Decolonization & JEDI Resource Guide for Outdoor Early Learning and Play The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play (CCOP) is pleased to announce the launch of the Decolonization, Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in Outdoor Early Learning and Play Resource Guide. Developed as a companion resource to Outdoor Play Canada’s Educators Teaching Educators: Canada’s Outdoor Early...
We are beginning to plan the Breath of Fresh Air (BoFA) Outdoor Play Summit, scheduled for September 23-25, 2027, and we are seeking individuals interested in joining one of our planning subcommittees! BREATH OF FRESH AIR is a three-day Outdoor Play Summit where thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers come together to connect, collaborate, and...
Thank you to Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput, Senior Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, for providing this post! In a new commentary, entitled Nature as Medicine: The case for prescribing outdoor time published in Canadian Family Physician, the authors Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput and Dr. Mark Tremblay, Senior Scientists at the CHEO Research Institute, call for Canadian...
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, an opportunity for the public to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, the intergenerational harm they caused to Indigenous families and communities, and to honour those affected by this injustice. This federal holiday is an effort on behalf of the Government of Canada...
We are recruiting for two positions to join our Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play research-practice-policy partnership - a project coordinator and bilingual professional learning lead. Project Coordinator Position The project coordinator position is specifically focused on coordinating our SPROUT-able project, exploring how to support children with disabilities in outdoor play and learning in natural spaces! For more details...
Thank you to Tammy Potter, RECE, FNS Practitioner and Supervisor of Forest Explorers and Ottawa Forest and Nature School for providing this post! In 2025, Andrew Fleck Children’s Services, thanks to Lawson Foundation funding, partnered with Algonquin College on a year-long research project exploring the evolution of outdoor play and learning at our outdoor-focused early childhood education...
Thank you to Louise Zimanyi for providing this post. This article was originally published in the Conversation. In spring, on the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, young children, Anishinaabe storytellers and educators walk together with Aki (Land) and Nibi (Water). I’m a researcher and professor of early childhood and someone of French-Canadian and Hungarian descent living as...
Thank you to Ruth Berzins from the Madiha Foundation for writing this post. This blog post was originally published on the Madiha Foundation website. Just this spring, I learned about a Canadian nature-based prescription program called “PaRx” (which is the short form for parks prescription). I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to share some of the...
This article was first published by the Global Alliance – Cities4Children (www.cities4children.org/blog) and authored by Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari, Urban Hub @ Save the Children Between 2020 and 2026, Paris transformed 300 school streets, fully redesigning around 100 of them. This article shares key lessons from the ground and practical steps to help other cities plan and...
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...
