2025-2026 Outdoor Learning
Gear Fund

With our community’s generous support, Take Me Outside has created a new fund for educators working in lower income neighbourhoods so they can purchase outdoor clothing and footwear for their learners, helping children and youth get outside in ALL weather!

Applications are open until December 30th, 2025. You can click here to apply now!

Please feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca if you have any questions!

Overview

Outdoor learning offers numerous benefits for students, including well-being, learning, and belonging. But we consistently hear from educators who are working in lower income areas that one of the biggest barriers they experience in getting outside with their learners is a lack of warm and weather-appropriate clothing to keep their learners prepared and comfortable. 

Teachers have identified a need for support to help make outdoor gear available to students, noting that children often come to school unsuitably dressed for the weather which makes it challenging to take learners outside for learning (Oberle et al., 2021).

This is why we are starting a new Outdoor Learning Gear Fund - to help support Canadian educators directly with funds they can use to purchase outdoor gear for their learners. Removing barriers and increasing accessibility to outdoor learning is paramount, and this is one tangible way we can do just that!

The Outdoor Learning Gear Fund will provide $500 grants to 24 classes, supporting students who face socioeconomic barriers. Funding goes directly toward essential clothing items - mitts, boots, toques, jackets, rain gear, and more - so that weather is never a reason to stay indoors.

The application process for educators will be open until December 30th, 2025, and funding will be allocated in January 2026. 

Want to help more children and youth get outside? Donations are always welcome. Thank you for your generosity!

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Source: Eva Oberle, Megan Zeni, Fritha Munday & Mariana Brussoni (2021) Support Factors and Barriers for Outdoor Learning in Elementary Schools: A Systemic Perspective, American Journal of Health Education, 52:5, 251-265, DOI: 10.1080/19325037.2021.1955232

Funding Details and Criteria

  1. Eligible Entrants: This funding is open to educators working with a group of learners in K-12 public schools in Canada. The group of learners must include a minimum of 10 learners.
  2. Application period: Applications will be accepted November 13th to December 30th, 2025. Successful applicants will be notified and funds will be allocated by cheques to schools in January 2026. Funds must be used to purchase outdoor learning gear by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
  3. Criteria: Educators must demonstrate a need for outdoor learning gear and share how this gear will positively impact their learners and increase outdoor learning opportunities. Take Me Outside will prioritize providing funding to groups of learners in lower income communities and will also make a concerted effort to disperse funds widely across Canada. Successful candidates will be chosen by a Selection Committee. Educators must commit to following up with Take Me Outside in February to share a story/update of how the outdoor learning gear positively impacted their learners and an optional photo of learners using the gear. It is the responsibility of the educator to obtain media releases for any learners featured in photos. 
  4. Types of outdoor learning gear approved for purchase with this funding include: clothing such as coats/jackets, rain gear, base layers, footwear, warm hats (toques), mitts/gloves, umbrellas, sun hats and water bottles. If there is another type of gear your learners need, feel free to let us know in your application.



Donate

Want to help more children and youth get outside? Donations are always welcome. Thank you for your generosity! 

Outdoor Learning Gear Fund

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Take Me Outside is a charitable organization in Canada (Registration Number: 85069 5206 RR0001).