We have all been maintaining physical distance from each other as we combat the spread of the coronavirus but that does not mean there has been a lack of physical activity.

Like many of us, Griff Longley has seen more families out and about exercising in local areas as the period of COVID-19 isolation stretches on.

He sees this as an expected – and welcome — result of people needing to find some space after spending a lot of time confined to home for school and work.

Griff, who is the chief executive of Nature Play, tells the latest instalment of Creating Communities’ Stronger Together series of video conversations that many parents have had a tough time balancing working from home with supporting their children learning at home.

He says the whole family can benefit from escaping outside, and Nature Play has useful resources for inspiration on how to spend time together. Easy suggestions include camping in the backyard, stargazing and getting out as a group for a lazy bike ride to nowhere in particular.

See the full range of resources for families 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.