BC Parks Foundation

Through Partnerships With The Canadian Museum Of Nature And The Toronto Zoo!

Thanks to a new collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature, healthcare providers in the National Capital Region registered with PaRx can prescribe admission passes to the museum for their patients.

As the first museum in Canada to join PaRx’s mission, the Canadian Museum of Nature provides a unique experience for patients to be inspired by Canada’s distinctive biodiversity and its geological underpinnings—both from inside and on the grounds of the museum’s historic castle-like building in downtown Ottawa.

Read more about our new collaboration from Dr. Danika Goosney, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature and PaRx Director, Dr. Melissa Lem.

“We want to make sure that people who need it can get out easily and affordably to benefit from the healing power of nature,”
- Jennie McCaffrey, VP of Strategic Partnerships, BC Parks Foundation.

Patients with a park prescription can also enjoy 50% off their admission to the Toronto Zoo. This partnership lends a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘nature walk,’ given that the Zoo’s 10km of outdoor trails could bring you close to lions, giraffes, kangaroos and other creatures. The Toronto Zoo has many outside nature areas and is part of Rouge National Urban Park.

“Many people in the Toronto area have limited access to nature, and this partnership provides an accessible introduction,”
- Jennie McCaffrey, VP of Strategic Partnerships with the Foundation.

“It’s remarkable how quickly PaRx has grown, the partnerships it’s inspired, and how it’s changing conversations worldwide about the vital connections between nature, biodiversity and health."
- Dr. Melissa Lem, Director of PaRx.

In addition to the wide range of health benefits for humans, nature prescriptions can also improve the wellbeing of our planet. Research shows that exposure to nature promotes pro-environmental values and behaviours that extend beyond support for conservation.

By connecting visitors to the wildlife and wild spaces they strive to protect, places like Rouge National Urban Park and the Toronto Zoo play a critical role in building public support for conservation and other environmental efforts.

The BC Parks Foundation invites other partners, governments and funders to engage and collaborate with PaRx as it continues its mission to connect people to nature for their health and the health of the world we live in.

Find Out More!