Organised sport and play may be on hold but there are still many opportunities for children and families to spend time outside.

Nature Play chief executive Griff Longley wants to emphasise that despite the uncertainty in our lives because of the coronavirus pandemic, nature has not been cancelled, and we should still be looking to get outside and enjoy our natural surroundings.

In his contribution to Creating Communities’ Stronger Together series of video conversations, Griff tells us that the forced physical isolation the health crisis has imposed on us also presents a big learning opportunity for children and parents.

For parents, it is an opportunity to set an example, and show their children that we can always control how we respond to a situation. He says we still have choices and responding in a positive way will help build the groundwork for resilience.

Griff says now more than ever it is important that we maintain and reinforce compassion, and that we remember to be looking out for those around us.

Griff and the team at Nature Play have curated a range of self-isolation resources for families. You can access them here: https://www.natureplay.org.au/resources

Griff Longley is a community development professional and chief executive at Nature Play WA, a not-for-profit agency which works to encourage children in outside play and exploration. He is a director of Lifting Horizons, which runs a midnight basketball program for at-risk youth in WA. Griff was previously a columnist and reporter at The West Australian newspaper.

This is part of Creating Communities’ series of video conversations with prominent Australians offering insights and wisdom on coping with the challenges this pandemic presents for all of us. It is a key part of our “Stronger Together” approach to the COVID-19 crisis as we work to bring people and communities together to help each other through this testing time.