A wealth of evidence shows that exposure to the natural environment and nature-based learning can benefit children's physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Despite this, children are spending less time in nature and nature-based learning remains an underutilised pedagogical tool. Several barriers are frequently reported by teachers,…

The Childcare PhysicaL ActivitY (PLAY) policy was an evidence-informed, eight-item institutional-level policy document targeting children's physical activity, outdoor play, and sedentary time. Nine childcare centers in London, Ontario, participated in this cluster, randomized controlled trial. Early Childhood Educators allocated to the…

Day camps are a powerful context for youth development. The American Camp Association and Leave No Trace have been integral in supporting youth development by identifying outcomes associated with participation in outdoor recreation. Recreation majors in the programming class used the camp as a service-learning component of the class that offered…

Based on a government document review, 25 stakeholder interviews, and 7 site visits, we examined how and why outdoor play became a focus of Scottish policy for early learning and care programs; we also documented opportunities and barriers to policy implementation. The outdoor play emphasis began as a bottom-up initiative, with a few early…

Research Findings: The Scottish government is in the process of transforming their early childhood learning and care landscape by doubling the number of free hours of childcare for families and by requiring that all children in care spend a significant portion of each day outdoors. Thus, the government is promoting outdoor play programs. We…

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they…

We describe experience with a pilot week-long, No-Child-Left-Inside (NCLI), outdoor program implemented in Cache Valley, Utah, in 2012. Through response analysis of a "pre-then-post" children's survey and a parent-completed demographic survey, we assess program effectiveness in raising children's enthusiasm for nature-related behaviors…

The majority of school districts implementing response to intervention use a systemwide, multitier model of delivery. This article describes the common features of multitier models and discusses the emerging evidence of their effectiveness. In addition, specific factors that schools should consider to enhance effective implementation of systemic,…

Taking Action Opportunities (TAO) is a curriculum that combines guided reflection, a focus on the local environment, and innovative use of wildlife technology to empower student action toward improving the environment. TAO is experientially based and uses remote cameras as a tool for schoolyard exploration. Through TAO, students engage in research…