A Classroom in the Forest
March 22, 2022Catching frogs and counting butterflies – a day in school for some children in Ottawa.
A densely forested site within city limits, will soon be home to a new, innovative Forest and Nature childcare centre. The facility will welcome 49 children, including 10 infants, 15 toddlers, and 24 preschool children, and will offer a unique approach to early childhood education.
The underlying theme of the program is the interpretation and appreciation of nature, with an emphasis on outdoor activity throughout each season, including winter. In many schools, exploring a forest and playing in the mud is only reserved for recess or field trips. At the Forest and Nature Child Care Centre, educators will support children in outdoor play, investigate the biodiversity of the forest, and build deep connections to the land through regular access to the natural environment. Children will spend approximately half of their day learning and exploring outdoors.
The centre will also contain research offices for Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at CHEO, and other associated organizations to help break down the barriers to unstructured outdoor play in Canada.
