The Government of Canada launched the Healthy Communities Initiative, a $31 million investment, to support local government, charities, Indigenous communities, and non-profit organizations in transforming public spaces into safe, accessible, and vibrant community hubs. This initiative aims to promote a sense of community as places of belonging, social cohesion, and collective identity, and aims to...
ReImagine RREC (Renew, Retool, Engage, Contribute) is a national COVID-19 recovery initiative led by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) and its partners and is supported by Sport Canada and the Government of Canada. ReImagine RREC aims to support administrators, policymakers, practitioners, and volunteers working in recreation, parks, and community sport to return to sustainable...
Thank you to Dr. Mark Tremblay, chair of Outdoor Play Canada, for providing this post. Active outdoor play for children and families is an ideal antidote for COVID-19 transmission and coping mechanism for related restrictions - provided that public health guidance is followed. Outdoor play can help to cope with, contain, and combat COVID-19 – but...
On February 1st, 2021, the Great Trail hosted an expert panel on boosting mental health during the winter as part of their #Blahs2ahhhs campaign. Their four experts shared insights on the importance of getting outdoors in all seasons to boost mental health and provided ideas on how to stay active and healthy - mentally, physically,...
From January 23-24, 2021, the International Association of Children's Active Play and Sport (CAPS) hosted an online workshop entitled 'Designing Effective Non-Contact Active Play & Physical Education Activities for Children’s Classes' to support educators, physical education and sport coaches in delivering non-contact, fun and educational active play and physical education games during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among...
In a recent article for The Conversation, Professor Patrick Lewis and Master's student Whitney Blaisdell from the University of Regina, describe preliminary findings from their survey on play (or the lack thereof) during the pandemic, and provide recommendations on how to support play at home as we move forward into the new year. The authors make...
Over the winter holiday season, Milner Gardens & Woodland is encouraging families to get outdoors for play by creating a '12 days of Outdoor Play' challenge. The challenge encourages families to get outdoors every day for at least 30 minutes per day, 12 days in a row from Monday December 21, 2020 to Friday January...
The Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Annual Conference, hosted by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, aims to exchange ideas and engage in activities focused on sustainable city-landscape interactions. Topics covered in the virtual 2020 conference included: children, youth, and the environment, Indigenous knowledge and wisdom, sustainable urban design, urban-rural linkages, and vulnerable resilient and climate justice...
The Great Canadian Hike, a media campaign by The Great Trail, encouraged Canadians to experience the Great Trail of Canada and connect digitally during COVID-19. Canadians across the country were invited to participate in Canada’s largest coordinated, collective hike by logging (online) sections of the Great Trail for a chance to win prizes. Over 100,000...
To reduce the spread of COVID-19, public health authorities across the country have recommended that Canadians keep their distance, wash their hands, and stay home. To enforce these measures early in the pandemic, restrictions on outdoor behaviour were implemented, limiting access to parks, playgrounds, conservation areas and recreational outdoor spaces. Counterbalancing efforts to create more...
