Take Me Outside is back, and this year’s campaign theme is “Hope Grows Outside” - hope grows through our connections with nature, one another and our communities.

While Take Me Outside Day takes place on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, it is part of Take Me Outside Week (October 19–23), a collaborative celebration of outdoor learning that brings together educators, learners, schools, organizations and partners from across Canada and around the world.

Many students thrive in the outdoor classroom, whether it’s the change of pace, the fresh air or the opportunity to connect with nature. With so many opportunities to touch, smell, see and hear, the schoolyard can provide rich learning experiences that offer a welcome change from the four walls of the classroom for both students and teachers. This year, take it one step further and explore the entire week! The outdoor activities and resources suggested for Take Me Outside Week focus on Indigenous Knowledge, Environmental Learning, Take Me Outside Day, Health and Well-Being, and Reflection.

How do you get started with outdoor learning? Whether outdoor learning is new to you or you’re simply looking for fresh ideas and inspiration, we can help. Learning for a Sustainable Future, in partnership with Take Me Outside, conducted the webinar Learning Goes Outside: Getting Started to help educators prepare for Take Me Outside Week. The webinar highlights strategies for engaging students in outdoor learning and introduces resources and activities to help you get started. Whether you teach Math, the Arts or any other subject, the outdoors can provide meaningful opportunities to motivate and empower your students.

Grades K-3

Maple Trees and Marmots

This activity explores the effects of climate change on animals and plants through a role-playing game. During the game, students gain insight into how climate change may affect familiar plants and animals. After a round, a change in climate/habitat is introduced in order to illustrate how changes in weather can affect the plants and animals





Activities

• Get outside and play Maple Trees and Marmots. Students pretend to be marmots or ground squirrels on a food hunt. Their challenge will be to collect enough food to survive the winter
• Explore these easy, place-based learning activities and get students outside, rain or shine, to learn from the place around them
• Discover trees in your schoolyard with the Meet a Tree activity. This sensory awareness activity connects students with trees in a memorable way. Have students sketch their tree with as much detail as possible 
• Head outdoors with this Climate Change Scavenger Hunt to explore climate change and the many scientists who help with research

Grades 4-6

Be a Biodiversity Detective

Students investigate biodiversity of wildlife in their backyard or schoolyard by selecting and mapping out areas they expect to be high in biodiversity in part one. Part two uses a larger area to make observations about the area by using “biodiversity clues”. This activity centers around counting species diversity as a way to measure and explore the concept of species and ecosystem biodiversity. 

Activities

• Become Hula Hoop Detectives, students measure (count) the species diversity in different locations of your schoolyard or local park by using small groups and hula-hoops to define the study area for each group
• As fall weather spells changes in many schoolyards, invite your students to become savvy seed savers by identifying and gathering their own gems from the garden or nearby park
• Participate in a Climate Kids Scavenger Hunt; students take a hike and closely observe the nature around them. Have students start a nature journal to draw or describe each of their observations
• Get outdoors with Climate Connections, where students play a variety of non-competitive games that explore the connections between human actions, climate change, and positive and negative impacts on wildlife habitat

Grades 4-8

A Guide to Nature Walks

Nature Walks is a seasonal resource designed to help students build a deeper connection with the natural world. Organized around spring, summer, fall, and winter, each section combines science, creativity, mindfulness, and reflection. The guide introduces ecological concepts and pairs them with hands-on activities like poetry, drawing, leaf art, and sensory exploration. Each season also includes mindfulness practices, such as intentional walking or rest, along with reflection prompts that connect nature’s cycles to personal growth.

Activities

• Get outside and take an Autumn Mindful nature walk a chance to slow down and pay attention to the changing seasons while boosting your well-being
• Try your hand at Climate Change Dodgeball, followed by a discussion on how our actions can make a difference
• The Carbon Dioxide Game is a fun, active way to explain the greenhouse effect and human contribution to global climate change
• Natural Inquirer has students use interview techniques to research and write about an animal or plant affected by climate change. Get outside and locate the real plant or animal you want to interview.

Grades 9 -12

Our Well-Being in a Changing Climate

This wellness tool helps students engage in activities that encourage reflection on their thoughts and feelings about climate change. It guides them to envision a more positive future through local climate action stories and explore actions they can take to turn that vision into reality. It supports students in managing the emotions that arise from experiencing the effects of climate change and environmental issues.

Activities

• Have students explore the wellness tool to learn easy to use strategies to improve their anxiety in the face of climate change
• In this land-based learning activity, have students gather natural materials to create handmade paper and use the experience to inspire visual poetry while reflecting on their relationship with the land
• Learn What's the Value of that Tree by measuring the tree; you can find out the amount of carbon dioxide and pollution it removes from the air and the amount of stormwater it can help mitigate
• Getting Outdoors with Physics provides students with an opportunity to go outdoors and collect primary data around motion and its applications. Students will record the time required for a vehicle to drive through the drop-off area of a school, which will lead to discussions about commuting, vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency

About Learning Inside Out

Above you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released biweekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page, so you can always access the full catalogue.

Some of the activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database, simplified and adapted for both outdoor learning in the school yard or at-home as needed. The activity descriptions above should contain all the information and links that you need!

If you'd like to view the full original resource on R4R, including curriculum connections for every province/territory, click the activity title.

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.

Use the feedback button at the bottom of this Guide, or email us at info@LSF-LST.ca. We would also love to see photos of students engaging in the activities, please e-mail us any pictures or videos you have!

Follow us on social media for continued weekly highlights & other exciting opportunities through the school year!

Please share widely with any parents and teachers in your life!