Across the long arc of human healing, medicine has often rediscovered what older traditions never forgot — that the living world beyond our walls is not separate from our well-being, but foundational to it. Three major American organizations have now formalized that ancient intuition into clinical policy, adopting a resolution that positions time in nature as a legitimate, evidence-based health intervention. The move acknowledges a quiet paradox of modern life: that one of the most effective and accessible remedies available to patients is the one least likely to appear on a prescription pad.
Wildlife agencies, doctors unite to prescribe nature as medicine
Nature may be one of the few interventions that touches virtually every pillar of health.
Mark
So three organizations just decided nature is medicine. What actually changed?
Mimi
They formalized a partnership and adopted a resolution recognizing that outdoor activities address all the core pillars of lifestyle medicine—movement, sleep, stress, connection, nutrition. It's not new science, but it's the first time these particular groups have officially aligned around it.
Luke
But a resolution is symbolic. What's the concrete output?
Mimi
ACLM is launching a CME course in 2027 to train doctors how to prescribe nature-based interventions. That's the mechanism—getting it into clinical practice.
Mark
Why does that matter if doctors aren't already recommending it?
Mimi
Because 83 percent of Americans say they'd spend more time outside if a doctor told them to, but only 20 percent have heard that recommendation. There's a massive gap between what people want and what they're being told.
Luke
That survey—who conducted it and how large was the sample?
Mimi
The Nature and Health Alliance and REI Co-op ran it. The source doesn't specify sample size, so we don't know the margin of error.
Mark
What's the conservation angle here? Why do fish and wildlife agencies care about this?
Mimi
They see it as reciprocal. Healthy natural environments support human health, and people who experience nature's benefits are more likely to care for and protect those environments.
Luke
Is there evidence that people who spend time in nature actually become better stewards?
Mimi
The resolution assumes that connection, but the source doesn't cite specific data on that causal link.
Mark
What happens after the course launches?
Mimi
If it works, you'd expect to see more doctors recommending outdoor time as part of treatment plans. It could reshape how wellness is prescribed.
Luke
And if it doesn't work? If doctors take the course but don't change their practice?
Mimi
That's the real test. A course is necessary but not sufficient. You'd need systemic change in how medicine values and incentivizes these recommendations.
Le Pouls
- A striking gap has opened between what science supports and what doctors actually do — 83% of Americans would go outside more if advised to, yet only 20% have ever received that guidance from a clinician.
- Three major organizations — spanning healthcare, wildlife conservation, and nature advocacy — have formalized a partnership to treat outdoor activity not as leisure, but as a measurable clinical intervention.
- Nature is being mapped onto all six pillars of lifestyle medicine simultaneously, meaning a single walk in the woods may address depression, blood pressure, sleep, stress, and social connection at once.
- A new continuing medical education course, launching in 2027, aims to standardize what has until now been largely absent from medical training — how to prescribe the outdoors responsibly and effectively.
- The resolution lands at the intersection of public health and conservation, signaling that protecting natural environments and improving human health are no longer being treated as separate missions.
Across the long arc of human healing, medicine has often rediscovered what older traditions never forgot — that the living world beyond our walls is not separate from our well-being, but foundational to it. Three major American organizations have now formalized that ancient intuition into clinical policy, adopting a resolution that positions time in nature as a legitimate, evidence-based health intervention. The move acknowledges a quiet paradox of modern life: that one of the most effective and accessible remedies available to patients is the one least likely to appear on a prescription pad.
Three American organizations — the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Nature and Health Alliance — have formalized a partnership to bring the outdoors into clinical medicine. The catalyst was a resolution adopted at AFWA's 116th Annual Meeting, which formally recognizes outdoor time as a tool for managing human health across all six pillars of lifestyle medicine: nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, connectedness, and avoidance of harmful substances. Activities as varied as hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, and habitat stewardship are understood to serve these functions at once.
