Canada's Parks Day - Saturday, July 19 - Media Advisory

www.gotparks.ca

OTTAWA, July 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Parks across Canada - Canada's Parks Day will take place nationwide on Saturday, July 19^th.  This annual celebration showcases the spectacular personal, social and societal benefits enjoyed by millions who personally experience Canada's incredible network of parks and historic places.  

This event, now in its 25^th year, aims to connect Canadians to nature by drawing attention to the powerful role nature plays in our daily lives and our overall social well-being.  Did you know…

• Contact with nature has been found to lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, help mitigate disease, and reduce stress levels;
• Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial parks contribute $4.9 billion to our Gross Domestic Product, $2.9 million in labour income and $337 million in revenue;
• Nature plays a pivotal role in nurturing relationships by bringing people together and it improves our mood and sense of belonging.
• Nature purifies the air we breathe and the water we drink, provides protection from floods, regulates climate, and stores carbon to help offset climate change;
• 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.
  

Canada's system of parks, the oldest in the world, has existed for more than a century.  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.  As a tribute to the important role parks play as part of the natural solution to climate change, and our collective health and well-being, the Canadian Parks Council has produced a short two minute video that will be released on Canada's Parks Day at: http://www.parks-parcs.ca/english/lifessake.php.  All Canadians are encouraged to view and share this inspiring video widely to help raise awareness about the benefits of parks.  Let's rediscover our connection to nature locally, regionally and nationally!

Check out www.gotparks.ca or www.parks-parcs.ca/english/cpc/parksday.php and get involved on July 19^th 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 Canadian parks and historic sites.

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.  There is also a Canada's Parks Day Facebook Photo Contest with prizes to be won at www.facebook.com/GOTParks/events!

SOURCE: Canadian Parks Council

For further information about Canada's Parks Day, please contact: Dawn Carr, Executive DirectorCanadian Parks Council, [phone] / [phone], [email protected] ; www.parks-parcs.ca