BC Parks Prescription for Nature, and Art
BC Parks Foundation offers PaRX, a prescription for nature, and they have recently partnered with the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Emily Carr exhibit to encourage time spent looking at nature, and art.
Last week during a speaking engagement, a university student asked me what I do when writer’s block hit. Typically, my response would involve organizing a strategic content calendar with weekly themes for social media. But this time, without hesitation, I found myself saying, “I go for a walk.”
For me, walks through Downtown Vancouver, the West End, and Stanley Park often spark new ideas and stories. I find myself wondering: How did the cherry blossoms end up here? What’s the story behind those numbers etched into the sidewalk? But beyond inspiration, I turned to daily walking in 2020 because it’s a powerful remedy for whatever’s troubling me in the moment – and there’s been a lot of that in the last few years.
BC Parks Prescription for Nature
PaRX is Canada’s national, evidence-based nature prescription program, based right here in BC. The initiative of the BC Parks Foundation is driven by health-care professionals who want to improve their patients’ health by connecting them to nature. Featuring practical resources like quick tips and patient handouts, its goal is to make prescribing time in nature simple, fun and effective.
Each prescriber who registers with PaRx will receive a nature prescription file customized with a unique provider code, and instructions for how to prescribe and log nature prescriptions. The core aim of the program is to encourage patients to incorporate outdoor experiences in their local communities into their daily routines. Patients can also access special offers from partners to reduce their barriers to nature access across Canada.
Vancouver Art Gallery x Nature
This week, the Vancouver Art Gallery launched a new collaboration with BC Parks Foundation’s PaRx, allowing healthcare professionals to prescribe a nature-inspired visit to Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape in support of patients’ mental health and psychological wellbeing.
Decades of research in medicine, psychology and art therapy link close engagement with art to improved physical wellbeing, reduced loneliness and improved life satisfaction, while hundreds of studies show that connecting with nature is one of the most effective ways to boost long-term health. Together, this collaboration bridges science, nature, and creativity.
Building on PaRx’s success in over 17,000 healthcare providers issuing more than a million prescriptions for nature, this innovative initiative harnesses the proven healing power of both art and nature in supporting long-term health.
This collaboration is the first of its kind in Canada and will provide an immersive indoor art and nature experience in an urban setting. During the first year of the program, each prescribed visitor and their optional guest will receive free admission to the Gallery, thereby fostering social connections while removing financial barriers.
Visitors may return any number of times during the length of the project by retaining their PaRx nature prescription. A special printed guide for Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape will be available, encouraging visitors to slow-look at the paintings, connect to the images of nature, and reflect on how the experience makes them feel. The Gallery anticipates approximately 4,000 individuals to benefit from the social prescribing initiative during its pilot year.
