Parks for Health

While there’s been tremendous growth in the ParkRx movement, the opportunity for parks to be a part of the health care solution is still under-realized.

We’ve learned that for parks to be viewed as a viable health resource, park leaders need to better understand the specific health needs of the communities we serve – more importantly, the communities we want to serve.

We created the Parks for Health Curriculum as an initial step to help you develop your own health proficiency. We translated the medical and health content so you can understand the issues faced by your visitors and give you tips on how to design your park programming to address those needs. By becoming interpreters of health, you become part of the health care solution.

The project is supported by Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Programs.

Parks for Health – Free Online Course

Using Nature to Build Resilience from Childhood Trauma (course run time: 70 minutes) – In this course, you’ll learn about the science of toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences, potential triggers in your park, and how to use a trauma-informed approach when leading park programs. Click here to launch the course.

Access and Inclusion for People with Mobility Disabilities (course run time: 45 minutes) – In this course, you’ll learn about mobility disabilities faced by your park visitors, disability etiquette, and ways to promote disability inclusion at your park. Click here to launch the course.