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Policy Practice Research

Health, Wellbeing & Development

Thank you to Cécile Tang (Project Coordinator) and Hannah Raudssus (Project Assistant) with the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play’s SPROUT-able Project, for providing this post.  On May 8th and 9th, two of us from the SPROUT-able team had the opportunity to attend and lead two workshops at the Early Years Outdoor Play Conference 2026 held in Espanola, ON. The conference was organized by Our Children, Our Future,...

08 June, 2026

Thank you to Cécile Tang, Project Coordinator with the SPROUT-able project at Outdoor Play Canada, for providing this post.  The SPROUT-able project is excited to share a series of free, bilingual videos and tip sheets designed to help early childhood educators (ECEs) and families support children with disabilities in outdoor play. Covering topics from risky play to sensory needs and...

02 June, 2026

This post was written by Louise de Lannoy, Michael Down, Javier Sayavera, Peter Bentsen, Richard Larouche, Eun-Young Lee, Leigh Vanderloo, Lærke Mygind, Trish Tucker, Avril Johnstone, Alessandra Prioreschi, Stephanie Prince Ware, Maeghan James, Arlene McGarty alongside the other 11 co-authors of this manuscript (see all names and affiliations below). Highlights Active outdoor play is linked with...

11 May, 2026

Thank you to CPCHE for providing this post.  Today is Healthy Environments for Learning Day (HELD)! We’re proud to join over 50 organizations in Canada calling for healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient outdoor learning and play settings for all children. Evidence shows that natural outdoor settings with tree canopies and natural surfacing are not only beneficial to...

23 April, 2026

Thank you to Learning by Nature for providing this guest post. Learning by Nature is a national movement of students, teachers, and school communities enhancing and stewarding nature on their school grounds. They support tracking biodiversity on school grounds and making small enhancements at a large scale. Last year, they funded 104 Student Climate and Biodiversity...

17 March, 2026

The importance of outdoor play and learning in the lives of children and communities has never been greater. Growing evidence reveals the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social benefits of outdoor activity for children. Despite these benefits, trends toward indoor lifestyles, urbanization, digital entertainment and schooling, and safety concerns have led to a notable decline in...

29 January, 2026

Thank you to  Dr. Richard Larouche, Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, for providing this post. Which factors predict outdoor play in Canadian 7- to 12-year-olds?   Previous studies and literature reviews have consistently found that children who spend more time outdoors are more physically active and generally have better physical, social, mental, and...

23 January, 2026

Thank you to Dr. Louise de Lannoy, Executive Director, Outdoor Play Canada, and Kim Hiscott, Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Fleck Children's Services, for providing this post. Why play outside when its cold? What are the benefits? The health benefits of outdoor play are clear and wide-reaching… but what about in winter time? Is it safe to play...

10 December, 2025

Thank you to Dr Monica McGlynn-Stewart, professor at George Brown College, for providing this guest post. In our recent article we discuss a three-year qualitative research study (2020-2023) in which we explored the impact on early years educators’ knowledge, perspectives, and pedagogies when introduced to Indigenous perspectives on Land-Based Learning in 10 urban preschool early learning...

25 July, 2025
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