Canadian Parks Council: Meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers

Canadians  are increasingly becoming disconnected from their natural heritage.  This trend has resulted from a variety of  social changes that have occurred over the past several decades – urbanization,  changing demographics, increasingly sedentary lifestyles.   An increasing body of research is giving  insight into the wide-ranging implications of this trend, as well as to the  varying important benefits that result from spending time in nature.

The Canadian  Parks Council report Connecting Canadians  with Nature – An Investment in the Well-Being of our Citizens provides  clear evidence of the powerful benefits that spending time outdoors in nature  can provide to individuals, communities and the environment:

   
• For our  health - contact with nature has been found to lower blood pressure,  strengthen the immune system, help mitigate disease, and reduce stress levels.  People exposed to nature recover from surgery  faster, require fewer medications, and have shorter overall hospital stays.
   
• For our economy – the natural environment is a key driver  for domestic and international tourism in Canada, generating economic activity  in rural and urban communities from coast to coast to coast.
   
• For our personal development - A multitude of studies have shown that  playing in natural environments is essential to our children’s development of  core skills, including observation, problem-solving and reasoning,  categorization, creativity, imagination, risk-identification, along with  emotional and intellectual development.
   
• For our communities - Nature plays a pivotal role in nurturing  relationships by bringing people together. Urban residents living near natural  environments tend to know more of their neighbours, feel a stronger sense of  belonging to the community, and have a more positive view of their  neighbourhood.
   
• For our spirit and identity - Canada’s natural environment has been a  unifying feature of the country’s cultural identity for centuries. It has  shaped perceptions of our nation, at home and abroad.
   
• For our environment – Canada’s abundant and diverse natural  environment provides a wealth of services –purifying the air we breathe and  water we drink, mitigating against the impacts of storms and floods, and acting  as a source for the food that we eat.

Canada’s parks – from local green spaces to urban oases, to national,  provincial, and territorial parks - provide exceptional places for Canadians to  experience all of nature’s powerful benefits.   Canadian park agencies share the mandate, the dedicated staff, and  protect and present hundreds of natural places across the country set aside for  the benefit of all Canadians.  These park  agencies are advancing a number of new and innovative programs designed to  better reach Canadians, in particular urban populations, youth and new  Canadians, and to invite them to experience the benefits of connecting to  nature. Some examples include:

   
• Using social media such as twitter and  Facebook to reach young Canadians and new technologies that help Canadians to  learn about, explore and conserve their parks
   
• Advancing “learn to camp” programs aimed at introducing city dwellers to camping and other outdoor  activities
   
• Working with a diversity of partners  to support connections to nature – schools, conservation organizations,  cultural institutions, youth clubs
   
• Providing new Canadian  citizens the opportunity to have free access to their parks
   
• Using music, technology  and art to inspire and attract diverse audiences to parks

 

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