The Nature for Health and Equity Briefing, by the Friends of the Earth Europe and Institute for European Environmental Policy, provides an overview of the impact a lack of access to nature and natural areas has on health inequality. Topics in the briefing include: nature for children and adolescents, for well-being, for a sense of...
Play Training is a workshop led by PLAYLearnThink and is geared towards anyone whose work impacts children. Half-day workshops provide an overview of the importance of play for children's development and guide participants in engaging in loose parts play. Full-day workshops build on the half-day program and offer additional training in play-based concepts such as...
The More Active People for a Healthier World global action plan, by the World Health Organization, provides updated guidance and a framework of effective and feasible policy actions to increase physical activity across cultural, environmental, and individual factors. The report highlights the observation that investing in policies to promote play can contribute directly to achieving...
Several colleges across Canada have introduced nature-based pedagogy into their early learning and child care programs. These include: Algonquin College - Third year degree students in the Nature-Based Early Learning course at Algonquin College examine why governments should include the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play within early learning curriculum frameworks. Bow Valley College - They have recently...
YMCA's National Playing to Learn curriculum was expanded upon by YMCA of Southwestern Ontario to shift the focus of the program towards self-directed and unstructured risky play for children, to support children's curiosities and interests while also building their resilience and confidence. Their curriculum is rooted in research on the association between outdoor play and...
On June 9th 2015, ParticipACTION released the 11th Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. In that report the authors identified that 'the biggest risk is keeping kids indoors' and highlighted findings from the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play on the importance of outdoor play and outdoor risky play for children's health...
DASH (Dedicated Action for School Health) has created a resource to help support educators in bringing their classrooms outdoors, including an outdoor classroom checklist, tips for working with parents and school administrators, and links to other supporting information. Learn more about the DASH Outdoor Classroom here....
Nature Canada has created Nature HomeSchool, a library of outdoor learning and play resources and tools, to help educators, caregivers, guardians, community leaders, and learners learn and connect to nature. Check out the Nature HomeSchool Library here. ...
Child Nature Alliance of Canada (CNAC)'s online resource portal Thrive Outside now includes a Teacher's Guidebook for bringing learning outside. This resource includes a number of strategies, tips, and ideas, including how to meet your curriculum in the outdoors, document learning in play, proposing outdoor learning to your administration, and more! Check out the guidebook here. Read...
The Environmental Educators Provincial Specialist Association (EEPSA) in British Columbia put together a Position Statement on Education Outside the Classroom. In the Statement the authors outline the social, emotional, physical and academic benefits of spending time outside, recommendations on bringing education outdoors, as well as a call to action to discuss their recommendations, directed at...
