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Healthy Food for a Day Trip

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Prep for a visit to a park, sporting event, or the zoo by packing dried fruit, cut-up veggies, or whole grain crackers for quick, healthy options.

Park Rx Day – April 24, 2016

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Give yourself and your family the gift of good health by getting outdoors in a park near you on National Park Rx Day on April 24, 2016. Sunday, April 24, 2016 will be the first ever National Park Rx Day! It is a day celebrated across the United States to promote the growing movement of prescribing parks and nature to patients to improve human health. National Park Rx Day encourages everyone to see visits to parks and public lands as very important parts of their health. Last fall, the U.S. Surgeon General released a call to action to promote walking and walkable communities. National Park Rx Day builds on this call to action and provides citizens with parks and green spaces to promote public health.

Eight reasons to get outdoors and enjoy a walk in the park on Park Rx Day!

  1. Being in nature can improve your mood.
  2. Having access to parks can increase physical activity and combat obesity.
  3. Parks and their health benefits can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of who you are and where you come from.
  4. Contact with nature through parks improves all people’s physical, mental and spiritual health.
  5. Parks foster social connections which are vital to community cohesion and contribute to social well-being.
  6. For children, parks foster active play, which is associated with physical, cognitive and social benefits.
  7. For adolescents, parks improve mental and social health during what is often a challenging time of life.
  8. Park use is linked to physical and mental health benefits among adults, especially older adults.

Find Your Park for a healthier you! It might be closer than you think. You can also share your story so others can see what finding your park means to you.