Presenters: Deb Doncaster and Brenda Simon

Visit the Green Teacher website here for full details and to register.

Join Deb and Brenda as they walk through the highlights of EarthPLAY for Earth Day, a program focused on improving play opportunities for young people in schools and other community spaces. Hear more about the building movement to “reclaim recess” at schools and listen to testimonials from a local principal and teacher who’ve witnessed their students’ classroom behaviour, mental health and social interactions change for the better, thanks to enriched outdoor play programming. Recess, lunch-hour and after-school is often the only time children have available for outdoor, unstructured, self-directed play. However, a large percentage of schools have been limiting outdoor time due to cold/rainy weather, changes in learning priorities, concerns around perceived risk, etc. In Canada, only 9% of children receive the recommended one hour of physical activity per day. The statistics for other western countries are likely similar, but either way, it highlights a situation that we must all work on to improve, and schools are a great place to start.  There’s also lots of opportunity for better play in our local parks and neighbourhoods, even on our streets!