Advocacy letter in support of the Lawson Foundation’s Policy Brief: Regulating Outdoor and Land-Based Learning as Early Learning and Child Care
Going outdoors with young children is beneficial. Indigenous people have learned on the land for many generations. Many outdoor early childhood programs have been modelled after Scandinavian and Northern European programs where children spend the majority of the day outside. In the last 15 years outdoor and land-based (OLB) early childhood programs have expanded across Canada.
Appreciating what outdoor programs can offer their children in terms of physical, mental, social, and emotional benefits, parents are keen to enroll their children.
However, OLB programs in Canada are not licensed as early learning and child care programs, meaning they do not fall under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program, which commits to reducing childcare costs to $10/day for families. The result is that such programs cost between $50-70/day for families and are therefore cost prohibitive for many. While there is a push to have OLB early childhood programs included in licensing, there is also the recognition that conventional indoor indicators and standards do not easily translate to outdoor contexts, and that OLB early childhood programs require unique educator training and safety protocols. Thus, it is argued that what is needed is the creation of a distinct licensing category for OLB early childhood programs in each province and territory.
To help advance this work, the Lawson Foundation developed a policy brief that outlines the unique features of OLB early childhood programs and includes a conceptual framework for developing a category of regulations and licensing for this type of program.
The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play (CCOP) and the National Panel on Regulating Outdoor and Land-Based Early Childhood Education (‘the National Panel’), a collective within the CCOP, are pleased to endorse the Lawson Foundation’s October 2025 Policy Brief, “Regulating Outdoor and Land-Based Learning as Early Learning and Child Care.”
Below is a link to our endorsement letter, available in English and French. The intention of this letter is to serve as a ready-to-use advocacy tool for engaging provincial and territorial decision-makers in Outdoor and Land Based Early Childhood Programs.