If you want to truly understand and feel the power of nature, venture down a trail with children, families and seniors who may have never been in a provincial park before - or not for a long time.
This summer, Healthy By Nature had the absolute pleasure of partnering with Parkbus and MOSAIC to get new Canadians outside and unplugged. Moms, dads, kids and seniors adventured with us, spending more than 540 total hours immersed in nature!
July 7, Mount Seymour Provincial Park
Early in July, 20 moms and 29 children braved the rain for a stroll around Rice Lake. The picnic spread these hard-working moms carried on the walk was a smorgasbord of incredible dishes from countries around the world. A special thank you to our volunteer hike leader, Azzah Amed for inspiring the participants with her own story and for Dr. Melissa Lem for teaching our moms and kids about the health benefits of getting outside.
August 10, Cypress Provincial Park
The Yew Lake Trail on Cypress Mountain is a beautiful, soft stroll through old growth, lush and fragrant forests, ending at its namesake. With the help of our volunteer leader, Krista, we walked this stunning trail with 47 seniors and learned about species of berries and trees found along the trail. We learned later that one of the hikers had not been outside in months! We were so happy to get her and all of the hikers into nature and are grateful for MOSAIC for helping this community. It was smiles all around when we finished the loop with a feeling of togetherness and connection with nature.
August 31, Golden Ears Provincial Park
To wrap up the summer, more than 40 moms, dads and kids hiked to Gold Creek Falls in Golden Ears Provincial Park with Healthy By Nature and our volunteers, Hannah and Krista. Krista lead restorative forest bathing as the kids played in nature (rumour has it, our CEO Andy gives great shoulder rides!). Many in this group reminisced about rivers and parks back home that they missed, and the memories they carry of family picnics and hikes in mountains similar to B.C.’s own. We loved experiencing B.C.’s outdoors with them.
We can’t wait four our next adventure in nature with MOSAIC and Parkbus!