50 results for group: health-and-wellbeing

Participatory research with children and educators to support the scaling of outdoor learning practice

In this workshop, we describe research that was designed to capture the experiences of educators and students who were learning outdoors during the pandemic to identify opportunities to implement successful practices more broadly. The study involved three stages: 1) interviews with educators and students, 2) collection of geographical data of school contexts and 3) an environmental scan focused on policy solutions. We will describe the overall study with a focus on the participatory approach and findings related to student and educator wellbeing. Interactive discussion will focus on findings from student experiences of outdoor learning and identific...

Building capacity for outdoor play and learning: Introducing Teacher.Outsideplay.org as a professional development framework

This workshop will support teacher leaders who are interested in facilitating professional learning around outdoor play and learning using the Teacher.Outsideplay.org tool. The framework for this tool was developed by experienced teachers across the province of British Columbia and exemplars of what outdoor play and learning looks like in elementary schools were submitted by teachers from across Canada. Participants will be introduced to 4 thematic components and 16 individual modules of the tool that will support facilitation of outdoor learning in elementary schools across Canada using a train the trainer model. The Teacher.Outsideplay.org tool for ...

Outdoor Play-Based Learning

This hands-on workshop will explore outdoor play-based learning, including the role of the educator, fostering children's self-agency in play, the outdoor play-based learning continuum and the conceptualization of a play-based experiential learning model. Participants will be guided through hands-on experiences, small break out groups, and larger discussion to explore the content and potential of play as an emerging pedagogical current in the outdoor learning field.

Forest and Nature School for All

Dynamics of power and privilege created by colonialism and white supremacy culture have seen the Forest and Nature School (FNS) movement thrive to serve mostly white, settler families across Turtle Island. Together, we will unpack questions of for whom and by whom when creating forest and nature school programs, while deepening awareness around how to dismantle white supremacy culture and decolonize outdoor programming. Through storytelling, play, and considering the ways power and trust play a role in outdoor learning, this workshop aims to collaboratively build knowledge towards creating safer and braver outdoor spaces for BIPOC children and ...

One year in: Our journey launching the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play

Outdoor play and learning in the early years are essential for physical, mental and environmental health and development. However, efforts and best practices surrounding outdoor early childhood education (ECE) learning and play are rarely shared across sectors to effect sustained change. In 2023 we launched the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, a centre of excellence in outdoor practice, research, and policy to mainstream outdoor play and learning. One year into this project, we aim to use this workshop to share our progress and seek input from all those in attendance, including on the launch of our national outdoor ECE framework.

Listening to the Land, Learning About the Self: A Relational Experience

With the intention of listening to the land and learning about self, this workshop weaves together literacy, drama, multiple learning styles, ecological awareness, art, mapping, and movement, thus enhancing overall well-being. Slowing pedagogy down, we foster a deep kinship with each other and with the land, awakening an awareness of the world in which we live, how it functions, how we fit into the larger community of life, and our role in the great story of the universe. Five outdoor experiences are offered for exploration: nature journals, sit spots, five senses poetry, find your way, and wild art.

Nature-based physical activity: Fostering human-nature connectedness with young people in Kindergarten to Grade 12

Nature-based physical activity can offer an accessible and alternative teaching strategy to enable educators in K-12 schools to teach children and youth outside on a regular basis. Nature-based physical activity is defined as physical activities that are done in natural spaces, require little specialized equipment, can be participated in by most youth, are cost-efficient, have connection to nature as a focus, and can be implemented by teachers on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. This workshop will feature several hands-on activities that can help teachers foster human-nature connectedness for their students close to school grounds and in their local ...

Healing in Nature – Introducing The National Healing Forest Initiative

Breaking free of the walls which confine us can lead us in to nature, a space where we can heal, learn, and reconnect with ourselves and each other. The National Healing Forest Initiative founded by Patricia Stirbys, a Cowessess First Nation Lawyer, and Peter Croal, a Geological Consultant, after the findings of the 2015 Truth & Reconciliation Report, is an opportunity upon which you may wish to act as well. This workshop explores what and where the Healing Forests are and how they can fulfil a call to action towards reconciliation, addressing the 60's Scoop, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls, and Residential School Survivors and the ones ...

Playing in Dirt Builds Grit! – the importance of all types of play for the mind and body

Four different types of outdoor play will be presented in this workshop: imaginative play, risky play, intentional play, and free play. Participants have the opportunity to 'play,' explore, and discuss each type of play themselves as they imagine how their students might engage with the provocations presented. (Primary/Elementary)

Pivoting in Place

Hoping to integrate nature and place-based learning into the curriculum meaningfully? Still trying to figure out where to start? In this workshop, Hillary will discuss her experiences developing place-based curricula in urban and non-urban settings highlighting the need to pivot based on what is accessible to educators and their students. Participants will also learn core routines depending on place and space and the importance of the emergent curriculum when looking to extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom.