We wanted outdoor furniture that could stay outside in a Canadian winter and be genuinely better for it in spring. Most outdoor ECE furniture is made from softwoods, imported, or both. We built the Outdoors line because nobody else was making this in Canada at the quality it deserved.
The Line
Fern Kids Outdoors is a purpose-built line of outdoor classroom furniture designed for Canadian early childhood programmes operating year-round. It is the only premium hardwood outdoor ECE furniture line manufactured in Canada.
Every piece is built from select Canadian hardwood — a species chosen for its exceptional hardness and tight grain, delivering 8× the Janka hardness of cedar. Where most outdoor ECE furniture uses softwoods that dent, crack, and grey out after two seasons, Fern Kids Outdoors is built to last the way our indoor classroom furniture does: for years, in heavy use, without compromise.
Why hardwood matters outdoors
Hardness matters in outdoor furniture for the same reasons it matters indoors: children are rough on things, and softwoods don't hold up. Cedar, pine, and spruce — the standard choices for outdoor educational furniture — are accessible and workable, but they're soft. They dent. They check and crack through freeze-thaw cycling. They need refinishing within a few seasons to look presentable.
Select Canadian hardwood at 8× the Janka hardness of cedar doesn't have these problems. The grain is tighter, the surface more resistant to impact, and the structure better suited to the mechanical stresses of heavy outdoor use. Finished with kid-safe, low-VOC stains and fitted with high-grade steel brackets and hardware throughout, Fern Kids Outdoors is built the way we believe outdoor furniture should be.
The 2026 collection
Storage, additional seating, and more are available — request a catalogue for the full product list.
Made in Canada
Every Fern Kids Outdoors piece is designed and built at our workshop in Moorefield, Ontario — the same facility that produces our indoor classroom furniture. FSC certified. ASTM and CARB compliant. Low-VOC, non-toxic finishes throughout. High-grade steel brackets and hardware on every joint.
No overseas manufacturing. No institutional cost-cutting. The same standard we hold our indoor line to, applied to the outdoors.
- Select Canadian hardwood — 8× the Janka hardness of cedar
- Kid-safe, low-VOC stains and finishes throughout
- High-grade steel brackets and hardware — engineered for outdoor longevity
- ASTM compliant · CARB compliant · FSC certified
- Designed and manufactured in Moorefield, Ontario
- Now taking orders — 2026 delivery · fernkids.com/pages/outdoors