More than $200,000 is being invested in local programs designed to help children spend less time on screens and more time exploring, imagining and playing outdoors.
The funding comes through Free to Play, a national initiative led by the Community Foundations of Canada and supported by the Waltons Trust, The Lawson Foundation and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.
The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough is one of 22 community foundations across Canada participating in the first round of the program, which aims to expand opportunities for outdoor, child-led play.
Local funding will support five organizations selected through a participatory grant-making process that brought applicants together to determine how funding could best serve children and families in the region.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns about declining outdoor play opportunities for children and increasing screen time, trends organizers say can affect physical activity, creativity, social development and mental well-being.
Among the projects receiving support is Camp Kawartha, which plans to bring nature-based play directly into schools through seasonal outdoor sessions using natural materials such as logs, stones, branches and fabric. The organization will also offer free community pop-up events in neighbourhood parks and develop a demonstration nature play landscape at its Environment Centre.
GreenUP will use its funding to co-design a loose-parts play area at Ecology Park with direct input from children who will use the space. Students have already begun mapping the site and developing surveys to guide the design process.
Meanwhile, Compass Early Learning and Care will integrate more outdoor free-play opportunities into its programming while providing staff training and coordinating a lending library and community network focused on outdoor play.
The Peterborough Child & Family Centres will expand its existing outdoor drop-in programs and launch a series of workshops aimed at helping families understand and embrace risk-based play.
Funding will also support a land-based cultural initiative led by the Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association. The program will provide Indigenous children with opportunities to participate in seasonal camps, traditional games, canoeing, forest exploration and snowshoeing, guided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Transportation assistance will also be available to help families access programming.
Organizers say one of the initiative’s strengths is the collaborative approach among participating organizations. Through a shared community of practice, the groups will meet regularly to exchange ideas, discuss challenges and learn from one another.
The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough says the program reflects a growing recognition that meaningful outdoor play is essential to childhood development and that community partnerships can help ensure more children have access to those experiences.
As a multi-year initiative, organizers say they expect to share updates on the projects and their impact as they continue to develop across the region.
