Green Prescriptions
Green Prescription:
Calls to Action
Since nature has been shown in so many studies to have a positive effect on our physical and mental health, it makes sense to support the protection, creating, and maintenance of our green spaces.
The following have been tagged with a Level of Activism to help make it easier to work out how the action can be effective on a systematic level:
Enjoy Nature (Level 1 Activism) Go out in nature to walk, ride, row, garden, create, take photos, or even engage in activism. Being in nature not only has positive effects on your wellbeing, but can help you appreciate what lives in your area, and notice any problems developing which may need to be reported or dealt with.
Explore Nature with Friends and/or Family (Level 2 Activism) a great way to make lasting memories, form stronger bonds, and help share the wonders of nature with those who mean the most to you.
Become a Certified Nature Therapist (Level 1-3 Activism)
Support Citizen Science Projects (Level 3 Activism) - this can give you an excuse to go in nature while directly supporting the scientific data that can help protect our wild spaces.
Advocate for Green Prescription (Level 3-4 Activism) especially if your country's health care system doesn't already utilize it. This may involve communicating with health insurance companies or your local/national government, depending on how the health care system in your country is conducted.
Support Greenway & Greenbelt Initiatives (Level 4 Activism) A growing number of communities have created or are creating legislative protections for wild places that will benefit everyone. Nature or Wildlife Corridors, Community & National Parks are other important resources to create and protect.
The buttons and links below include resources about related locations and topics that can support green therapy.
Become a Certified Forest Therapist
Japan
森林セラピーを学ぶ・広める 森林セラピーソサエティでは、資格制度・通信教育制度を制定し、安全・安心に森林セラピーを実施できる案内人を育成しています。
USA
Locations to Create, Protect, & Expand
Forest Therapy Info & Guides by Region
The following resources are listed by location, there is similar information in English listed under most countries including maps of certifies therapy forests and information about how/where to become a certified forest guide. Some resources may only be in the native language for the country it is about.
Asia
Japan
Forest bathing is known as "shinrin yoku" in Japan, written as 森林 よく and was introduced in 1982.
しんりんよく【森林浴】 森林の中を歩いていれば，つかれがとれ，すがすがしい気分になる作用がある。森林に出かけて，この作用を浴あびること。これは，樹木じゅもくが発散はっさんする「フィトンチッド」という成分せいぶんが人間の体に作用するからであるといわれている。
認定の森 (Certified Forests) 全国65の森 Read definitions about different types of paths and facilities. You can scroll down or click the appropriate region on the map (squares) to learn more about certified forests in each region of Japan.
森林セラピーを学ぶ・広める 森林セラピーソサエティでは、資格制度・通信教育制度を制定し、安全・安心に森林セラピーを実施できる案内人を育成しています。
森林セラピー®とは 森林セラピーは、ハイキングでも、登山でもありません。健康のために森に入る、新しい森の楽しみ方です。
Singapore
"Singapore spends $150 million per year ‘to develop scenery’ (0.6% of its national budget). As the third densest country in the world, its government has recognised the potential negative impact on mental health of living in urban environments and taken radical steps to reduce some of the harmful effects of city living. With an understanding that city dwellers are more stressed and depressed (extensive reviews of medical literature show a 21% increase in anxiety disorders, a 39% increase in mood disorders, and a double risk of schizophrenia in city dwellers), Singapore has embraced greenery in every aspect of its planning, with integrated parks and gardens in its shopping centres, hospitals and office blocks. Architects and developers are encouraged to include green walls, roof parks and vertical gardens into corporate and residential towers, with government grants to help fund the projects. As a result, Singapore is now considered one of the top ‘biophilic’ cities in the world, with its percentage of green space actually increasing, even as its population grows. The government considers access to green space a priority for its citizens, and its large botanical gardens (an Ionesco Heritage Site) is open 16 hours a day and free to visitors. It has set itself the ambitious goal of having 80% of people living within 400m of green space, and it is already at 70%. A new hospital close to the city centre is an excellent example of a simple biophilic design, which has invested in the known health benefits of nature: many of its rooms face inner luxuriant garden courtyards, dense with trees and shrubs, specifically chosen to attract birds and butterflies; plants are draped over balconies and there’s a huge pond, a medicinal garden, a walking path, and an organic vegetable garden on the roof." - https://www.doseofnature.org.uk/around-the-world1#Singapore
South Korea
Forest bathing or "salim yok" in Korean and spelled 삼림욕 in Hangul is taken very seriously by the government who have supported various types of parks and programs for residents.
