19 Jun Four Local Organizations Receive $167,500 to Reignite Outdoor Play

We’re thrilled to share the first round of projects to receive funding through the Free to Play program. 

Four local organizations received a total of $167,500 to support initiatives that will reignite unstructured, outdoor, child-led play across the Sunshine Coast.

2026 Free to Play Grant Recipients

Coast Farm School Society $52,500
After School Farm Play Program

“Once a child is inspired and empowered to play outside as one of their day-to-day options, they will invite others to join!”

Funding will be used to create a new after-school program on the Gibsons Farm for elementary school aged children. The program will offer local children an opportunity to play and explore outdoors instead of heading home (and oftentimes straight indoors). Part of the goal of this program is to empower kids to choose to go outside, when not on the farm, by showing them what’s possible. Programming will be offered at a subsidized rate all year round, starting the the fall of 2026.

Roberts Creek Community School Society $52,000
Xwesam Understory Incubator Project

“Bridging school and village life, the initiative fosters a shared culture of adventure across Roberts Creek and the Sunshine Coast.”

In partnership with Roberts Creek Elementary, the Xwesam Understory Incubator Project will transform an area of school grounds into a space for adventurous play and imaginative exploration. This work introduces locally sourced cedar as a climbing and play structure and builds a natural loose-parts library, directly supporting the Move, Imagine, and Connect framework. Additionally, funding will support a community town hall and student-led co-design sessions before construction. After installation, workshops for teachers and families will be offered, positioning the site as a sustainable, inclusive resource for child-led nature play.

Sunshine Coast School District 46 $52,500
L.E.A.P: Leading Educators in Adventurous Play

“By integrating activities that honour diverse strengths and identities, our project helps each child see themselves as capable and connected.”

SD46’s project will strengthen districtwide capacity for outdoor play by providing sustained mentorship for teachers. Educators will learn alongside play experts and local Knowledge Keepers, deepening understanding of land-based practices, risk-benefit thinking, and the transformative role of movement and play in child development. Through modelling, co-teaching, and reflective sessions, teachers will build confidence, creating safe, inclusive, and engaging outdoor learning routines. This project aims to equip staff with the skills, resources, and shared language needed to embed daily opportunities for exploration, physical activity, and joyful play, ensuring all students experience meaningful outdoor learning every day.

Sunshine Coast Teen Parent Education Society $10,500
Little Explorers: Growing Esprit’s Outdoor Play Culture

“By valuing inclusivity, dignity, and child‑led learning, our mission contributes to a long‑term cultural shift that recognizes outdoor play as essential to childhood, supporting children’s confidence, well‑being, and connection to the world around them.”

ESPRIT Daycare plans to enhance its outdoor‑play program by adding a loose‑parts component that supports creativity, problem‑solving, and collaborative play, while strengthening staff capacity, and welcoming broader community use after-hours. Free to Play funding will be used to focus on program elements that deepen children’s engagement and expand community access, creating more opportunities for children—especially those without access to safe outdoor spaces—to gather, explore, and play freely in an inclusive environment.

The Sunshine Coast Foundation is proud to be one of just 22 community foundations in Canada selected to deliver Free to Play, an initiative that will bring more than $350,000 in funding to support outdoor play projects for Coast children. A second round of funding will be delivered in 2027.

Free to Play is made possible through Community Foundations of Canada, Waltons Trust, the Lawson Foundation, and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

Learn more about the Free to Play program here.