The Learning from Indigenous Perspectives: Land-Based Learning in the Early Years research project was a four-year initiative (2020-2024) based at The School of Early Childhood at George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario. It aimed to incorporate Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies into early years education. The project involved 20 educators from 10 childcare centres across Toronto. As the...
This project, part of the Lawson Foundation Outdoor Play Strategy 2.0, explored changes to provincial legislation in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) that would allow outdoor-based programs such as Forest and Nature Schools to operate as licensed Early Learning and Child Care programs (ELCCs). The NL government provided Cloudberry Forest School with an exemption to operate...
Applying an Indigenous Two-Eyed Seeing approach – taking the strengths from both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, this resource guide was developed by Katy Cameron, a First Nations female and MSc former graduate student with the HALO Research Lab, as an information tool for families, practitioners and professionals on environmental considerations when playing outdoors in...
The Elements Society is proud to launch Find Educational Resources Now (FERN)—a dynamic, centralized platform that connects educators and learners with environmental education programs across British Columbia and Alberta (for now!). FERN supports educators in fostering environmental literacy, resilience, and nature-connectedness, particularly in early childhood education. The interactive online hub features accessible, research-informed tools, lesson...
Elements Society is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring environmental action through education. By employing an interdisciplinary, systems-thinking approach, the organization highlights the interconnectedness of the natural world and our role within it. The Elements Society website offers a rich collection of resources—including lesson plans, professional development opportunities, and impact reports—designed to promote sustainability...
The Lawson Foundation’s Outdoor Play Strategy 2.0 (OPS 2.0) was a pan-Canadian initiative focused on building adult capacity to support outdoor play in early childhood education (ECE). This resource translates the evidence and learning from OPS 2.0 into a practical resource that ECE leaders—such as faculty, directors, and pedagogical leaders— can use on their journey...
In the fall of 2024, Outdoor Play Canada, as part of our Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play SPROUT-Able project, held a World Cafe with educators, community partners and families to explore the physical and social barriers and facilitators to outdoor play and learning in natural spaces. Checkout the graphic recording that summarizes that conversation, here: SPROUTAble_EN...
The Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play (CCOP) recently hosted a special webinar on the newly launched Outdoor ECE Framework, formally known as, Educators Teaching Educators: Canada’s Outdoor Early Childhood Education Continuous Professional Learning Framework. Developed by the CCOP, this innovative framework was brought to fruition using valuable insights from early learning professionals across Canada, with the...
Outdoor Play Canada and Children & Nature Denmark recently came together to present a special webinar on supporting outdoor play and learning for children disabilities. This session highlighted the ongoing work of two national outdoor play organizations and research findings on inclusive and accessible outdoor play and learning from both Canada and Denmark. To watch this...
Kim Hiscott, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Andrew Fleck Children's Services sat down with Debbie Groff, Child Care Deputy Senior Administrator for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) in Washington State. In 2021, Washington State became the first state in the US to license outdoor, nature-based childcare programs for preschool and school-age children....
