Since 2020, more than 20,000 providers have written over two million prescriptions for time in nature through PaRx, a BC Parks Foundation program.
Research has consistently shown that spending time in nature has a tangible impact on both our physical and mental health. Best of all, nature is all around us in Canada, even in big cities. Its accessibility makes time outdoors a free and equitable way we can all improve our overall health and wellness.
At the same time, our health care system is increasingly recognizing the value of prevention in reducing the risk of chronic illness. One of the simplest and most powerful things we can do for our health is to spend time in nature.
It goes beyond health, too. Across sectors, organizations are recognizing that access to nature supports multiple, overlapping priorities — including environmental stewardship, community well-being, and health equity.
This was the thinking behind PaRx (short for Park Prescriptions), Canada’s national nature prescription program. Launched in 2020 by BC Parks Foundation, the program enables health care providers to prescribe time in nature — because when the advice comes from a health care provider, patients are more likely to take it seriously.
Connecting people to nature
Nature prescriptions are a simple but powerful way to connect people with nature. “We have long understood that time in nature can have immense benefits for our physical and mental health. When combined with nutritious foods, regular exercise and sleep, it creates a strong foundation for good health. This is especially important for children and youth to build a strong foundation for their futures. In a time when we are all being pulled in so many directions, distracted by devices and demands, we can all benefit from regularly slowing down and spending time outdoors,” says CMA President, Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi. These findings underpin the concept of nature as a “fourth pillar of health,” alongside nutrition, exercise, and sleep.
Studies have also found that patients are significantly more likely to follow through when a physician provides a written prescription, compared to verbal advice. PaRx harnesses that effect by transforming a simple walk in the park into a formalized — and motivating — part of a care plan.
The many benefits of nature prescriptions
Besides the personal health benefits, nature prescriptions can help reduce health care costs and support planetary health.
Programs like PaRx bridge two worlds that have operated in parallel: health care and environmental stewardship. Each prescription improves individual well-being while deepening awareness of the ecosystems that make that well-being possible.
Research shows that when people connect with nature for their own health, they’re more likely to take action to protect it. Every PaRx prescription becomes part of a feedback loop, healing people while inspiring stewards of the planet.
Further, by encouraging preventative care and healthier lifestyles, nature prescriptions can reduce demand on the health care system, lowering costs and easing pressure on an already strained system.
Bridging medicine, conservation, and policy
In the five years since BC Parks Foundation launched PaRx, the program has evolved from a grassroots collaboration between physicians and park professionals into a movement that bridges medicine, conservation, and policy. Today, more than 20,000 health care providers have registered as prescribers, collectively issuing an estimated two million prescriptions for time in nature.
Support from partners such as Manulife — the first life and health insurer in the world to support a national nature prescription program — reflects the growing momentum behind nature prescriptions. Operating throughout Canada, PaRx is endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association and has partnered with Parks Canada, the Toronto Zoo, the Canadian Museum of Nature, and others to reduce barriers to accessing nature. The World Health Organization has recognized the program for advancing planetary health. Jennie McCaffrey, Vice-President of Health and Education at BC Parks Foundation, believes this diversity of partnerships has been key to PaRx’s rapid growth and lasting impact.
“We’ve seen health care, conservation, and now insurance align around the shared truth that spending time in nature is one of the most powerful and accessible tools for well-being,” she says. “When organizations take that seriously, not as a tagline but as actual policy, it changes everything.”
Other countries have launched similar campaigns, yet no other country has built a nationally coordinated nature prescription program endorsed by more than 100 health care associations. Canada’s model shows what becomes possible when health care and environmental organizations move in tandem, and when the natural world is treated as a partner in wellness rather than a backdrop to it.
Visit parkprescriptions.ca to see how PaRx is connecting Canadians with nature, and to explore partnership opportunities.
