready to join, but still looking for ways to engage? Share what you feel is important for outdoor pedagogical practice here.