The Child Nature Alliance of Canada (CNAC) Forest and Nature School Practitioners Course is a year-long certificate course that consists of both in-person outdoor, experiential learning, as well as online self-directed learning. CNAC has been offering this course since 2012, adapting and improving it each year based on participant feedback and the ever-evolving Forest/Nature School...
Thank you to Jade Harvey-Berrill, Outreach and Events Manager for CBEEN & The Outdoor Learning Store, for providing this post. This post was originally published on the North American Association for Environmental Education website. Over a decade ago now, inspired by their local towering mountains, boundless lakes and streams, and dense forests, educators from across the...
Join Okanagan College on May 16th, in collaboration with Bow Valley College, Saskatchewan Polytechnic and New Brunswick Community College, and colleagues at the YMCA and University of Fraser Valley, for a virtual conference called Outdoor Pedagogy: Change makers from diverse perspectives. The full day virtual conference features keynote speaker Dr. Rebecca Isbell, acclaimed ECE author of...
Thank you to Louise Zimanyi, Professor of Early Childhood Education at Humber College, for providing this post. As we mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2021, we honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. In reflection, Professor Shirantha Beddage spoke to Louise Zimanyi and Lynn Short about Humber's...
Thank you to Chloe Dragon Smith and Robert Grandjambe for providing this post. This article was originally published in briarpatch Magazine. Standing on the shores of Pine Lake, the wind ruffles my hair, rippling the surface of the water with the same gentle tendrils that envelop my body. We are one, the lake and I. We always...
Congratulations to OPC Leadership Group member, Dr. Mariana Brussoni, on her new appointment as Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the University of British Columbia! Dr. Brussoni's appointment follows the recent leadership of Dr. Marin Guhn and Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl, as well as the leadership of Dr. Clyde Hertzman, the founding director of...
On April 13th, 2021, the federal and Nova Scotia provincial governments announced they were allocating $7 million for the creation of new, or enhancement of existing, outdoor learning spaces in ~250 elementary schools in Nova Scotia. A government news release outlined that "Schools will be asked to ensure that the spaces are aligned with curriculum and...
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...
Thank you to Louise Zimanyi and Olga Rossovska, Professors of Early Childhood Education at Humber College, for providing this post. "I Speak Frog: Storying Seasonal Narratives of Children’s Common Worlds" is part of a special peer-reviewed series published through the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario's eceLink. The full article can be accessed here. The special...
The Lawson Foundation is a National family foundation which focuses on the healthy development of children and youth. One of their major goals is to support children’s access and opportunity to connect and play in nature. In October 2018, the Lawson Foundation brought together 125 experts and leaders from various sectors at the Outdoor Play and Early...
