During the school week, children and youth spend half their waking hours at school. Schools share the responsibility for making sure students get outside and get active during those times. Alongside instruction and programs, the built and natural environment of the school makes a difference for students’ health. Schoolyards Count! is a citizen-science project. A researcher...
The Great Trail, now consisting of more than 24,000 kilometres of multi-use trails, has launched a new campaign; Deeply Connected which will highlight the connection every Canadian has with the The Great Trail while showcasing the ways the Trail benefits our health, our economy and our diverse cultures. OUR MISSION: We will promote and assist in the...
BREATH OF FRESH AIR Outdoor Play Summit September 27-29, 2019 Ottawa, Ontario Are you passionate about providing a breath of fresh air to children through outdoor play? Join us for Breath of Fresh Air, a two-day Outdoor Play Summit where thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers can connect and share best practices. This innovative national forum on outdoor play takes...
The Canadian Public Health Association recently released a toolkit composed of infographics, research summaries, decision-making tools, promising practices, and a discussion document. The toolkit provides excellent resources and information on the importance of unstructured play, how to develop policy to facilitate play within schools and communities, and current research in the field of risky play....
OUTSIDEPLAY.ca is a fantastic resource for parents to explore and better understand risky play, why it is so important, and how to have the confidence to encourage risky play for children. The online tool guides users through a personalized journey, allowing them to determine their approach when it comes to risky play, decide what changes they...
More and more parents, practitioners, teachers, and researchers are interested in how nature can be beneficial for children as place to learn,play, socially interact, and become connected. A growing body of research published in the last decade shows promising results that regular classes in natural green environments (e.g. EOtC – Education Outside the Classroom) can...
Nature Canada, a national charitable organization has released a report titled Screen Time vs. Green Time” The Health Impacts of too much Screen Time exposing the negative impacts of screen time on Canadian children and providing suggestions to guide children away from screens, and towards nature. Report highlights and findings In an article summarizing the Screen Time vs. Green...
As we continue to understand the benefits of outdoor active play, and the consequences of screen time, research is expanding to explore the influence of outdoor play and screen time on specific areas of children’s health and development. A recently published study in PLOS ONE titled “Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in...
In 2019, the Best Start Resource Centre hosted their annual conference for service providers working on preconception and prenatal health, and early child development and education. The 2019 conference topics included guided play for language/literacy and spatial learning in young children. Learn more about the 2019 conference here....
Registration for Healthy Parks, Healthy People has just opened. The 2019 Healthy Parks Healthy People Forum will bring together parks and recreation professionals, health professionals, researchers, policy-makers, academics, students, trainees and community members to share the latest research, best practices, and progressive policies related to the human health and well-being benefits of nature. This includes both direct contact with nature...
