Hashtag you should know: #Time4Nature

This month APEX PR is featuring in its blog hashtags you should know. Read more at apexpr.com.

TORONTO, Oct. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - After reading the book Your Brain on Nature, one thing that has stuck with me is how experiencing nature should be a natural part of all of our everyday lives. It's something I intuitively knew but until I read the book didn't fully appreciate the science as to why.

In Japan, for example, the government has made it a priority to create natural spaces to help reduce stress. They call it Shinrin-Yoku—Forest Bathing.

In a Q&A on the Nature Conservancy of Canada's blog with author Alan Logan, Logan was asked, "How can organizations do a better job of convincing others of the importance of conserving natural places and spending time in them?"

Logan's answer:
"It's time that we start having the conversation about nature's impact on our public health on a broader level. I think that these conversations can only help to effect change."

Part of the conversation has been on Twitter with the hashtag #time4nature.

What I like about #time4nature is that's it's not overly promotional (i.e. there's no organization's name in the hashtag). Instead it's about creating a dialogue about something that benefits us all.

Over the summer, Telus and the Globe and Mail partnered with the Nature Conservancy on an initiative to help promote Canadians' love of nature. They got people to submit images of our country's natural settings for a chance to win Telus gear and the opportunity to be profiled in the Globe.

As we get into colder weather here's hoping other organizations and individuals also join the conversation and continue to talk about the benefits of our natural playground.

Because after all, stress is not only around in the summer months. And, there are some pretty stunning things that you can see when you do your own forest bathing – even when the weather dips below zero.

Diane Bégin is an account director at APEX PR and a nature lover who regularly takes pictures of her favourite spots. Follow her on Panoramio. (Also, help save Panoramio.)

About APEX Public Relations

Creative, results-driven and passionate are words used to describe APEX Public Relations (apexpr.com) by both clients and its staff. A high-performance, high-energy communications agency that is fueled by innovation, strategic collaboration and senior-level involvement, APEX has won numerous national and international awards, been voted Agency of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) two years in a row and made the PROFIT Magazine list of Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs for the past ten years. Actively involved in the community, APEX founded On Your Bike (onyourbike.com), a foundation that distributes bikes to underprivileged children.

Image with caption: "time4nature (CNW Group/APEX Public Relations)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141022_C2687_PHOTO_EN_6999.jpg

SOURCE: APEX Public Relations

Diane Bégin, Account Director, Tel: [phone], [email protected]; Tara Benjamin, Office Administrator, Tel: [phone], [email protected]