10/25/2026
Did you know that you can now get a nature prescription to help with your well-being? Vancouver physician spoke in Armenia this week to launch the physician led initiative at the COP17 biodiversity summit.
states that “nature is the fourth pillar of health, and just as important as a healthy diet, exercise and lifestyle”.
So grab your rain gear (for those living on the Wetcoast), your dog or a friend and get outside and see Fall at its finest and give your well-being a boost!🍁
In Canada, a doctor’s advice can now include something as simple as spending time among trees.
PaRx, a national nature prescription program created by the BC Parks Foundation, allows health professionals to formally recommend time outdoors as part of a patient’s care plan.
The program was developed with physician Dr. Melissa Lem, who has spent years explaining how regular contact with nature can support physical and mental well-being.
A prescription may encourage a person to spend at least two hours in nature each week, broken into visits of around twenty minutes or more.
That time could be spent walking through a park, sitting beside water, visiting a garden, or simply slowing down in a green space close to home.
Research has connected nature exposure with benefits such as lower stress, improved mood, increased physical activity, and better attention.
The idea is not that a park replaces necessary medical treatment.
It is that health can also be supported by accessible habits that reconnect people with daylight, movement, fresh air, and the natural world.
A nature prescription turns a familiar suggestion into a clear plan, giving patients permission to treat time outdoors as a meaningful part of caring for themselves.
