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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/green-prescriptions-health-nature-parks/>
"A couple of years ago, Marjorie Schurman just couldn’t bring herself to get up
from the breakfast table. The 76-year-old Vancouverite felt a cloud hanging
over her life, unable to get anything done, and often whittled away time
playing Tetris.
“I just couldn’t shake the depression,” says Schurman, who in 1994 was exposed
to toxic substances in a work accident, which led to serious health issues and
a crisis in her confidence and career. “I was grieving for the loss of all
these things.”
But in February 2020, Schurman, who has taken antidepressants since that
incident, was prescribed something by her doctor that seemed almost too simple
to be true: a walk in the park, more or less. “I was told to spend 120 minutes
in nature every week, for a minimum of 20 minutes each time,” she recalls.
The first day, Schurman spent 20 minutes sitting on her porch. But then she
began to go on strolls through the nearby Camosun Bog nature preserve, each
trek slowly growing in distance and ambition. After two weeks, a miraculous
transformation was underway. “Having permission to do the outdoor things I like
even though I had chores was liberating,” she says. “It makes a huge difference
to my day. I’m happier and healthier.”
Schurman’s blossoming is one of a vast canopy of cases showing that a dose of
nature can be just what the doctor ordered. Scientific research has long
established the healing powers of the outdoors, but now programs promoting
regular visits to nature — known as green or nature prescriptions — are
nourishing the health of people and parks across the globe."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
