School forest initiative set to expand outdoor learning in Ontario

Students in Ontario could soon be learning algebra and grammar from the stump of a tree outside, in a new initiative that will see classrooms at 20 schools head outside.

The initiative is being led by the Re-Nature Foundation, with the creation of school forests, outdoor classrooms, curriculum integration, and teacher mentorship designed to connect students with nature while improving health, resilience, and learning outcomes.

“There are stump seats and milled benches that’s in the shade outside,” said founder Adam Beinenstock

“It provides a wheelchair accessible place for them to go that’s tucked into the middle of the forest and intertwined in it, so they have an easy way to get outside and teach exactly the same curriculum that they were teaching inside.”.

Outdoor learning has gained popularity in recent years, with Canadian studies dating back more than 10 years highlighting the benefits. 

Outdoor learning environments can significantly reduce stress and anxiety among students and teachers, strengthen environmental literacy, and support climate resilience, according to Beinenstock.

“The biggest change in students is the behavioral change ,” he said. “We see 87 per cent reduction in stress, up to 50 per cent reductions in substitute teacher rates when they use this for one class a day.”

The first cohort of schools is in County Renfrew and will see the program take place for two years, with an additional 1,800 schools supported in the coming years.

“Re-Nature’s holistic approach to designing and building regenerative environments that combat climate change and their focus on mentoring our teachers to deliver our curriculum is a proven recipe for success,” said Kristen Niemi, CEO of the Renfrew County District school board.

Schools must contribute 20 to 25 per cent of the funds and Re:Nature is responsible for raising the rest of the money. 

“The funding and expertise they bring to our partners provides our community with key tools to combat stress and anxiety by building the infrastructure of the future ,” said Niemi.

Re-Nature prioritizes communities where access to nature and outdoor learning environments is limited. 

“I don’t think that the burden on the poorest people in the country should be to have the best thing. Fundamentally, I believe that these interventions should be made available to those people,” he said.

 “We do the work at scale to go after national funding sources for portions of this work to make up the difference.”

The initiative also tracks data to measure impacts on student wellbeing, engagement, and environmental resilience.

Similar initiatives have been taking place in Canada for years. The first Canadian outdoor preschool opened in 2007 near Ottawa. 

In 2024, Langara College created an outdoor classroom in Vancouver to support its Early Childhood Education program.

In Winnipeg, Miles Macdonell Collegiate designed an outdoor learning space for its school students. 

According to the Forest School Foundation, the first known forest school was created in Denmark in 1952 by Ella Flautau. They soon popped up all over the country and caught on in Germany and Sweden around the same time, then began forming in the U.S., U.K., Japan, Italy, China, Australia, and New Zealand in the ‘90s and early aughts, and continue to do so today.