Doctors around the world are “prescribing nature” to their patients.
Based on the initiative by the BC Parks Foundation called PaRx: A Prescription for Nature, which started in the United States as a grassroots movement more than a decade ago, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) is holding its Park Prescription (PaRx) Day at the Scanlon Creek Conservation Area (2450 Line 9 in Bradford) on Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Open to the first 100 registrants, this free, family-friendly event takes place outside. It offers guided hikes and a story walk; children can access the Discovery Play Garden. Local physician and endocrinologist Jacob Zamora will speak about the positive health impacts of spending time in nature.
Cassandra Connell is one of the team members who brought the LSRCA’s ParX Day to fruition. A certified teacher, her official title is outdoor educator, but her passion for and dedication to her work earned her the unofficial title of education program specialist.
“I’ve worked in conservation education for over 20 years and I’ve never met an educator with the ability to create outdoor and environmental learning programs quite like Cassandra,” said LSRCA education manage Nicole Hamley.
“She brings fresh and innovative ideas to the table, which she turns into activities that participants love, whether they are children, youth or adults. Her programs are always engaging, igniting a passion and inspiring people to take action at home and in their own communities.”
Having worked with the LSRCA since 2016, Connell told InnisfilToday the programs she creates focus on child-led learning that maintains a local lens in hopes it will “spark change” as “those are the kids tackling those problems in the future.”
“We're trying to get kids involved in the learning process as much as we possibly can,” she said.
Connell is a member of the team that created Therapy in the Woods, a program formed in partnership with the LSRCA and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in 2017.
Acknowledged as a national leading practice by Accreditation Canada in 2019, Therapy in the Woods is a week-long camp that allows children with special needs from one-and-a-half to four years old to work toward their therapeutic goals outside with their family members, as well as speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists from RVH. It runs four days per week. The Kumi Canada Corporation in Bradford sponsored this year’s Therapy in the Woods program.
When asked what she thinks about working at the LSRCA, Connell said, “I love it.”
“Our staff is just phenomenal,” she said. “If at any point I have a question, there is no shortage of experts who will help me out. There’s so much opportunity to collaborate.”
For example, Connell is developing the Forest of the Future program, which launches this fall. She consulted the forestry team and the urban forester on staff to ensure the program is accurate, as it will incorporate the use of technology to enable children to feel like they are foresters.
“We’re very lucky. We have had grants allow us to have a full class set of iPads so that we can have that experience for students outside,” she said.
She explained older children, like those in Grade 7, appreciate the integration of technology.
“All of our programs are designed to be super hands-on,” she said.
This is true for climate-themed escape room-style puzzles, where Grade 7 students learn about carbon sinks and forestry that incorporates Western and Indigenous science.
When asked why community members should join PaRx Day on Oct. 5, Connell said, “I think one of the biggest draws is that there’s something for everyone. It’s being designed in a way that’s something for kids and families to do.”
She said all abilities can be accommodated, as filling a PaRx Day prescription “does not mean going for a hike.” Birdwatching and enjoying the fresh air count.
The LSRCA looks forward to the construction of the new nature centre at the Scanlon Creek Conservation Area, as most of its programming is offered through the Simcoe County public and Catholic, and York Region public and Catholic, school boards, including school field trips, March break and summer camps.
According to a document provided to InnisfilToday, the new building “will house four multi-use rooms with 250-person capacity and is designed to be fully accessible, inclusive, energy efficient, and net zero for carbon. The building design will reflect Indigenous culture and connection to the land, and it will provide a teaching environment set into the natural surroundings.”
“We’re just so excited to have a building that’s going to ... double our capacity so we can have even more kids spending time here,” Connell said.
“Whether she is designing a new school program for students to become climate scientists or testing solar ovens to make s’mores at summer camp, Cassandra makes sure everyone is safe, included, empowered and making connections between the learning and their own lives. The new nature centre at Scanlon Creek will be a teaching tool, and I can’t wait to see what Cassandra will do next,” Hamley said.
Community members eager to participate in the PaRx Day on Oct. 5 are invited to register here.
