Doctors are prescribing nature – but we don’t know how it works

Over the past five years, more than 1.3 million Canadians have received a medical prescription for a dose of nature to alleviate health issues, though critics say the science is lacking.

The PaRx program was launched in Canada by the BC Parks Foundation in November, 2020, eventually expanding to other provinces. Crafted by health care professionals, the program recommends at least two hours per week of time in nature, in chunks of no less than 20 minutes at a time, and offers patients tips on how to achieve those goals.