About

Early learning and child care (ELCCs) centres are important settings for children’s outdoor play and for children to learn about their reciprocal relationships with nature, other creatures and natural elements.

In partnership with Indigenous organizations, elders, and partners that support and deliver ELCC programs across BC, we co-created locally guided and sustainable methods for supporting outdoor play and learning  in ELCC centres that provide full-time child care to children aged 3-5 years. The PRO-ECO 2.0 study builds on the PRO-ECO pilot study (launched in 2020) and includes four components: ELCC outdoor play policy, staff training and mentorship, parent, family and elder engagement, changes to the outdoor space. In this study, we:

• Co-created and implemented the PRO-ECO project in partnership with Indigenous-led organizations at 10 BC ELCC centres.
• Studied the PRO-ECO project’s influence on children and educators.
• Considered lessons and principles so that PRO-ECO project is feasible for other ELCCs.

Data collection took place between 2023 and 2024. Results from this study will be released throughout 2025 and 2026. We are grateful for the 10 participating ELCC centres and their enthusiasm and willingness to work with us.

Study Status

This study is now complete. Results from this work can be found under ‘Publications & Resources.'

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Learn more about PRO-ECO 2.0:

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2023 PRO-ECO 2.0 “PROmoting Early Childhood Outside”

Mariana Brussoni and Sheila Grieve talk about this exciting program supporting outdoor play in BC’s child care centres

Funding information

Funded by the Government of Canada: Employment and Social Development Canada 2022-2025

Publications & Resources

1. Plant recommendations for culturally-relevant child-friendly gardens and plant activities in early learning and child care centres | Poster series by Sheila Grieve

In this poster series, Sheila Grieve, a co-investigator on the PRO-ECO study, shares her research, knowledge and background in child development and ethnobotany, work that is informed by her Metis, Cree and Scottish ancestry. Please contact Sheila for more information and for permission to use: Sheila.grieve@viu.ca

Native Plants for the Playground and Their Traditional Uses. By Sheila Grieve, 2010.

Developmental Benefits of Plants in the Playground. By Sheila Grieve, 2010.

Child Friendly Salve Recipe. By Sheila Grieve, February 2024.

Creating an Herbal Tea Garden in Early Years Programs. By Sheila Grieve, 2024.

Tea Traditions. By Sheila Grieve, 2025.

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2. Trevor Hancock: Why we need licensed outdoor childcare [link]‍

3. STUDY PROTOCOL PREPRINT: Brussoni M, Ramsden R, Grieve S, Mount D, Fox E, Herrington S, Lin Y, Johnson SE, Lloyd J, Hill T, Elliot E, Mlieczko E, Lemire A, Scott L, Barrett A, Cottier E, Rice A. 2025. The Five R’s of Indigenous Research as a framework to co-design and evaluate an outdoor play program in early learning and child care centres: Protocol for the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside (PRO-ECO) 2.0 wait-list control cluster randomized trial

4. Children’s narratives of their outdoor play spaces at child care in the PRO-ECO 2.0 study.

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