The latest articles and ideas from Inspiring Scotland and our partners.
Being physically active is one of the most important things people can do to improve their physical and mental health. It can help prevent a range of non-communicable diseases, those associated with unhealthy behaviour such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and improves mental health and cognitive functioning, among other benefits. However, the new Step Up!
Read MoreTo mark this yearâs Scottish Women and Girls Sports week we want to highlight the positive impact of women and girlsâ participation in sports and physical activity through the Active Play Programme. Using a partnership approach it is enabling children, and adults, to participate in, and in turn lead on Active Play across Glasgow and
Read MoreThis month for the sixth instalment of our Botanics Blog series we hear from the two nurseries taking part in the pilot- Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE) and Edzell. Both nurseries share their own case study on a childâs experience of âThe Wee Gardenâ. Hearing about the difference this outdoor space has made to each
Read MoreThis month for the fifth instalment of our Botanics Blog series we hear from Caroline Walsh an Early Years Outdoor Learning Officer at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Caroline shares her experience of the project so far and the key learnings along the way! I came into this exciting research project full of ideas. I had a vision
Read MoreThis month for the fourth instalment of our Botanics Blog we spoke with Selvarani Selvaraja, a medical doctor from Malaysia, currently pursuing MSc Education (Early Childhood and Froebel) at The University of Edinburgh. Selvarani has been involved in this project as part of the research team, led by Dr. Lynn McNair, Head of Cowgate Under Fives Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Lecturer in
Read MoreThis month for the third installment of our Botanics Blog we caught up with Edzell Nursery and Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE), the two nurseries involved in the project, to see how the experience has been so far. Edzell Nursery is based within a church hall at Goldenacre very close to the Botanic Gardens. Being based
Read MoreWelcome to our first ever âDay in the Life Ofâ feature, in which Thrive Outdoors Fund Manager, Melodie Crumlin, talks about her first six weeks with Inspiring Scotland What has a typical day looked like for you? The work itself has varied from day to day. Some days have been spent connecting with the wider
Read MoreBlog 2 Read on as we share Blog 2 in our blog series on bringing Outdoor ELC to the Botanics in Edinburgh. This week’s blog contributor is Cath Ashby part of the learning team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Hi I am Cath Ashby and I have worked at the Botanics for 23
Read MoreBlog 1 This week sees the start of an exciting collaboration between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), Inspiring Scotlandâs Thrive Outdoors team, the University of Edinburgh and two Edinburgh-based Early Learning and Childcare settings; Edzell Nursery and Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE). Over the next six months the partners will undertake research as groups of
Read MoreTo celebrate Scottish woman and girls in sport week 2020 we decided to interview Anne- Marie, who is involved in the running of the Active Play programme at voluntary organisation FARE Scotland, on the importance of engaging girls in Active play. FARE Scotland (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) is a voluntary organisation working within
Read MoreIn this collaborative blog, Rachel Cowper of Thrive Outdoors and Central Scotland Green Network Trust’s Deryck Irving present the case for moving classroom teaching outside post-COVID-19. The response to the current pandemic has meant the introduction of new behaviours to many aspects of our day-to-day lives. The process of easing lockdown will require changed behaviours
Read MoreAs we move out of lockdown, embracing our outside spaces can help society recover and build resilience for the future, writes Thrive Outdoors Programme Manager Rachel Cowper. The online algorithms must be getting to know my reading habits of late, because I have come across many articles over the last few days discussing what the
Read MoreBy Jill Fraser, Community Play Performance Advisor Community is an old and deeply human idea. It is about sharing; people sharing experiences, sharing places and sharing hopes. We gain a sense of community early in our lives. For children, playing is intrinsically linked to a burgeoning sense of belonging to a bigger group of people
Read MoreBy Jill Fraser, Community Play Performance Advisor Inspiring Scotland exists to address poverty and disadvantage. The role of Play Rangers, our community play programme, in this work isnât self-evident. Yet giving children the opportunity to play outside, in their own neighbourhood, can reveal the damaging effects and true extent of child poverty in Scotland and
Read MoreThere is a saying, variously attributed to early environmental campaigners but likely a much older proverb from a wiser time and place, that goes: âWe do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.â Whatever its origins, the sentiment rings true and by its maxim we have failed our children
Read MoreScotland is beautiful. We have mountains and rolling hills, forests, meadows, sandy beaches and rocky bays. Our cities, towns and villages are rich with urban beauty too. In fact, with their abundance of parks and gardens, they are the greenest in the UK. It is a beautiful place to call home and should be a
Read MoreAt Inspiring Scotland, we want all of Scotlandâs children to thrive. We have been working in outdoor play since 2010 and we know that by playing outdoors, children grow, learn and develop, emotionally and physically, in the best possible way. In short, growing playing and learning outdoors is how children thrive. Thatâs why, after eight
Read MoreBy Juliet Robertson, Outdoor learning and play specialist, Creative STAR Learning The image of children splashing in muddy puddles or running, carefree through the woods, giggling in the way only happy children can, might seem like a nostalgic rural idyll to city dwellers in this age of social media and easy-access tech. But it doesnât have
Read MoreWe have lost something by scheduling ‘fun’ as part of our busy lives. Who remembers hopscotch? Climbing into a cardboard box? A stick that to you was a magic wand or a Light Sabre?  Who remembers just running through the woods or over the grass for no real reason at all? I am sure most
Read MoreRachel Cowper from our go2play fund urges us all to let children play outside in The Herald. With a sunny start to April and the longer days ahead, you might begin to see the streets and green spaces of Scotland filled with children and wonder: is it not always so? Sadly, like the rose-tinted memories
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