The Nature Prescription: Why We Should Embrace Green and Blue Prescribing
Jun 23
6 min read
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Imagine going to your doctor and instead of reaching for a prescription pad for pills, they hand you a Green Prescription — a written recommendation to walk in a forest, garden daily, or explore a seaside trail.
In countries like New Zealand, the UK, and across parts of Europe, this is already happening. These forward-thinking healthcare systems have begun prescribing time in nature — not as a last resort, but as a frontline treatment for stress, depression, anxiety, chronic conditions, and even post-surgical recovery. It’s called “Green and Blue Prescribing” — and it’s a movement that’s gaining traction.
🌱 What Are Green and Blue Prescriptions?
Green Prescriptions refer to time spent in nature-based environments — forests, parks, gardens, or walking trails.
Blue Prescriptions recommend time by bodies of water specifically — like oceans, rivers, and lakes.
These aren't just feel-good concepts. They're backed by growing research showing improvements in:
Cardiovascular health
Immune response
Depression and anxiety symptoms
Sleep quality and energy levels
Overall happiness and life satisfaction
🧒🌿 A Healthier Future for Our Youth
More than 40% of U.S. teens are currently affected by mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. The need for supportive, empowering, and non-invasive approaches has never been more urgent.
Time in nature has been shown to:
Decrease cortisol (stress hormone) levels
Improve focus, attention span, and emotional regulation
Increase self-esteem and connection to the world around them
Offer a break from screens and overstimulation
By incorporating outdoor experiences into school programs, community centers, and family routines, we can help young people build stronger mental and emotional foundations — and lifelong habits of wellness.
🌳 Wellness for Adults: Addressing Obesity with Outdoor Care
Over 40% of U.S. adults are living with obesity and related conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. These health issues are often tied to stress, inactivity, and limited access to supportive environments.
Nature-based care offers a compassionate, sustainable path forward:
Encouraging movement in inviting, judgment-free spaces
Reducing stress and emotional eating through calming environments
Supporting vitamin D exposure and better sleep cycles
Reframing fitness as joyful and restorative, rather than punishing
Motivating change by focusing on energy, vitality, and connection
For those who feel left out of conventional fitness culture, the outdoors offers a welcoming, healing starting point.
🌍 Who’s Already Doing This?
Countries across the world are reimagining the role of nature in health:
New Zealand: Since the late 1990s, New Zealand has been a pioneer in green prescribing. Its government-supported Green Prescription program allows healthcare providers to refer patients to community-based physical activity and lifestyle services—often involving time in nature. While self-referral options may exist regionally, most access is initiated through primary care, making nature-based prescriptions a well-established part of the national healthcare model.
United Kingdom: In 2020, the UK government launched a £4 million green-prescribing pilot as part of its COVID-19 recovery strategy. These “test and learn” sites aimed to integrate nature-based activities into healthcare, including guided walks, community gardening, and conservation work. A 2021 survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that spending time near water was the top-rated nature activity for improving mental well-being.
Canada: Through the PaRx initiative, doctors in four provinces—British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario—are now prescribing time in nature. Eligible patients receive a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, granting year-long access to national parks, marine conservation areas, and historic sites as part of a growing movement to promote nature as a tool for preventive care.
Japan: Since 1982, Japan has embraced shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” as a public health recommendation. Clinicians encourage patients to immerse themselves in the country’s 3,000 miles of forest trails for physical and mental rejuvenation. Between 2004 and 2012, the government invested approximately $4 million USD in research and promotion of shinrin-yoku as a national wellness strategy.
These efforts treat time in nature not as an alternative, but as a meaningful part of the healthcare continuum — one that complements traditional treatment and promotes long-term vitality.
🚐 Equitable Access: A Two-Part Approach to Nature-Based Healing
While the benefits of nature-based care are well documented, access remains unequal. For this approach to truly transform public health, we must address both access to natural spaces and access to the professionals who help guide lifestyle-based healing.
🏞️ Part 1: Access to Spaces: Making the Outdoors Reachable for All
Many individuals — particularly those in rural communities, low-income areas, or without reliable transportation — may not have access to safe parks, walking paths, or coastal environments. This environmental divide creates a barrier to care and contributes to widening health disparities.
