Canada's Parks Day - Saturday, July 18

www.gotparks.ca

OTTAWA, July 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Parks across Canada – events will take place nationwide throughout this weekend to celebrate Canada's Parks Day. This annual celebration showcases Canada's incredible network of parks by offering special events and fun activities designed to connect people of all ages to nature and the outdoors.

This weekend event, now in its 26th year, highlights the powerful role nature plays in our daily lives by drawing Canadians to experience parks firsthand. Check out the Canadian Parks Council's recent health and well-being publication titled Connecting Canadians to Nature through Parks.

Did you know…

• When children are outside and in nature they move more, sit less and play longer – behaviours associated with improved body composition, bone density, blood pressure and mental health;
• People exposed to nature recover from surgery faster and require fewer medications;
• Memory performance and attention span improves 20% after spending an hour interacting with nature
• Nature offers something spiritual that is good for the soul and draws us outward, reminding us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves;
• Nature makes us nicer – communities with more green space have lower rates of crime and violence.

What better time, than Canada's Parks Day, to share and celebrate the benefits that parks provide for families to bond, children to play, and communities to meet. Let's rediscover our connection to nature locally, regionally and nationally by getting out to visit a park!

Check out www.gotparks.ca or the Canadian Parks Council's Parks Day webpage and get involved this weekend by experiencing nature and history in one of Canada's Parks Day festivities. From nature walks to canoe tours, art displays, kite making workshops, lumberjack demonstrations and other imaginative events focused on the importance of connecting to nature, the choice is as vast as the diversity protected within our tremendous network of parks.

For information about Canada's federal, provincial and territorial parks visit www.parks-parcs.ca. To find or post a program in a park near you or to share a park experience visit www.gotparks.ca!

SOURCE Parks Canada