Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026 **note change of date from the 26**
Location: On-line, Zoom
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm MST
Cost: $30.00 + GST
**Approved for PD funding and release time for Alberta Early Childhood Educators
Questions? Contact Christina at christina@getoutsideandplay.ca
In a recent survey of 200 early childhood educators, we heard these reflections:
"The children are already bored in the tiny space we have attached to the centre."
"Our outdoor space is on a rooftop, and we have no living things."
"We are an inner city centre that struggles with green spaces, I wish we could incorporate more."
This got me thinking about the limitations of your fenced-in spaces and how we could make it easier for you and the children you work with to go beyond the fence and out into the community to find engaging play spaces.
We also heard that you face barriers to going beyond the fence, such as a lack of confidence in supervising the children and insufficient support from colleagues and administration.
Luckily, I had just met Jenn Doeve. Through her business, Yellow Steps, Jenn is an expert at seeing the possibilities beyond the fence. She works with educators like you to build their confidence in taking children out into the community for play and learning.
This is why I am excited to share that we are offering an online event, Beyond the Fence: How to Start Exploring Your Community.
In this 90-minute virtual presentation, you will:
- Learn our 5-step process to plan your exploration
- Hear stories from the field that will inspire and challenge your ideas about going beyond the fence
- Come away with practical strategies to help you set yourself and the children up for successful explorations.
Community explorations are all about connecting children to the world around them, and through these explorations ignite their curiosity and promote deep play and learning.
Join us and get started with your plan to explore beyond the fence!
Christina Pickles
Christina an outdoor play advocate and founder of Get Outside and Play, an organization that ensures more outdoor play in early learning and care settings, schools, and communities through events, presentations, workshops, and consulting.
She has been supporting outdoor experiences with people of all ages for 20+ years and 8 years ago she pivoted her work to put play at the centre. She believes play is the best way children (and adults) connect with the land, their communities, their bodies and each other.
She lives along the Bow River and Calgary Alberta and can be found walking her dog Clover or chasing after her adventurous 10 year old.
Jenn Doeve
Jenn is a former bilingual teacher and the founder of Yellow Steps where she designs and facilitates place-based residencies for K12 schools. Born and raised in Calgary, her local residencies reconnect students and teachers to their area of the city, creating shared learning experiences that are memorable, meaningful, and aligned with curriculum outcomes. In her free time, Jenn loves trying out new recipes, reading about local history, and adventuring with her family.