If a doctor tells a patient to spend more time in nature, that might previously have sounded like good advice, but not necessarily like healthcare. That is changing. Across health systems, a new idea is moving from the margins to the mainstream, and asking whether access to nature could become a functional part of the healthcare pathway.
Both social prescribing and green prescribing are holistic healthcare approaches that connect patients to non-medical resources to improve their health and well-being. The core difference between them is their scope: social prescribing is a broad umbrella that links people to any community-based support, such as art classes, bereavement groups, or financial advice, while green prescribing is a specific subset focused exclusively on nature-based interventions, like community gardening, wilderness walks, and outdoor exercise.
In some countries, these prescribing models are already implemented. In others, it remains a pilot, research project, or emerging policy idea. But taken together, they point to a bigger shift that shows nature is becoming part of the conversation about what healthcare can prescribe beyond the clinic in the form of social prescribing and green prescribing.
The Prescription is Bigger Than a Walk in the Park
The rise of nature prescribing is happening alongside a broader expansion of social prescribing built on the fact that someone’s health can be treated with more than medicine or a procedure. Loneliness, inactivity, social isolation, financial pressures, a lack of connection to others, and the environments in which we live can all shape our health. Social prescribing attempts to respond by connecting people with programs and resources close to home, and nature is increasingly entering that picture.
That might mean joining a walking group, gardening, volunteering in a conservation project, spending time in a park, or participating in an outdoor cultural activity. The intervention can be remarkably simple, but the infrastructure required to make it part of the healthcare system is not. And that is where the story becomes more complicated but also more interesting, since the question is no longer simply whether nature is good for people, but whether a health system can build a reliable bridge between a patient’s needs and the green spaces and activities that might support them.
England Shows What That Bridge Can Look Like
England is one of the clearest examples of social prescribing moving into the health system. The NHS has built social prescribing into primary care, with link workers helping people connect with local activities and support. Within that infrastructure, Green Social Prescribing has tested how people can be prescribed nature-based activities. The national program generated more than 8,500 referrals between 2021 and 2023, with improvements in mental health and well-being being reported.
The significance of the program, however, is not simply the number of referrals. It demonstrates that nature can be connected to an existing healthcare referral pathway rather than remaining a casual recommendation a doctor may give their patient. But telling someone that they might benefit from spending time outdoors is one thing. Having a trained professional identify an appropriate activity, make a referral, connect the person with a local organization, and follow up is something else entirely. And England is not alone in exploring that model.
Canada Is Putting Their Striking Landscape On The Prescription Pad
In Canada, PaRx, developed by the BC Parks Foundation, supports healthcare professionals in prescribing time outdoors, allowing nature to become something a healthcare professional can formally recommend as part of a patient’s care. But Canada’s experience also illustrates why the sector can’t simply stop at the prescription itself. A prescription is only useful if a person can actually participate. Can they participate if they have limited mobility? Do they have the time, money, or transport to get there? Do they feel safe there? These questions turn nature prescribing from a wellbeing idea into a health-system question. And they are beginning to shape the next phase of the sector.
Around The World, The Models Are Multiplying
There is no single global model of nature prescribing. In the United States, park-prescription initiatives have been developing through partnerships between healthcare providers, parks, and local organizations. Australia is taking a different route, with organizations such as Parks Victoria developing the Healthy Parks Healthy People framework, while researchers are testing nature-prescription interventions for people living with chronic conditions. And in the Netherlands, the Nature on Prescription initiative has brought together organizations working across nature, health, and public engagement.
Meanwhile, New Zealand offers a useful reminder that the field is ever-evolving and refining. Its Green Prescription program dates back to the 1990s and is primarily an exercise and lifestyle intervention rather than a nature-prescription program in the contemporary sense. But its long history shows that the idea is not new. What is new, however, is the growing attention to nature itself as part of the prescription.
In Europe, social prescribing is developing across different health and welfare systems. Research comparing social prescribing across high-income countries shows a lot of variation in how programs are organized, funded, and integrated into the system. In Portugal, for example, researchers associated with the TERRA Associate Laboratory published a policy brief in 2026 proposing a national strategy for nature prescriptions. Portugal does not yet have a formal national nature-prescription system, but what the development shows is that the idea is beginning to move from individual projects into conversations about policy.
FTHub’s EU-Funded Projects: The Missing Piece May Be The People Delivering It
For FTHub, the trend connects directly with the NAT-CARE project. The project, developed through Erasmus+ with the University of Burgos, is working on a training pathway for integrating Green Prescription into nursing and healthcare education. And while this may sound like an education issue, in practice, it is an implementation issue. Social prescription only works if professionals know when to use it, understand what they are referring people to, and can judge whether an activity is appropriate for an individual’s unique circumstances. A healthcare professional might support nature-based care but stumble across some practical hurdles, such as: What should I prescribe? Who can I refer the patient to? Is this activity suitable for their needs? How do I know whether they participated? What should I do if it does not work?
These are the questions that determine whether an idea becomes part of healthcare practice or not, and those are the ones NAT-CARE is looking to resolve. FTHub’s recent interview with Sónia Dias, Dean and Professor at NOVA National School of Public Health in Portugal, reflects on the wider view social and green prescribing can take. Dias argues that health is created not only in hospitals, but also in homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and nature. That puts nature prescription firmly within the wider social prescribing movement and also changes the role of the healthcare professional.
The evidence for health benefits associated with nature exposure continues to grow, but researchers have also pointed to gaps in the evidence base and substantial differences between interventions. There is no single “nature prescription” that can simply be rolled out everywhere. Access, equity, targeted training, measurement, and consistent care play a crucial role. FTHub’s Digital Green Prescription Toolkit, developed through NAT-CARE, is aimed at precisely this: supporting patient guidance, professional decision-making, and follow-up, while exploring structural barriers and competency gaps in Portugal and Spain.
A New Layer of Healthcare?
Health systems are beginning to look beyond their walls and recognize that some of the resources capable of supporting health are already around us, in parks, gardens, and neighborhoods. The next challenge is creating the pathways that connect people to them. If we can do that, a “nature prescription” could do more than add another tool to healthcare. It could expand our understanding of what healthcare itself can be.
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Frequently asked questions
What is nature prescribing?
Nature prescribing is when a healthcare provider formally recommends time in nature, such as a park visit, gardening or an outdoor activity, as part of a patient’s care. It is a form of social prescribing, which connects patients to non-medical resources instead of, or alongside, medication.
How does the NHS Green Social Prescribing program work?
England’s NHS Green Social Prescribing program refers patients to nature-based activities such as walking groups and outdoor volunteering through link workers. Between 2021 and 2023 it generated more than 8,500 referrals, with an 85% uptake rate when green prescriptions were offered and reported improvements in mental health and wellbeing.
What is PaRx?
PaRx is Canada’s nature prescription program, developed by the BC Parks Foundation. It gives healthcare professionals a formal way to prescribe time in nature to patients, and has grown beyond British Columbia through partnerships with organizations including Parks Canada.
Is nature-prescribing part of mainstream healthcare yet?
Not fully. Some programs, like England’s Green Social Prescribing, are already connected to established healthcare pathways, while others remain pilots or policy proposals, as in Portugal. Health systems are still building the referral pathways, professional training and accessible spaces needed to make it routine.
What is FTHub’s role in nature prescribing?
Through NAT-CARE, an Erasmus+ project with the University of Burgos, FTHub is developing a training pathway that helps nurses and healthcare professionals integrate Green Prescription into their practice, along with a Digital Green Prescription Toolkit to support decision-making and follow-up.
