What Is a Nature Prescription?
A Nature Prescription (sometimes called a Park Prescription or Green Prescription) is exactly what it sounds like.
Instead of recommending only medication or traditional therapy, healthcare providers encourage patients to spend intentional time outdoors.
A nature prescription doesn't require climbing mountains or backpacking through national parks.
It can be as simple as:
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Walking a neighborhood trail
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Visiting a local botanical garden
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Sitting beside a lake
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Watching a sunset
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Listening to birds in your backyard
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Exploring a nature preserve
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Reading beneath a tree
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Tending a small garden
The goal isn't simply exercise.
The goal is slowing down enough to reconnect with the natural world.
Why Twenty Minutes?
If you've followed Pen Pal Adventure Book for a while, you've probably noticed that we encourage spending about 20 minutes outside each day.
That number isn't random.
Researchers studying stress hormones found that spending approximately 20–30 minutes in a natural setting was associated with meaningful reductions in cortisol, often called the body's primary stress hormone.
You don't have to spend an entire afternoon hiking.
Sometimes twenty peaceful minutes is enough to reset your day.
Imagine replacing twenty minutes of scrolling with twenty minutes of noticing.
The flowers growing through a sidewalk crack.
The sound of frogs after it rains.
A butterfly landing nearby.
Clouds slowly drifting overhead.
These little moments are easy to miss—but they're often the ones we remember most.
The 120-Minute Rule
One of the largest studies ever conducted on nature exposure followed nearly 20,000 people.
Researchers discovered something fascinating.
People who spent at least 120 minutes each week in nature were more likely to report good overall health and higher levels of well-being than those who spent very little time outdoors.
Here's the best part:
Those 120 minutes didn't have to happen all at once.
They could be spread throughout the week.
Twenty minutes a day adds up to 140 minutes every week—comfortably above that research threshold.
Small moments really do add up.
Why Noticing Matters
At Pen Pal Adventure Book, our mission isn't simply to get people outside.
It's to help them notice.
Our phones have trained us to look quickly.Nature invites us to look slowly.
Instead of asking:
"What's next?"
Nature gently asks:
"What do you see right now?"
Maybe it's the texture of tree bark.
The scent after a summer rain.
The first wildflower blooming along your favorite trail.
The way sunlight filters through the leaves.
When we begin paying attention again, ordinary moments become extraordinary memories.
Why We Journal
Have you ever taken hundreds of photos during a vacation only to forget the little stories behind them?
A journal captures something different.
- It captures what you were thinking.
- What made you laugh.
- What surprised you.
- What you noticed.
Every week, writing down just one meaningful observation helps preserve the tiny details that photographs often can't.
Years later, those pages become a time capsule.
Not of perfect adventures.
Of real life.
Why One Adventure Every Month?
Life has a way of becoming predictable.
Home.
Work.
Errands.
Laundry.
Repeat.
One intentional adventure every month breaks that cycle.
It doesn't have to be expensive.
In fact, some of the best adventures are surprisingly close to home.
You might:
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Visit a state park you've never explored.
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Walk a trail in a neighboring town.
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Explore a historic downtown.
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Pack a picnic.
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Wander through a wildflower preserve.
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Visit a lighthouse.
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Browse a farmers market.
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Discover a hidden waterfall.
The destination matters less than the decision to go.
Monthly adventures give us something to anticipate and stories worth remembering.
A Different Kind of Prescription
Imagine if your weekly prescription looked something like this:
✔ Spend twenty minutes outside most days.
✔ Notice one beautiful thing.
✔ Write about it once a week.
✔ Send one handwritten letter each month.
✔ Take one local adventure every month.
No side effects.
No complicated instructions.
Just a gentle reminder to slow down and experience the world that's been waiting outside your front door all along.
The Pen Pal Adventure Book Philosophy
Everything we create is built around one simple belief:
Life becomes richer when we pay attention to it.
That's why our Weekly Journal Experience encourages you to notice something meaningful each week.
That's why our Snail Mail Club reminds you to unplug and create.
That's why we encourage one adventure every month.
Because the goal isn't filling another notebook.
The goal is filling your life with moments worth remembering.
You don't need to travel across the world.
Sometimes your next great adventure begins just beyond your front porch.
Go outside.
Notice something beautiful.
Write it down.
Someday you'll be grateful you did.
With Gratitude,
Shelly
Sources:
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Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y. P. (2019). Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress Measured as Salivary Cortisol. Frontiers in Psychology.
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White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports.
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Park Rx America and related nature-prescription initiatives.
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