This post comes from Ms. Alison Whiting, Research Analyst with the Engineering Health Lab, University Health Network A research team based at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network in Toronto, is conducting a study on national/provincial park accessibility in Canada. The intended outcome of this research is to make recommendations to improve access at these...
This article was originally published by PlayCore. The world’s population is changing. The global population aged 60 years or over numbered 962 million in 2017, more than twice as large as in 1980 when there were 382 million older persons worldwide. The number of older persons is expected to double again by 2050, when it is projected to reach nearly 2.1...
Thank you to Dr. Tanya Halsall (University of Ottawa) and Dr. Louise de Lannoy (Outdoor Play Canada) for providing this post. This article was originally published in The Conversation. An important incidental change that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic has been our collective rediscovery of the outdoors. As we begin building back better, we have an opportunity...
Thank you to Carrie Millar, Dr. Jennifer Leo and Dr. Kelly Arbour Nicitopoulos for providing this post. Launched in 2019, Promoting Inclusive Play in Alberta (PiPA) is a collaborative initiative between The Steadward Centre for Personal & Physical Achievement at the University of Alberta and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. The aim of the initiative is to...
July 29, 2021 A new report from the Lawson Foundation and Outdoor Play Canada, 'Funding for Outdoor Play in Canada' - released today - identifies funding trends as well as current and potential funders of outdoor play. Based on an environmental scan, a grant seeker survey, and interviews with funders, this report outlines the drivers of...
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 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...
On Friday, April 16th at 12pm EST, Outdoor Play Canada will be hosting their next townhall. At this meeting, we will discuss the equity, diversity, and inclusion process among outdoor-oriented organizations. We aim to have an open conversation about this process. We aim to listen and learn, share interesting thoughts and ideas, and gather informational stories...
Thank you to Eun-Young Lee, PhD, School of Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Stephen Hunter, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and Mark S. Tremblay, PhD, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada,...
'The role of PLAY in the self-reported healthy movement, school experiences and well-being of Canadian children and youth', is an analysis from Maximum City's COVID-19 Child and Youth Study, an ongoing survey of 2,100 pairs of children/youth and parent/caregivers on children and youth's behaviours, school experiences, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this analysis, the...
