School Grounds for Healthy Play and Learning

– Research and Case Studies of Good Design and Teaching Excellence on School Grounds

Original date: April 28, 2011

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Presenter: Cam Collyer

Description: How might school grounds now have greater importance in a child’s development than 20 years ago? How far has the school ground movement in North America come in the past 20 years?   Cam will share some excellent examples of school ground design from North America and Europe and contrast them.  He’ll also share some approaches to teaching on the school ground that are working well and describe the momentum that, in some areas has school districts working in support of schools improving their grounds.

Age appropriateness:  K-12

Cam Collyer is Program Director at Evergreen, where he has played a key role in helping Canadian schools green their grounds in his work since 1997. Overseeing Evergreen’s award-winning Learning Grounds Program from the organization’s Toronto offices, Cam established a national network of school ground design professionals; guided seminal research into the benefits of school ground greening; supervised the creation of 17 publications that include how-to manuals and videos, case studies, lesson plans, plus an elaborate and unique suite of web-based content; developed a funding program that’s distributed more than a million dollars in grants to schools; and played a pioneering role in building partnerships with school boards to provide ongoing institutional support for school ground greening. An educator by training, he has a passion for play and learning in nearby natural environments.