Parkscriptions help Whatcom residents reap these benefits of going outside
Ask Elizabeth Nelson what her elevator pitch for a homegrown program that encourages people to get outdoors and her response is “Parkscriptions: get your dose of nature.”
“Research has shown that two hours, or 120 minutes, a week is the recommended time spent in nature to see improvements in overall health,” said Nelson, the program director for Parkscriptions, which is part of the Bellingham-based nonprofit Recreation Northwest.
The goal behind Parkscriptions, a public health effort, is to help people go outside to improve their mental and physical health, along the same lines as National Parks Rx Day and the Japanese practice known as “forest bathing,” or spending time among trees.
Parkscriptions is a collaboration that also brings parks and health care providers into the fold.
Those providers include Unity Care NW, which has been a partner since summer 2018.
“A walk outside is simple for some, but for others, a lot of effort goes into taking that first step. At Unity Care NW, we offer Parkscriptions to make that first step easier,” said Megan Stephenson, wellness resource coordinator for Unity Care NW.
The effort does more than just tell people that spending time outdoors is good for them. Benefits, by the way, include decreasing stress, anxiety and depression as well as lowering blood pressure and blood sugar levels, according to Parkscriptions research.
Parkscriptions created for its website the Whatcom Park Finder, a database of 186 parks in Whatcom County as well as all of the state parks in Washington. It allows people to search for a park or trail near them and filter by amenities, activities, natural water feature, trail length and difficulty as well as trail surface.
Health care providers also turn to Whatcom Park Finder.
Unity Care NW, for example, uses the finder to “guide our patients into using our beautiful outdoors as a part of their health plan,” Stephenson said.
Looking for outdoors recommendations? We asked Nelson to share her ideas with us.
“We are so lucky in Whatcom County to have so many great parks — it is really hard to select three to five parks,” Nelson said.
Still, she came up with these Bellingham green spaces.
▪ ”Recreation Northwest stewards Fairhaven Park and has a variety of amenities for people to enjoy. Along the trails behind the upper shelter, there is a designated bench for people to sit and use their five senses to slow down and reap the benefits of nature,” Nelson said.
The park is at 107 Chuckanut Drive.
▪ “Whatcom Falls Park is accessible via public transportation, has a variety of trails from moderate, difficult to ADA-accessible. The falls are beautiful any time of the year and provide an opportunity to listen to running water,” she said.
The park is at 1401 Electric Ave.
▪ Cordata Community Park is Bellingham’s newest park. It will include a playground, bicycle pump track and trail system. “This park is a great place for inter-generational play,” Nelson said.
The park is on Cordata Parkway between Stuart and Horton Roads.
▪ “Julianna Park is great for bird-watching and has both open space and trails. The trail difficulties are easy and ADA-accessible, with lots of shade and you can make the trail as short or long as you would like with 1 to 5 miles in length,” Nelson said.
The park is at the end of West Horton Road.
Learn more
▪ parkscriptions.org. You’ll find Whatcom Park Finder on this site.
▪ nps.gov/subjects/healthandsafety/park-rx.htm
This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 3:25 PM.
