Get Outside 101: Nature Play - Ideas for the Outdoors & More Ideas for the Outdoors!

With the support of Community Foundations of Canada and the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, we worked with the team at Helen Schuler Nature Centre to develop, print, and distribute Get Outside 101 - Nature Play Guides.

We recognized low income families may not have access to resources available online to support at-home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health and well-being was an increasing concern as many families struggled with the disruption caused by school closures and recreation facility closures. This caused undue pressure on parents, caregivers, and families in a stressful time.

We know that play is an integral part of healthy human development and that learning outside has a positive impact on human health and wellness, from infancy to adulthood. The list of benefits is extensive, including everything from mental wellness to physical health. Encouraging individuals to spend more time outside has never been more important! The report Youth Engagement with Nature and the Outdoors estimates Canadian children and youth are increasingly sedentary in their behaviour and spend less than one hour outside each day. Of even greater concern is that nearly half of all Canadian children are active outside for only 3 hours or less per week.

Our project proposed developing, designing, and printing Get Outside 101 Nature Play Guides for delivery to low income families as part of the Mindful Munchies program in partnership with other local agencies. We estimated that this educational resource would directly benefit 750 children in Lethbridge and their families. In addition, it would be widely available to or our community (via website), providing a timeless resource for our community on the benefits of time spent outside.

The project’s objective was to promote the benefits of being outside in nature while providing practical ideas for outdoor fun. We successfully achieved our objective and were able to do more than we originally anticipated!

Working with the staff team at Helen Schuler Nature Centre, weekly content was developed and released online so families had immediate access to resources during the pandemic. This content was adapted and repackaged into brochure format to allow for easier distribution to local families without internet access. This resulted in two unique brochures: ‘Nature Play - Ideas for the Outdoors’ and ‘Nature Play - More Ideas for the Outdoors.’

A portion of the Nature Play brochures were distributed to local families via two deliveries of the Mindful Munchies Program organized by the Lethbridge Food Bank and My City Care. This was done in partnership with several local agencies who provided activities as part of the food supplements delivered directly to families in need. Activity partners included: Holy Spirit School Division, Lethbridge School Division, Building Brains Together, Lethbridge Early Years Coalition, Lethbridge Play Charter, Lethbridge Public Library, City of Lethbridge Recreation and Culture department. The Nature Play guides provided families with resources during a time when many recreation facilities and schools were unavailable.

500 August Activity Bags were distributed at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, Lethbridge Public Library, and Tourism Lethbridge!

August Activity Bags included lots of great inspiration to get outside!

A portion of the Nature Play brochures are being distributed to local families via an August Activity Bag organized by the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. There are 500 Activity Bags made available thanks to a partnership with Lethbridge Public Library, Lethbridge Plays, Lethbridge Archaeological Society, Nikka Yukko Japanese Gardens, Lethbridge College - Be Fit for Life, City of Lethbridge Parks department, and the City of Lethbridge Recreation and Culture department. The Activity Bags will be available for pick-up for families visiting the Nature Centre in August.

The remaining Nature Play brochures are available as part of the brochure collection for visitors to the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. The Nature Play resources were developed to be timeless and can easily be re-printed to meet future demand. The resources are available for download from our website (download a digital copy now!).

In addition to the physical and digital Nature Play Guides, we adapted the content and printed signage that is now being deployed in Lethbridge Parks. Nature Centre volunteers are assisting with placement of temporary signs so they provide spontaneous encouragement for park users to add a little play to their day.

Thanks to the support of the Emergency Community Support Fund, from Community Foundations of Canada and Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, we were able to develop timeless community resources that encourage people to spend more time with nature while engaging in play – two activities that have life-long benefits!

The Friends of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre Society is supported by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta. We thank them for supporting the Get Outside 101 Nature Play Guides project!!