Solutions to improve access to outdoor spaces include:
🚍 Transportation support to green and blue spaces for underserved or rural communities
🌳 Partnerships between healthcare systems, local parks, and public transit
🏙️ Expansion of green space development in neighborhoods most in need
💬 Community engagement and programming that makes nature-based care feel safe, welcoming, and culturally relevant
Creating these access points is essential to ensuring that all individuals — regardless of where they live — can benefit from the healing power of nature.
🩺 Part 2: Access to Health Care: Expanding the Team That Guides Wellness
Nearly 100 million Americans live in designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This growing shortage of physicians—and nurses—highlights an urgent need to rethink how we deliver care. The future of wellness depends not only on increasing the number of providers but also on broadening the circle of care to include other certified health professionals.
That’s where experts like clinical pharmacists, certified health coaches, and personal trainers come in. These professionals offer complementary, preventative services that improve outcomes, reduce strain on primary care systems, and promote lifestyle changes that support long-term wellness. While they have not always been reimbursed under Medicaid or Medicare, their role in health promotion is powerful and increasingly essential.
🧩 The Last Piece of the Puzzle: Walking
NATURE + PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE + WALKING
=
HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER PATIENTS
Incorporating services like “walk-and-talk” wellness sessions in outdoor spaces offers an innovative approach to fill these gaps. A clinical pharmacist might help someone determine barriers to medication adherence during a gentle walk through a local park. A health coach could support goal-setting and stress management on a seaside trail. A personal trainer might guide low-impact movement and balance exercises while walking upon uneven terrain at the beach. These moments—simple, accessible, and grounded in nature—can reduce health disparities, tap into healthcare professionals who are often underutilized, inspire behavior change, and reconnect people with their environment and themselves.
Why Walking and Talking Works:
Walking and talking in outdoor spaces creates a natural, low-pressure environment where people feel more relaxed, open, and empowered to engage in their health journey. Research shows that light physical activity, like walking, improves mood, reduces stress, and boosts cognitive function—all of which make it easier to have meaningful conversations about goals, habits, and wellness challenges. Unlike clinical settings that can feel rushed or intimidating, walking side-by-side allows for authentic, uninterrupted dialogue between clients and health professionals. This informal setting encourages trust, deep listening, and collaborative problem-solving—all essential for lasting behavior change.
By integrating these certified professionals into the healthcare landscape and recognizing the therapeutic power of green and blue spaces, we can help create a more connected, preventative, and whole-person approach to wellness. This team-based model is key to building a holistic, proactive healthcare system — one that values education, movement, and the power of nature alongside clinical treatment. 🌿🌞
🌎 The U.S.: Embracing Nature as a Partner in Care
Though still in early stages, the U.S. is catching on. Organizations like Park Rx America and an increasing number of health systems are bridging the gap between clinical care and natural wellness. 🌳
Nature is one of the most accessible healing tools we have — it’s free, abundant, and available in nearly every community. And when walks are guided by trained health professionals, time outdoors becomes more than "A Walk in the Park," — it becomes a prescription for well-being. 🩺 Programs like my Health and Happiness Tours in Surf City, NC reflect this “Coaching in Motion” approach — blending movement, mindfulness, and education with professional guidance in the places where health feels most alive: the beach, the trails, and under the sun. 🌊✨
🌞 A Sustainable Path Forward
As we rethink healthcare delivery, nature offers a path that is:
Complementary to modern medicine
Sustainable, using resources already at our fingertips
Equitable, when paired with thoughtful access solutions
Empowering, encouraging people to participate in their own healing
A sunrise walk on the beach. A moment in the garden. A breath of forest air. These simple acts — when made intentional and accessible — can transform lives.
💚 A Vision Rooted in Possibility
As a healthcare professional and lifelong nature-lover, I believe we are entering a new era of care — one that values both Science and Sunshine! ☀️🌿
When primary care providers and certified wellness providers work hand-in-hand with nature and movement, we create care that’s not just effective, but also joyful, grounding, and whole. Through community support, expanded provider reimbursement, and broader acceptance of holistic healing, we move closer to a world where every person can thrive — body, mind, and spirit.
And, maybe the first step isn’t a big one — maybe it’s just... a step outside. 🍃👣
