FREE & RECORDED. Times shown are Pacific Time.

Nature isn’t just beautiful — it’s healing. Research shows that time outdoors can lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, improve sleep, boost mood, and even strengthen the immune system. Yet many older adults spend less time in nature, often due to mobility challenges, pain, safety concerns, or simply not knowing how to begin.

Join us for a Wellness Wednesday with Dr. Melissa Sundermann, a lifestyle medicine physician and advocate for the healing power of the outdoors. We’ll explore why nature matters for healthy aging and how to make it accessible at every stage of life. Dr. Melissa will share practical solutions to common barriers, including safe ways to enjoy nature with limited mobility and simple activities like gardening, birdwatching, and “forest bathing.” She’ll also highlight innovative programs like ParkRx, where time in nature is prescribed as part of care.

Walk away with tools and inspiration to make nature part of your daily routine—whether in a park, a garden, or your own backyard.

Melissa Sundermann, MD, is a double board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine with over 25 years of medical practice experience. Widely recognized as “Doctor Outdoors,” she is a leading expert in Nature as Medicine and serves as the Founding Chair of the Nature as Medicine subcommittee for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. She is also the Chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Lifestyle Medicine Initiative, where she works to expand global awareness of evidence-based lifestyle interventions.

Dr. Sundermann also serves as an Advisor for Social Prescribing USA, Project Reconnect at UCLA, and InCaria, lending her expertise to initiatives at the forefront of community health, integrative healing, and innovative well-being solutions.