This article was originally published in Children, Youth and Environments 36(1), 2026

When we published our paper “Environmental Scan of Child and Youth Outdoor Play-Based Projects, Programs, Activities and Services Available in Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” pandemic-related restrictions were in full swing in Canada, and thankfully, educators and administrators were reacting by bringing the learning and play outdoors.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is thankfully in our past, this is unlikely the last time we will see a global pandemic in our lifetime. It is important we learn from and remember effective methods to support children’s outdoor play and learning in times of crisis, for children’s long-term health and wellbeing. Moreover, there remain lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and youth’s mental health. Compounded by the negative consequences of social media and excess screen time, we are witnessing a generation of children and youth struggling with their mental, physical, and social health and wellbeing. Supporting children and youth in getting outdoors for play and learning has been identified as one strategy for mitigating these challenges.

This environmental scan helped inform the 2021 Outdoor Play in Canada State of the Sector Report. That report served as a chronology of where the outdoor play sector in Canada has been since 2015 (and the launch of the 2015 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play), an account of where we are (as of 2021), and a map of where we need to go. That report was developed in partnership with 63 outdoor play experts from across Canada and reviewed by over 300 stakeholders. The report has since informed grant applications, advocacy campaigns, and national-level committee reports, as well as the strategic direction of Outdoor Play Canada, Canada’s national outdoor play hub. The State of the Sector Report additionally helped lay the foundation for the 2025 global Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, led by Outdoor Play Canada in collaboration with an 11-person leadership group with representatives from every inhabited continent, and a 143-person steering committee. That position statement has been endorsed by over 700 people and organizations from over 40 countries, has been translated into 13 languages, and is actively informing outdoor play research, practice, and policy efforts at a global scale! Notably, in the position statement, we identify several calls to action across sectors, including the need to integrate outdoor classrooms and nature-based learning into education systems.

Outdoor play and learning are starting to be more readily embraced in Canada. However, how to effectively bring learning and play outdoors so that students thrive and meet curricular goals is an ongoing challenge. Luckily, there are some major champions working to address these challenges and support educators in this worthy endeavor (see Dr. Zeni’s article on six actions school systems can take to support outdoor learning: https://theconversation.com/6-actions-school-systems-can-take-to-support-childrens-outdoor-learning-167745 as well as the newly released (and free!) outdoor learning teacher toolkit: https://www.outsideplay.org/tool-microsites/teacher-tool).

There is still much to be done to advance outdoor play and learning in Canada and internationally. Writing this environmental scan helped connect our team to educators, researchers, and other champions keen to support outdoor play and learning in Canada and abroad. This work highlighted the passion of educators in supporting outdoor play and learning, the wealth of resources that exist to support them, and the opportunities that abound to work together to foster the health and wellbeing of our future generations and of our planet.

References

de Lannoy, L., MacDonald, L., Barbeau-Julien, K., & Tremblay, M. S. (2022). Environmental scan of child and youth outdoor play-based projects, programs, activities and services available in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children, Youth and Environments, 32(1), 84-127. https://doi.org/10.1353/cye.2022.0004

de Lannoy, L. (2026). Reflections on: Environmental scan of child and youth outdoor play-based projects, programs, activities and services available in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children, Youth and Environments, 36(1), 22-23. https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/850