This article was originally published on the University of Lethbridge website. Parents today likely won’t be surprised to know their children have far less freedom to travel in their neighbourhoods than they did. But what they might not know is how that could affect their children’s mental health. Dr. Richard Larouche, a Faculty of Health Sciences professor...
Over the next 4 years, our colleagues at the University of British Columbia will be collaborating with Green Communities Canada, alongside Université de Montréal, Queen's University, Toronto Metropolitan University, 880 Cities and Centre d’écologie urbaine to evaluate School Streets in communities across Canada. The team will work together to build a greater understanding of the impacts...
Join us, June 27th 4:30-7:30pm at 415 Corkstown Rd in Ottawa to celebrate the grand opening of Forest Explorers, a licensed program of Andrew Fleck Children’s Services and home of the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play! The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play and Forest Explorers – a multi-use building located on 900 acres of National Capital...
BREAKING NEWS. Outdoor Play Canada, the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, Andrew Fleck Children’s Services, Algonquin College and the Canadian Disability Participation Project have recently been awarded $1.7M for a 4-year project to address challenges in the built and social environment for outdoor play and learning in natural spaces for young children living...
Thank you to Nathan Zhang, summer student at the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, for providing this post. On June 11, 2024, we will celebrate the first-ever International Day of Play! This will mark the beginning of an annual global awareness day adopted by the United Nations in collaboration...
Congratulations to OPC Board Member, Dr Mariana Brussoni, who was awarded the 2024 Joe L Frost Award for distinguished research at the US Play Coalition Conference in Indiana held April 16-18, 2024! In the mid-2000s, Mariana dared to push back against the accepted attitude that play should be 'as safe as possible' instead of 'as...
Thank you to Dr. Ulises Charles Rodriguez, Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Calgary, and Dr. Richard Larouche, Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, for providing this post. The last few decades have been marked by increasing global migration, with millions crossing boarders in search of refuge, more opportunities or improved standards...
The 16th edition of the Report Card, Rallying for Resilience: Keeping Children and Youth Active in a Changing Climate, highlights how the current and impending effects of climate change could be particularly harmful for children and youth’s physical activity. Unfavourable weather and climate conditions like heatwaves, heavy rain and smoke-filled air can lead to recesses...
Thank you to Dr. Debra Harwood, Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Brock University, for providing this post. Researchers from Brock University are inviting Nature educators/individuals to participate in a research project on outdoor nature-based programs, entitled Outdoor and Nature-Based Early Learning in Canada: Revisiting the Scene Post-Pandemic. For this study, an outdoor nature-based program...
Thank you to Dr. Michelle Bauer, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Laura Cunningham, undergraduate student in the department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, for providing this post. A wealth of research demonstrates that there are developmental benefits for children’s participation in competitive...
