In today's episode, Che had an opportunity to speak to an exceptional Physician Dr. Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP, FCFP and PaRx Director. She believes that nature is a pillar of health and she is committed to prescribing nature to her patients. She is based in Vancouver but grew up in Ontario. She is a family physician who also works in rural and northern communities within Canada. As President-elect of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, she routinely writes, researches, and speaks about the nature-health connection for over a decade. Although her obsession with nature began as a child growing up in Toronto, she found nature to be a refuge from isolation and stress. She discovered later that her intuitive love for nature is backed by scientific evidence and research. Many studies have been done on the benefits of nature, impacting creativity, anxiety and depression in children and adults. 

Dr. Lem has been a widely published writer; she was the resident medical expert on CBC TV's hit lifestyle show Steven and Chris for four seasons and continues to appear on-air as a regular contributor to CTV News. In addition, Dr. Lem is a 2020 Joule Innovation Grant recipient and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at British Columbia. Please take a listen to their conversation, share the show and your thoughts.