Europe
Finland
Lahti "is the first city to offer this programme in its healthcare services. The experiment is part of a 10-year initiative which studies the long-term impact of a greener lifestyle."
Sweden
Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden "has been delivering its highly successful horticultural therapy programmes for over 15 years. It is funded by the Swedish Government and uses plant cultivation and garden settings as a healing strategy for people with severe work-related stress, who are often on long-term sick leave. The standard treatment programme runs for 12 weeks, with participants attending for 12 hours a week. Sixty percent of Alnarp’s patients return to work after one year, higher than in any other therapy, and the model is being replicated elsewhere, and now being trialed with traumatised refugees and stroke patients.
The Swedes have a long history of believing that nature is essential to healthy children, and were one of the first countries to develop the concept of nature schools in the 1950s. Sweden is often considered a world leader when it comes to outdoor learning and has a master’s programme in Outdoor Environmental Education and Outdoor Life at Linköping University, which is the only programme of its kind in the world that is geared directly toward schools." - https://www.doseofnature.org.uk/around-the-world1#Sweden
UK
Dose of Nature "works with people with mental health problems and the general population, encouraging everyone to connect with nature in order to improve their mental wellbeing. Our Dose of Nature Prescriptions and wellbeing workshops take place predominately in south-west London..."
NHS England: Green Social Prescribing This link talks about some of the benefits, as well as a list of sites where green prescribing has been tested and used.
North America
Canada
Time in Nature Can Now Be Prescribed as Health Care Treatment in Canada "Health care providers in four Canadian provinces — British Columbia (BC), Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario — can now prescribe time in nature, and even a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, to their patients to help improve their physical and mental health through the country’s national nature prescription program, A Prescription for Nature (PaRx). The passes are being offered through a partnership between Parks Canada and the British Columbia Parks Foundation."
USA
Association of Nature & Forest Therapy (ANFT) Guides & Programs "is the most experienced global leader in Forest Therapy Guide Training, and promoting the development and practice of Forest Therapy. Our Forest Therapy Guide Training draws on the latest medical research, new developments in the field of nature connection, and ancient traditions." Click here to learn about becoming a Certified Forest Therapy Guide or click here for a Directory of ANFT-trained Guides.
"Certified Forest Therapy Trails increase awareness and promote the practice of Forest Therapy. They offer land managers a new ways to reach out to potential visitors and to support quality experiences of those who come to enjoy their land."ParksRX "the leading information hub for Park Prescriptions and a space for knowledge sharing in the practitioner community." Click here to see the map and directory of Park Prescription programs. "The Park Prescription Program Toolkit is an interactive, step-by-step guide for agencies interested in starting their own Park Prescription program." You can also click here to learn more about the program's partners.
Oceana
Australia
Healthy Parks Healthy People SA (PDF) "is a nature-based approach to population health. It aims to ensure that all South Australians are connected to nature and recognise it as an integral component to their health and well-being."
Parks Victoria: Healthy Parks Healthy People "is a global movement which is helping communities around the world realise the health and wellbeing benefits of spending time in parks and nature. Our aim is to unlock the power of nature and parks for their preventative and restorative health and wellbeing benefits, while conserving biodiversity."
Victoria Nature Festival All Abilities Program The Victoria Nature Festival has something for all nature lovers. This includes:
all abilities walks
sensory experiences
digital programs.
New Zealand
Health Navigator: Green Prescription "A Green Prescription Rōngoa Kākāriki is a free health and wellness support service available throughout Aotearoa New Zealand."
Manatu Hauora Ministry of Health: Green Prescription "A Green Prescription (GRx) is a health professional’s written advice to a patient to be physically active, as part of the patient’s health management."
Nuku Ora: Green Persciption "Green Prescription (GRx) is a free service aiming to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, and whānau through movement/physical activity and nutrition support.
GRx supports whānau towards achieving their healthy lifestyle goals through resources, information, removal of barriers and creating sustainable lifestyle changes."