Healthy By Nature

Initiatives
Initiatives
- Parks Bank
  Supporting the purchase of private lands important to communities, wildlife, and climate mitigation.
- Healthy by Nature
  Boosting Canadians’ health and learning in conjunction with doctors, health care professionals, and educators across Canada.
- Discover Parks
  Adding outdoor recreational experiences and facilities so that everyone can enjoy parks safely and responsibly.
- Community Science
  Empowering British Columbians and visitors with accessible tools to contribute to a living picture of the animals, plants and other elements that sustain life.
- Spark Grants
  Supporting volunteers, youth, entrepreneurs and new Canadians to maintain, improve and experience parks.
- 30x30
  Working with First Nations, local communities, and people like you to protect what matters most.
Explore all of our initiatives and join us in areas most meaningful to you.
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Participate
Participate
- Donate
  Keep parks thriving.
- Shop
  Wear your love for parks.
- Subscribe and Follow
  Stay connected to parks.
- Become a Partner
  Create lasting impact.
- Volunteer
  Give back in nature.
- Join Us
  Help shape the future of parks.
There are many ways to help, each offering a unique opportunity to contribute and make a difference.
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About
About

Overview

Nature is for everyone, and every moment spent outdoors is a step toward better health and a healthier planet

Healthy by Nature is a national, evidence-based initiative of BC Parks Foundation, focused on ensuring all Canadians have the opportunity to experience the health benefits of nature. By integrating nature into daily life—through school grounds, health care, and workplace culture—we’re supporting equitable access to the outdoors and inspiring conservation across the lifespan.

Whether it’s a prescription to visit a park, a schoolyard transformed into a thriving nature space, or a workplace wellness program, Healthy by Nature helps people connect with the outdoors in ways that boost health, reduce stress, and inspire care for the natural world.

Goals & Objectives

Healthy by Nature focuses on four key goals that guide our efforts to connect people with nature, improve health, and grow a culture of conservation.

Connect people to nature for their health

People who spend two hours in nature each week report significantly better health and wellbeing. Through PaRx, healthcare providers are prescribing nature so more Canadians can enjoy the proven benefits of fresh air, green space, and time spent in nature.

Empower kids to take action for nature

Stewarded by students themselves, schoolyards are becoming vibrant Nature Parks for youth to learn about nature, in nature. Learning outside boosts health, kindness, grades, and confidence, while inspiring the next generation of leaders.

Connect schools to sister conservation areas

Through wildlife cameras, biodiversity projects, and hands-on activities, students connect to real examples of conservation linking their schoolyards to protected areas. While growing support for Indigenous-led stewardship, these connections show kids they’re part of something bigger.

Inspire a culture of stewardship

Healthy By Nature is growing a movement of care for ourselves, for each other, and for the planet. By connecting health, learning, and conservation, we’re inspiring communities across Canada and around the world to protect the places that keep us well.

Initiative Highlights

1M+

PaRx prescriptions issued across Canada.

Two people traverse a mountaintop with a sun setting in the background

A family walking through a forest setting

A person kayaks downstream in under sunlight

People relaxing in nature at the edge of a shallow river

A person looks over a meadow from a high hilltop

Want to Get Involved?

Your gift helps expand access to nature prescriptions, build more Nature Parks at Schools, and launch nature-based workplace programs—improving health and fostering environmental stewardship for generations to come.

Donate Now

Enjoy Forever

Read Misty's Story

"The more that people appreciate the world we live in, the more we will care enough to protect it."

When Ontario author Misty Pratt received her first PaRx prescription, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Standing barefoot in a hospital butterfly garden, she focused on the wind, the tickle of the grass, the flutter of wings. Day after day, those mindful moments shifted something deep within her—reducing anxiety, restoring balance, and strengthening her connection to the earth.