Health News For South West
Monday, June 08, 2015
Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Stay Healthy This Summer by Visiting an Ontario Provincial Park
Ontario has joined the world-wide Healthy Parks Healthy People movement and is encouraging everyone to visit a provincial park to improve their health. Ontario's provincial parks will be open to the public free of charge on July 17 this year for all day-use visitors.
Started in Australia, Healthy Parks Healthy People reinforces and encourages the connections between a healthy environment and a healthy society.
Research shows access to nature and green space plays a vital role in physical and mental health, wellbeing and development:
- Contact with nature has been found to lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, help fight disease and reduce stress.
- Activities done in a natural environment reduce anger, fatigue and sadness compared to the same activities in a human-made environment.
- Communities with more green space have lower rates of crime and violence.
- Incorporating physical activity into your day can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.
With more than 330 provincial parks in Ontario, our province's natural spaces are the perfect places for fun and healthy activities.
To help get people active and outdoors, many parks will be offering a number of fun activities on July 17, and throughout the year. Healthy Parks Healthy People day events include:
Check out more events like these, or simply bring family or friends to your favourite park and create your own.
Encouraging Ontarians to be healthy and enjoy the outdoors is part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, which is providing patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information they need to live healthy and a health care system that's sustainable for generations to come.
Quick Facts:
- Walking is Ontario’s most popular physical activity. Why not try it in a provincial park?
- In 2014, Ontario’s provincial parks received more than 8.5-million visits from people around the world and brought in over $70 million in revenue, which supported jobs and businesses across the province.
Additional Information:
Quotes:
"I am pleased that Ontario provincial parks will be open to all Ontarians without any cost on July 17, 2015. This provides a great opportunity for Ontarians, young and old, to get outdoors and get active. I encourage you to get active in one of Ontario’s beautiful provincial parks throughout the year."
— Bill Mauro, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
"There is no better way to spend a summer day than at one of Ontario’s provincial parks. Come discover Ontario’s beauty and get fit at the same time."
— Dipika Damerla, Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
Multimedia and Electronic Press Kit
Media Contacts:
Media calls only: Todd Lane
Minister’s Office
416-314-1100
Media calls only: Media Desk
Communications Services Branch
416-314-2106
© 2025, thehealthline.ca All rights reserved.