Current Projects

There is strong evidence for the health and academic benefits of outdoor learning (OL) for children and youth, including positive impacts on mental health, cognitive development, connection to nature, levels of physical activity and academic performance. Yet, because of complex systemic and environmental barriers, the application of OL has been inconsistently integrated into mainstream pedagogical curriculum. Lack of access is most notable for minority and low-income populations. There is a need to better understand how to implement OL for all students. With the increased health risks related to the COVID19 pandemic, many schools have taken their classes outside and are implementing innovative practices in  delivering content within outdoor settings. These innovations represent a unique opportunity to examine what practices are being applied and whether they are effective to explore new ways for schools to integrate OL at scale. The purpose of this study is to capture the experiences of educators and students who are learning outdoors in response to pandemic restrictions and to apply the findings to identify new opportunities to implement successful practices more broadly. This study applies the bioecological model to a mixed method developmental evaluation that involves an interdisciplinary collaboration integrating methodological approaches from the field of education, psychology, biology and geography.

Less than one third of youth access the mental health and substance use services they need. Peer support is a promising practice that involves the promotion of well-being through the development of a supportive relationship between two individuals who share lived experience of a given issue. This study applies the Social Cognitive Theory with a participatory realist evaluation approach to examine the context, mechanisms and outcome patterns that result within the LOFT youth peer support services.