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...
Thank you to Dr. Nicholas Ravanelli and Dr. Shawnda Morrison for providing this post Are you feeling the heat this summer? The Active Heatwave study is being conducted by Dr. Nicholas Ravanelli (PhD, CSEP-CEP) and Outdoor Play Canada member Dr. Shawnda Morrison (PhD, CSEP-CEP), to investigate how children and adults perceive ambient temperature changes throughout the summer. Why...
On Friday, June 18th, OPC's Dr. Louise de Lannoy presented at the 2021 Virtual Play Conference, an annual educational conference held by the US Play Coalition. This year, due to pandemic restrictions, the conference was held online from April 1st to June 30th, 2021 with weekly networking events and presentations, recorded and available for viewing...
Thank you to Dr. Lauren Pinault, Statistics Canada, for providing this post. Greenness is linked to good health It may not surprise you to learn that living in areas that are surrounded by greenness, such as large trees, gardens, and natural vegetation, can be beneficial to our health. We have previously shown that higher levels of greenness around the home are associated with a lower risk...
You are invited to complete an anonymous survey on the major priorities and actions for the Canadian outdoor play sector (e.g., outdoor play oriented education, research, policy, organizations, community & youth programs) moving forward over the next five years. This survey is being done as part of a larger Outdoor Play in Canada State of the Sector Report, which will serve as an account...
Thank you to Susanna Abraham Cottagiri, Carleton University, for providing this post. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that only 9.3% of Canadian children and youth between the ages of 5 and 17 meet the recommended physical activity guidelines of 60 mins of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. Active school commuting behaviours, such as walking...
Dr. Sarah Moore, Dr. Michelle Guerrero, and Dr. Louise de Lannoy participated in the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) COVID-19 and Public Health Forum (virtual), with Dr. Mark Tremblay acting as Chair and Moderator of the symposium entitled: "COVID-19 Restrictions Linked with Adverse Movement Behaviours in Canadian children and youth". Dr. Moore started the symposium off...
Thank you to Josh Fullan, Director of Maximum City, a national engagement and education firm, for providing this post. In the second spring of what feels like an interminable coronavirus pandemic, nobody would blame kids and parents for surrendering to a just-gotta-get-to-summer feeling. Hope is hard to come by in the third wave of a plague...
On Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, Families Canada will host Active for Life in a new webinar highlighting findings from a recent study in childcare centres on the benefit of active play and physical literacy for helping children cope with stress, build resilience, and engage in a healthy lifestyle. This webinar is designed for practitioners. Learn more...
Thank you to Dr. Negin Riazi, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University, for providing this post. Children’s independent mobility refers to a child’s freedom to travel and play in their neighbourhood without the supervision of adults. However, there has been a steep generational decline in children’s independent mobility which is quite...
