UpLift for Healthier Generations, a policy initiative focused on unstructured outdoor play for children and youth in Nova Scotia, aims to promote community contribution to physical activity and complement school physical activity policy. The policy development framework of UpLift consists of the following: Examine child health and well-being in communities Develop a definition of unstructured...
Streets for Pandemic Response & Recovery, by the National Association of City Transportation Officials and Global Designing Cities Initiative, is a report that provides cities with strategies to redesign and adapt their streets for new uses during the COVID-19 pandemic and in recovery. Among their recommendations is the prioritization of policies and network strategies for...
From 2015-2017, Vivo for Healthier Generations implemented its Play Ambassadors pilot outdoor play program in north-central Calgary. The goals of this program were to: 1) Increase unstructured, outdoor play through the creation of enriching environments for play. 2) Increase the quality of unstructured, outdoor play by training community members as Play Ambassadors in an evidence-based curriculum for...
The 'create nurturing outside environments: supporting infant and young children's free movement and active play' project by Regroupement des Centres de la Petite Enfance de la Montérégie (RCPEM) provided information and training to six pilot communities to address limitations in outdoor play, outdoor play spaces, and parental attitudes to outdoor play. They developed and tested...
Rockyview Play is an outdoor play space consultant firm that designs and builds nature-based projects for schools, communities, developers, municipalities, day care centres, and private clients. Their outdoor nature-based designs include the Dermot District Park Natural Playground in Edmonton, the Natural Playscape in Banff, and the Nellie McClung School naturescape model in Calgary. Learn more about...
The Wanuskewin Heritage Park interpretive playground in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, designed by Earthscape Play in collaboration with Crosby Hanna & Associates, was designed as an inviting space for children to explore and challenge themselves while making subtle connections (gathering circles, bison sculpture, rubbing rock) to the cultures and stories of the many Indigenous Peoples who have...
Mentoring Nature Connections is a British Columbia-based blog dedicated to supporting teachers in gaining confidence with outdoor teaching and learning. Resources on this site focus on Reggio-inspired practices, including: Student-led learning Collaboration between parents, teachers, other community members Use of '100 languages' to communicate Environment as a third teacher Teacher as a facilitator Loose parts...
The Lion and The Mouse, a Montreal-based community organization that facilitates outdoor play programs in the city, offers Pop-Up Adventure Playgrounds in line with the work of Pop-Up Adventure Play. By introducing loose parts and inviting children to lead the way, these Pop-Ups encourage the re-appropriation of public space for play and nurture a culture...
Spotlight: Creativity, A 2020 HundrED research report, by the LEGO Foundation and hundrED, highlights leading education innovations from around the world, including the Walking Curriculum, a Canadian initiative led by Gillian Judson that aims develop students’ Sense of Place and enrich their curricular learning through 60 different walks. Check out the full Spotlight Creativity Report here....
Room to Play Consulting, led by Megan Zeni, aims to transform children’s experiences of school through outdoor play and learning, shift perceptions towards play as a legitimate pedagogical approach, and support teachers in getting more kids outdoors more often. Room to Play offers professional development for teachers on all things outdoor play that includes: Cross-curricular...
