Resources
Knowledge mobilization is an important part of increasing every child's access to outdoor play. Use these evidence-informed tools, stories and practice to support outdoor play in your community.
Tools
Outdoor Play Glossary of Terms
This document provides a compilation of terminology and concepts integral to outdoor play. The purpose is to be consistent in our use of terms and build a shared understanding of language used in dialogue on outdoor play across Canada. These are working definitions developed by Outdoor Play Canada founding members, the Lawson Foundation Outdoor Play Strategy cohort and a team of national and international advisors with expertise in play-based practice, policy and research.
The Nature Playbook
The Nature Playbook is a free and accessible resource/tool for outdoor play practitioners; it was published in July 2016 by the Canadian Parks Council. The book and its associated tools for implementation were created and designed by an intergenerational working group of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, all in support of increasing outdoor play in nature for all Canadians.
Download the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play
Download and use the Position Statement as an knowledge sharing, advocacy tool to support outdoor play in your community. Print on 8.5 x 11 paper with a 4/4 score and fold.
Take a risk, go play outside.
Outsideplay.ca is an online tool to help parents and caregivers confidently allow their kids to engage in more outdoor play. It was a collaborative initiative between University of British Columbia(UBC), BC Children's Hospital and the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit to support parents and practioners to find a more balanced approach to understand the importance of risky play and work towards a plan for change.
Stories
Peterborough Public Health
This is a story of one public health unit promoting play as a human right, design, well-being and equity issue. It includes collaboration, community engagement and comprehensive research to address play spaces in response to questions about falls prevention in children. Peterborough Public Health undertook an extensive review of evidence related to outdoor play spaces for children to interpret the research evidence on issues such as outdoor play, safety and risk, injury prevention, physical activity and physical and mental health.
Statement from the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health
Outdoor play is supported by Canada's national public health leaders. The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health (CCMOH) Statement supports and endorses the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play. Use this statement as an advocacy tool in your community to tell the story of how access to outdoor play is essential for every child's healthy development.
Practice
Outdoor play legal precedent.
A claim for compensation after a playground accident was been rejected in a precedent-setting legal case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2015. In the Thompson v. Corporation of the District of Saanich, The Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play was used as "social fact" and stated that, "risk-taking is encouraged within reasonable limits on the basis that children who never hazard a chance are unlikely to develop properly either physically or emotionally.