Stories of Service: D.C. Park Rx

Shortly after moving to Washington, D.C., I knew I wanted to give back to the community. Perhaps it was out of fear that with a full-time D.C. job I would only talk in Washington-speak, or, maybe it was because I knew the High Meadows Fellowships were designed to give space to pursue activities that were important to me. Either way, I made it a mission to find a meaningful activity outside of work.

I set out looking for ways to get involved with a clinic or a hospital. Just as I loved my previous work at the National Air and Space Museum, the hospital and clinic environment seemed like a close cross-over — busy, sometimes confusing to get around, and filled with lots of people in need of a smiling face.

Unfortunately, volunteering in the medical field is tough to break into. Most medical centers said they were already full, and some said I needed to have previous hospital or medical volunteering experience, which I didn’t. Nevertheless, one day at work, I came across the D.C. Park Prescription Program, or D.C. Park Rx. I found myself captivated by the vision of the pediatrician who spearheads the program, Dr. Robert Zarr at Unity Health Care, Inc.: improving people’s health by connecting them to nature.

You can read more about Dr. Zarr’s work here, and you’ll find his vision is inspiring. He actually writes prescriptions for parks. Especially in a device-dependent world, not to mention in a city neighborhood with more apartments than trees and pavement connecting building to building, it’s all too important that kids and their families prioritize spending time in nature.

In order to prescribe these parks, he needed a parks database for his patients. He already has a first version, but he has a vision to add more parks and make the website even more user-friendly. That’s where I come in. I thought about emailing Dr. Zarr immediately from my office, but it turns out I had the opportunity to meet him within that same month.

A couple of phone calls and emails later, I came on board to help prepare the data for the newest version of Park Rx. The goal was to work two hours a week, but I enjoy the work so much, I give more. It’s important to make sure each of the ~350 DC parks has the right address, name, description, and photos.

I’ve been volunteering with Dr. Zarr for 3 months now, and it’s been a terrific experience. I’m not in a clinic, but I am encouraged to think like a doctor and make sure the parks are stored in such a way that is easy for all ages to use. The details may feel small, but I know that with each park that I add or modify, I am opening up a new opportunity to be outside.

It’s even given me more perspective at my fellowship position at The Wilderness Society. Our mission is “to protect wilderness and to inspire Americans to care for our wild places.” By helping to protect wilderness, Americans have access to places where they may do the same activities and enjoy the same benefits as a clinic patient visiting DC parks. I’ve found that my volunteer work with the doctor reinforces and complements my full-time work at The Wilderness Society — helping people find joy, meaning, even healing through nature.

Growing up, I did community service to check a box. Now I do it as a way to stretch myself and see how my skills can be applied in other contexts. Here, my Microsoft Excel familiarity from anxious nights crunching Rocky Mountain forest data for my thesis now gets to put together a park map of a city where finding parks isn’t always easy. And the work is not over, the goal is to spread the word, so more doctors can recommend parks to their patients, perhaps even showing them parks they may never realize existed. Eventually, I would like to see all D.C. dwellers prescribe parks, finding their oasis from a technology driven society.

Through this newsletter, we’ll be sharing stories of service from our fellows. Keep your eyes on this page for updates in the upcoming months, and if you’re near DC, come check out one of our beautiful parks!

Katie Breen is a Climate and Energy High Meadows Fellow at the Wilderness Society in Washington D.C. She loves finding excuses to get outside. You can follow her on Twitter at @KatieMBreen.