Communities can now access Play Charter and Mobile Adventure Playground toolkits for free

Today, The City of Calgary, the University of Alberta, Alberta Recreation and Parks Association and the Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women released the Play Charter and Mobile Adventure Playground toolkits to encourage municipalities to implement more play-related programming and offerings for their residents.

“A recent ParticipACTION report showed that opportunities for Canadian children to play freely outdoors is declining,” Says Heather Cowie, President of the ARPA. “We hope these toolkits will be used by communities to spur the implementation of play charters and mobile adventure playground programs to combat this decline.”

“The City of Calgary is pleased to offer these toolkits as resources to communities to promote child-led, unstructured, risky play for all children,” says Julie Guimond. “Both of these initiatives have helped The City work towards its mission to increase understanding, value, importance and participation in, for, and about play.”

“The Centre for Healthy Communities is committed to working with communities to use evidence to inform practice. Research demonstrates that play is vital to children’s social, physical, mental, and emotional development. This includes risky, unstructured, and child-led play. The Centre is thrilled to have partnered with The City and APRA to create these toolkits and support diverse forms of children’s play in all Canadian communities.” Says Nicole Glenn, Centre for Healthy Communities Senior Research Associate.

The ‘How To’ Create a Mobile Adventure Playground is based on the experiences of The City of Calgary during the creation of their Mobile Adventure Playground (MAP) program. Calgary initiated the MAP pilot program in 2016 with the goal to support child-led, unstructured, risky play for all children in the city. The MAP program arose in connection with the Calgary Play Charter and The City of Calgary’s hosting of the 2017 International Play Association triennial conference.

The ‘How To’ Create a Local Play Charter is based on the experiences of The City of Calgary who, since 2016, have facilitated the creation, signing, and ongoing appraisal of the Calgary Play Charter. The Calgary Play Charter is an excellent example of the strong and lasting effects that collective impact can have on a community.

The Play Charter and Mobile Adventure Playground toolkits can be found at www.arpaonline.ca/play-charter/.

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