Canada’s four-season climate means that spending time outdoors year-round requires a lot of gear — from waterproof rainwear to warm winter layers. While outdoor play is essential for children’s development and well-being, not everyone has equal access to the clothing and equipment needed to enjoy time outside safely and comfortably. High-quality outdoor gear can be expensive...
Thank you to Yousif Al-Baldawi, BSc, MSc student at the University of Ottawa, for providing this post. Are Outdoor-Focused Childcare Programs Safe? A Look at Injuries in Canadian Early Childhood Education Programs Injury Statistics in Outdoor Compared to Conventional Early Childhood Education (ECE) Programs in Canada: A Lay Summary Outdoor play is widely recognized as essential for children’s...
Thank you to Taylor Bradbury, CHEO HALO Research Group Placement Student, Carleton University BHSc, for providing this post. It is widely accepted that time spent participating in outdoor physical activity (OPA) can have a positive impact on adolescent well-being, including mental health1. But how much OPA should youth be getting, and to what extent does it...
Get Outside and Play and Nature Play are hosting the Outdoor Play in the Early Years Conference again this year, May 2-4, 2025, in Calgary. There will be something for everyone. Whether you stay within the fenced yard or venture out to local natural spaces, the 28 sessions will inspire and offer new ideas. The conference starts...
Outdoor Play Canada is looking to hire a full-time Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play (CCOP) Fellow for one year to build capacity and thought-leadership for outdoor play stakeholders. As the CCOP Fellow, your role will be to lead advocacy and thought-leadership initiatives for the promotion of outdoor play in the early years, in collaboration with...
Save the Date! The Breath of Fresh Air Summit 2025 will run from September 25-27, 2025 at the Ottawa Forest and Nature School and Wesley Clover Parks Campground in Ottawa ON! This three-day Outdoor Play Summit will bring together thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers from across Canada and internationally to connect and share best outdoor...
BREAKING NEWS. Outdoor Play Canada, the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the CHEO Research Institute, Andrew Fleck Children’s Services, Algonquin College and the Canadian Disability Participation Project have recently been awarded funding for a 4-year project to address challenges in the built and social environment for outdoor play and learning in natural spaces for young children living...
Congratulations to OPC Board Member, Dr Mariana Brussoni, who was awarded the 2024 Joe L Frost Award for distinguished research at the US Play Coalition Conference in Indiana held April 16-18, 2024! In the mid-2000s, Mariana dared to push back against the accepted attitude that play should be 'as safe as possible' instead of 'as...
Thank you to Sarah Forrest, second year journalism student at Carleton University, for providing this post. Outdoor risky play is key for childhood development, says Canadian Paediatric Society, but it’s not quite so simple. In a statement released on Jan. 25, CPS defined risky play as “thrilling and exciting forms of free play that involve uncertainty of...
This post was originally published on After Babel. Thank you to Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, for providing this post. [Preface from Jon Haidt:] In April 2023 I was invited to give a lecture at the University of British Columbia. As long as I was flying out to Vancouver, I wanted...
