The biennial Breath of Fresh Air Outdoor Play Summit was first launched in 2019 by the Child Nature Alliance of Canada (CNAC), recognizing that in Canada (and internationally), there are few opportunities to bring those passionate about outdoor play together.

In 2020, CNAC asked if Outdoor Play Canada would be interested in taking over leadership of the Summit, given our interest in bringing together advocates, practitioners, researchers, and partner organizations to promote, protect, and preserve access to play in nature and the outdoors for all. We emphatically said yes!

This national outdoor play event takes place every-other-year in an open air environment. It features inspiring talks, hands-on workshops, and open conversations on the future of outdoor play in Canada and abroad. 

In 2021, the Summit was held online (there was this thing called COVID-19 that got in the way of it being held in-person), where we launched the Outdoor Play in Canada: 2021 State of the Sector Report.

In 2023, the Summit came back to being held in-person! AND we sold out – clearly, we were all excited to meet in person again. The theme that year was ‘Research, policy and practice – their intersections for the promotion of outdoor play‘. Aligned with our theme, we had a near equal balance between researchers, practitioners, and policy-oriented outdoor play folks attend the event. Some highlights included the incredible meals (included with registration!), our booth & research poster speed-greeting (for any of you who have attended a scientific conference, this was way more fun than the traditional poster session), and the unveiling of the almost-finished (now actually finished) Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, which is a research-practice-policy partnership between Outdoor Play Canada, AFCS, HALO, and Algonquin College. Also there was a scavenger hunt, a movie premiere, evening bonfires… and of course excellent entirely-outdoor workshops and presentations. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Mariana Brussoni, who shared her journey in getting involved in risky play research.

We cannot wait for 2025! Especially since we are looking to double our capacity and launch the 10-year update to the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, with our international leadership group with representatives from every inhabited continent (learn more about that initiative here).

Leading up to the 2025 Summit, we are working hard to incorporate feedback from previous Summits. Included in that feedback was the need to be more intentional and transparent about our commitment to the JEDI principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. For the 2025 BOFA Summit (and BoFA Summits moving forward), this means:

• Prioritizing the safety of all participants, ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, feels valued, respected, and safe in outdoor spaces 
• Fostering environments where justice, equity, and inclusion are not just ideals, but active practices that inform our decisions and interactions 
• A commitment to deepening Indigenous involvement, so that Indigenous voices are not only heard but woven into planning, advisement, and leadership 
• Addressing Truth and Reconciliation and striving to decolonize outdoor play, in an effort to honour Indigenous knowledge, history, and traditions  
• A commitment to transparency and accountability with clear communication being at the heart of our efforts to foster trust, collaboration, and lasting change. 

Have any other ideas on how to make the 2025 Breath of Fresh Air Summit a success? Email us! info@outdoorplaycanada.ca