Children’s
Lands Canada
Children’s Lands: A Global Movement for Empowering Young Change-Makers
Children’s Lands is an international initiative inviting adults to donate land to children and support them in collectively designing and creating a vision of the world they want to live in. Through this process, children discover their ability to build a more sustainable and equitable future, recognizing their role as valued members of society.
Children’s Lands Canada (CLC) is proud to be part of the Children’s Lands Global Network, led by Asociación para la Niñez y su Ambiente (ANIA).
Recognized by UNESCO as a model for Education for Sustainable Development, the Children’s Lands approach is child-centered, child-owned, and child-driven. This methodology fosters a deep connection to the natural world, empowering children to make decisions that benefit themselves, their communities, and Mother Earth. By collaborating with nature, children cultivate environmental stewardship, resilience, empathy, critical thinking, practical skills, self-awareness, and a profound sense of belonging.
UNESCO is the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
Children’s Lands in Action
Fostering Learning Through Connection with Nature
Research shows that children learn best when they are actively engaged and connected to their surroundings. At Children’s Lands Canada (CLC), we collaborate with parents, educators, and community organizers to provide spaces where children have autonomy over a natural environment. These lands become valuable pedagogical resources for children and their parents, guardians, teachers, and program facilitators.
As children and young people take on the role of land stewards, they actively participate in decisions that bring positive change to their environment. This hands-on engagement allows them to align with the earth’s natural rhythms and cultivate meaningful relationships with the natural world.
CLC extends its gratitude to the organizations, schools, and families who are helping children connect with nature and embrace their role as stewards of the land.
Planting Seeds of Hope
Thunderbird River Land: A Living Legacy of Hope and Creativity
Since 2009, Planting Seeds of Hope (PSOH) has been working with local children to create Thunderbird River Land, Hands to Hands—Canada’s first Children’s Lands site. What began as an empty paddock has blossomed into a vibrant, child-designed sanctuary. This beautiful space now features a grape arbour, a birch tree circle, a cedar hedge, a mini fruit tree orchard, a children’s greenhouse, a perennial garden, a sunflower house, a bean tipi, a strawberry garden, a mud kitchen, a naturalized sand play area, a climbing stump circle, a gathering space surrounded by Saskatoon berry trees, and a thriving children’s community garden that is planted and harvested each year.
The children have also played a key role in transforming a barn into a warm, welcoming, year-round meeting space for the community. Thunderbird River Land is a testament to their creativity, collaboration, and stewardship, providing a space where imagination and nature thrive together.
Click here for information on Planting Seeds of Hope INQUIRE NOW
Niwasa Early Learning
and Child Care Centre: Nurturing Connection Through Indigenous Pedagogy
Niwasa Early Learning and Child Care Centre (NELCCC) offers licensed childcare for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, guided by an Indigenous pedagogy and cultural curriculum rooted in the seasons and medicines of the land. This approach helps children feel a deep sense of belonging within the circle of creation.
As the first education organization in Canada to adopt the Children’s Lands methodology, NELCCC has empowered children to reimagine their surroundings. “The program empowers our children with the confidence and skills they need to grow their own food, while facilitating a personal connection with the Earth,” says Ketmanee Pradabsri, Early Years Manager. “Through Children’s Lands, the children have transformed their classroom and outdoor play space into a place of beauty that is significant and meaningful to them.”
Click here for information on Niwasa Early Learning and Child Care Centre LEARN MORE
Niwasa Head Start Preschool: Cultivating Connections with Land and Culture
Niwasa Head Start Preschool offers a culturally inclusive, land-based learning environment for urban Indigenous children aged two-and-a-half to five. The curriculum fosters meaningful connections with Mother Earth and encourages the development of strong relationships with the natural world.
As part of their cultural curriculum, Niwasa children visit the Children’s Lands Canada headquarters regularly. Each year, they plant, care for, and harvest sections of the children’s gardens, while also taking on creative projects that benefit themselves, others, and the environment. Their imaginative contributions have included a bean tipi, a sunflower house, and a bug hotel.
It is a privilege to collaborate with Niwasa and to witness the wisdom and unique perspectives their children bring to the land.
Click here for information on Niwasa Head Start Preschool LEARN MORE
Children’s Lands in Home Settings
Inspiring Children to Transform Their Communities
The primary goal of Children’s Lands Canada (CLC) is to inspire and equip children with the tools they need to bring the Children’s Lands program to any environment.
The photographs above showcase some of the many children who are nurturing a Children’s Land in their home communities.
CLC proudly recognizes these young stewards for using their creativity, energy, and talents to design natural spaces that enrich the lives of their families and communities.
Training and Certification
Empowering Educators Through Children’s Lands Training Programs
Our training programs provide educators and facilitators with an in-depth understanding of the Children’s Lands methodology—a framework that has been successfully implemented in various countries for over 20 years. These courses explore essential topics such as current practices, underlying philosophies, environmental concerns, innovative thinking, engagement strategies, the value of coherence, and the importance of recognizing children and young people as valued members of society.
Designed to support children of all ages, the CLC methodology aligns seamlessly with "How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years." Participants benefit from comprehensive course materials, including manuals, electronic resources, and presentations. Upon completion, they receive a certificate and gain access to ongoing mentorship, support, and a vibrant network of educators and community leaders across Canada.
Coming soon: Online Certification Course
Family Inspiration Days: Gateway to Children’s Lands
Family Inspiration Days are designed to introduce parents and children to the Children’s Lands initiative, offering them the tools and inspiration to bring the program to their home environment.
During the visit to the Children’s Lands headquarters in Middleport, ON, families will tour the grounds, hear stories of transformation, and witness the remarkable impact young children have had on the land. Facilitators will lead nature-based games and activities, followed by an “environmental diagnosis” and a “group visioning session” for children. This interactive process allows parents to observe and gain confidence in guiding similar activities at home.
Whether you’re eager to support your child in creating a Children’s Land at home or simply want to enjoy a day connecting with nature, meeting other families, and learning about the program, Family Inspiration Days are the perfect introduction to Children’s Lands.
Click here to register for our next Family Inspiration DaysFAMILY INSPIRATION DAY - REGISTER NOW
Children’s Land International
Children’s Lands International is an initiative run by ANIA (Associacion para la Ninez y su Ambiente), a nonprofit founded in Peru in 1995. ANIA’s vision is that every school in the world recognizes Mother Earth as a powerful teacher and essential staff member and, in turn, creates an outdoor classroom where she can work with all children. In the words of ANIA founder Joaquín Leguía, “Who better to teach about life than life itself?”
In 2015, Peru’s Ministry of Education adopted the Children’s Land methodology as part of its national curriculum; it is currently in 6,000 schools across that country. Two years later, the methodology was incorporated into the national curriculum of Ecuador, where it is now in more than 3,000 schools. ANIA is aligned with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, of which there are seventeen total. ANIA is working to create an eighteenth goal, Active Empathy for Life.
Click here for more information on The Sustainable Development Goals LEARN MORE