partnering for outdoor play: a case study of forest and nature school programming in the context of licensed child care in ottawa, ontario

abstract

this case study examines the policy significance of a partnership between two organizations committed to improving children's learning and wellbeing through the delivery of a forest and nature school (fns) program offered in the context of a licensed childcare program in the province of ontario, canada. the notion of the anthropocene is taken as a theory and practice framework which emphasizes the urgency for developing new educational strategies that respond to the current moment of ecological crisis facing human and more-than-human planetary communities on earth. methodologically, the case study is taken up through the lens of action research, wherein the leaders of the two partnering organization participated as co-investigators of the project. findings of the study suggest that best-practice policy in early-years forest and nature school programs broadly include, among others, the following: understanding a continuum of fns pedagogies, working to influence regulatory disconnections between built and natural play environments, and advancing social and ecological justice values through fns programs.