The urgency behind the partnership lies in a striking disparity. A survey by the Nature and Health Alliance and REI Co-op found that 83 percent of Americans would spend more time outside if a healthcare provider recommended it — yet only 20 percent had ever received such guidance. ACLM's CEO John Findley described nature as "one of our most accessible, yet underused, resources for whole-person health," pointing to emerging evidence linking outdoor exposure to reduced depression, lower blood pressure, and decreased inflammation.
The resolution grew from AFWA's One Health Committee, which examines the interconnections between wildlife, human, and environmental health. Committee chair Jason Sumners argued that the health of people, wildlife, and the outdoors cannot be viewed in isolation — a framing that bridges conservation and clinical medicine in ways rarely attempted at this scale.
To move from principle to practice, ACLM will launch a Nature and Health continuing medical education course in 2027, developed with the Nature and Health Alliance and funded by the REI Cooperative Action Fund. The course will train clinicians in the science of nature exposure and how to integrate it responsibly into patient care — standardizing what has so far been largely informal or absent from medical training. With outdoor recreation already generating $1.3 trillion annually for the U.S. economy, the resolution also carries economic weight, reinforcing a vision in which access to nature is recognized not as optional, but as essential to human flourishing.
Three major organizations in the United States—the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Nature and Health Alliance—have formalized a partnership to treat nature as a clinical intervention. The move came after AFWA adopted a resolution at its 116th Annual Meeting that explicitly recognizes outdoor time as a tool for managing the core components of human health.
The resolution identifies nature as supporting all six pillars of lifestyle medicine: optimal nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, connectedness, and avoidance of risky substances. Walking, hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting, and habitat stewardship all serve these functions simultaneously. The framing is straightforward—stepping outside is not a luxury or a hobby, but a measurable health intervention that touches nearly every dimension of how a person's body and mind function.
Yet a significant gap exists between what the science suggests and what actually happens in clinical settings. A survey conducted by the Nature and Health Alliance and REI Co-op found that 83 percent of Americans would spend more time outdoors if a healthcare provider recommended it. Only 20 percent said they had actually received such a recommendation from a doctor. That disparity—between willingness and guidance—is what the three organizations aim to close. John Findley, CEO of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, described nature as "one of our most accessible, yet underused, resources for whole-person health." Emerging evidence suggests time outside can reduce depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure, decrease stress, and reduce inflammation. For many patients, it may be one of the few interventions that addresses multiple health concerns at once.
The partnership grew from work by AFWA's One Health Committee, which brings together wildlife and conservation leaders with experts from other sectors to examine the connections between the health of wildlife, people, and the environment. The committee found strong alignment between its mission and the work already being done by ACLM and the Nature and Health Alliance. Jason Sumners, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation and chair of AFWA's One Health Committee, framed the resolution as recognition that "the health of people, wildlife and the outdoors cannot be viewed in isolation."
To translate this framework into clinical practice, ACLM plans to launch a new continuing medical education course in 2027 called Nature and Health. Developed in partnership with the Nature and Health Alliance and funded by the REI Cooperative Action Fund, the course will teach clinicians the science connecting nature exposure to health outcomes and show them how to responsibly integrate evidence-based nature interventions into patient care. The course represents an attempt to standardize what has so far been informal or absent from most medical training.
The resolution also reflects a broader economic reality. The outdoor recreation industry generates $1.3 trillion annually for the U.S. economy. Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, called the resolution timely, noting it aligns with a vision for an "Outdoor Era" in which safe and convenient access to nature becomes recognized as essential to health and well-being, not as an optional activity. The partnership signals that conservation, healthcare, and research communities are moving toward a shared understanding: protecting natural environments and promoting human health are not separate goals, but reinforcing ones.
Citations marquantes
Nature is one of our most accessible, yet underused, resources for whole-person health. It gives us space to move, play, be curious, restore and connect more deeply with others and ourselves.— John Findley, CEO of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine
The health of people, wildlife and the outdoors cannot be viewed in isolation.— Jason Sumners, Director of Missouri Department of Conservation and chair of AFWA's One Health Committee
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