Our story
It all started with one woman hanging out flyers in the winter of 2006. She just wanted her daughter to have other kids to play with like she did when she was a kid, outside in all kinds of weather.
Kari and her daughter spent some lonely days the first winter. They were alone in a frozen empty city park. She even resorted to bribery, enticing parents and children passing by to stop for hot chocolate, coffee and homemade Norwegian waffles.

Activekidsclub.com started as an outdoor playgroup in Oriole Park in 2005 in Toronto, Canada. It has now matured into the website that you see.
Today we strive to provide you with information about everything you need to know about connecting children and adults to nature and play. You don’t have to live out in the country to be connected to nature; Activekidsclub.com also focuses on urban nature. No matter the weather, we will show you joyful and fun outdoor activities to do in all the four seasons.

Is Activekidsclub.com green?
It seems the focus on being green and limiting our carbon footprint pervades the media with feelings of doom and guilt. Where does one start? Am I doing enough? All we ask of anyone is to just celebrate the nature we have around us. Though the issues are huge, we want everyone to just start with enjoying being outdoors. Walking, biking or simply just playing outside doesn’t use a lot of energy or creates emissions. Simple activities like growing a small portion of your own food, harvesting and eating in seasons not only connects you and your children to nature, it gives you joy and it is good for the environment. We think that as you get more connected to nature the choices you make will change to help protect what you have.

Join the movement
Activekidsclub.com’s mission is to connect like-minded parents like you. That is why we have added a forum for parents to connect and exchange wisdom.

Start an outdoor playgroup or join an outdoor playgroup
Our website has blogging tools for group leaders as a way of managing and informing their outdoor playgroup members. We have resources to help and support your group, and other parents that can answer your questions from their experiences. We are proud to be a grassroots movement and are expanding to help create critical mass to get kids outside again.

We welcome your stories and photos which we recieve from parents around the world. They are sharing their outdoor stories to inspire others to follow their lead or just to teach a new fun game.
Interested in contributing? Send Kari an e-mail.
Don’t know why it is so important to connect children with nature? Read Fresh Air Living by Kari and our other resources.

Kari Svenneby
Founder of Activekidsclub.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kari is not a professional tree hugger though she is a proud wildcrafter. She is an urban mother, librarian and classically trained chef championing the benefits exposure to nature gives children.

Kari is a love refuge from Norway. She moved to Canada to join her filmmaker husband and raise their children in Toronto. Being that Kari is Norwegian, her husband is from Florida and they live in Canada she likes to call three places her home. Norway, Florida and Canada. Her education and different cultural background gives her a unique perspective on culture, nature lifestyle and parenting.

She speaks Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and English, speaks and understand some German and understands enough French to never go hungry in Paris.

She is so passionate about getting kids outside, Kari made it is her business. When looking for inspirational ideas about the natural world in magazines and online she found very little. Her passion turned into a business idea. She has set out to make an exciting website connecting children with nature for adults and kids.

Russell Gienapp
Media contact for Activekidsclub.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Russell is a two time Gemini nominated Director of Photography in the film and television industry. He feels lucky to make his living doing what he loves in life. Being a cinematographer demands skills both creative and physical. His office ranges from steamy tropics to icy winter conditions where he has learned the importance of having the proper gear.

Raised on a horse farm in Minnesota, he thanks his childhood for introducing the outdoors to him at an early age. His experiences as a child fueled his imagination and his exposure to the outdoors supplied his passion and physical skills he uses everyday in his work.

“I have thought about how important it was for me to fall a lot as a child. I was thrown off horses, I fell out of trees and I have had "yard sale" wipe-outs downhill skiing," said Russell, "It has given me the agility and confidence (both mental and physical) that help me get the images that my clients demand. It may sound silly to say, but I want my daughter to fall as much as I did when I was growing up.

Debra Scott
Graphic designer and online moderator for Activekidsclub.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Debra designed our logo for Activekidsclub.com. She has been a strong power in the Activekidsclub.com community, both in the online world and as organizer for the Beach Club outdoor playgroup in Toronto. She is also the head moderator of our forum, and the one to contact for community support. 

Debra is a mother of two kids, actor, teacher, graphic designer and an outdoor convert. Debra has travel and lived in Europe and Asia before settling down with her husband Brad in Toronto.

She grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories camping, fishing, sailing and swimming in Great Slave Lake in the summers and snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. Debra is one of Active Kids Club’s first converts, now she is an avid champion when it comes to talking about children’s right about outdoor play.

Natalia Landow
Web Programmer
Natalia is one of the powers behind the technical side of our website. Without her understanding of software, we would not be able to relaunch our website with the new tools we have added. We met Natalia and her daughter at the outdoor playgroup in Oriole Park in Toronto.

Natalia grew up in Russia where she was splashing in pools, picking wild berries and watching bugs in summer and sliding down ice slides and skating in the winter. If you think Natalia is longing for spring during the winter you are mistaken. When the snow melts she is sad because she can’t snowboard anymore.

Natalia is a software developer and lives in Toronto with her family; she speaks and writes  Russian and English.