Melissa Lem
Family doctor | Clinical assistant prof, UBC Medicine | Past President, @cape-acme.bsky.social | #PaRx Co-Founder | Medical columnist, CBC News Vancouver | Salzburg Global Fellow | Opinions mine
www.parkprescriptions.ca
- Reposted by Melissa Lem🎉 Congratulations to our CAPE BC physicians recently honoured by @doctorsofbc.bsky.social ! Medical student Emilie Wang received the prestigious Changemaker Award. PaRx received the Excellence in Health Promotion Award. Dr. Sharon Dodd was also recognized for her years of service.
- Has it become easier to find a family doctor in BC? Good to explore this question on CBC News + more, including 🩺 why patient attachment + new family doctors are increasing 👩⚕️ how family docs + nurse practitioners differ 🔍 how to find a primary care provider Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1al...
- Loved celebrating physicians @doctorsofbc.bsky.social's Awards Gala last night. Honoured to celebrate #PaRx's Excellence in Health Promotion Award with @bcparksfoundation.ca's CEO Andy Day, and @cape-acme.bsky.social's Emilie Wang for her Changemaker award. Congrats to all! #healthyfuture
- BREAKING: Winter sports fans want Olympic organizers to drop fossil fuel sponsors. Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice. More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...
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- Loved taking a walk down memory lane yesterday about the genesis + impact of #PaRx on CBC Radio's Ontario Today, alongside Dr. Marc Berman, environmental neuroscientist. Listen to the show (my interview starts around 24:45): www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... @cape-acme.bsky.social @cmadocs.bsky.social
- On the heels of Health Canada increasing Vitamin D supplementation in milk + margarine, good to talk: 💪 health benefits of getting enough + harms of deficiency 🌞 ways to get your daily dose safely 🛑 how much is too much + more with @danburritt.bsky.social on CBC News. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOoi...
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- Concerned about your health? @healthcareforreal.bsky.social by @cmadocs.bsky.social is knocking it out of the park with its shorts that demystify healthcare in Canada. Thanks to the team for putting together this fun explainer about the differences between health + wellness with me — my 2nd so far!
- Atmospheric river at sea level, wintry wonderland on the mountaintops. Change your elevation, change your perspective. Gorgeous day for a snowy first hike of the year atop Grouse Mountain. Hope everyone's making some time for the great outdoors this weekend! #healthybynature #PaRx
- Looking for a healthy New Year's resolution? Consider reducing your intake of Ultra-Processed Foods. Good to cover the latest research + tips including: ☠️ their many health risks 🌭 common ones lurking in your fridge 🥬 simple hacks to reduce your intake + more. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWct...
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- New year, new op-ed. Thanks to @vancouversun.bsky.social for publishing our piece on where BC's CleanBC review succeeds—and where it needs improvement. @ericdoherty.bsky.social @emikonewman.bsky.social @traceysaxby.bsky.social @cape-acme.bsky.social
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- Started our #FirstDayHike up the BCMC Trail amid moss + ferns, and ended it in snow + moonlight atop Grouse Mountain. Loved starting 2026 off in a healthy way. Thanks Ontario Parks + @bcparksfoundation.ca for keeping this tradition going across Canada since 2018! Where was your First Day Hike today?
- Worked a Christmas Eve shift, managed a medical emergency at a carol service afterwards, moved house, and still got a homemade wreath up on our new front door in time for Santa. #MerryChristmas to all the essential workers, parents + holiday magic-makers who are keeping spirits healthy + bright!
- 'Tis the season for connection + celebration! Wonderful first official outing as a @ncccnc.bsky.social advisory board member yesterday, for the announcement of the Kootenay Forest Lands project. Here's to a healthy, nature-and-biodiversity-rich 2026. More: natureconservancy.ca/where-we-wor...
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- Sometimes people roll into your life and change your worldview forever. Rick Hansen is one of them — and our day helping him and conservation guide Anthony monitor + assess Fraser River White Sturgeon on @rickhansenfdn.bsky.social's Accessible Outdoors boat this week was one we'll never forget.
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- This is something we're not talking about enough: how health harms from polluting industries—including fracking + LNG in BC, oilsands in AB and in ON's Chemical Valley—are actively driving doctors away from communities across the country, and deterring new ones from practising there. /1
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- Beautiful weekend read by @yessfun.com @atmosmag.bsky.social featuring my #PaRx origin story, perspectives on nature and health from colleagues and collaborators Rita White, Dr. Robert Zarr and Dr. Qing Li, and a nod to PaRx's groundbreaking collaboration with @vanartgallery.bsky.social.
- "What would the world look like with such lifestyle changes? Would we be happier? Would we fight for our clean air or local wildlife? Would CEOs cut down fewer trees? Would they pollute fewer rivers? That’s the idea—and ideas, they can spread like seeds." Explore it here: atmos.earth/climate-solu...
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- Reducing our energy footprint—particularly if it comes from fossil fuels—is key for sustainable healthcare. Look forward to launching SaveonEnergy Ontario's 3-part webinar series on energy efficiency in healthcare on Dec 10. Register: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f5d45f... @cape-acme.bsky.social
- Landmark day for education + practice on conservation in Canada and beyond! Honoured to co-author the Health and Well-being chapter in Canada's very first open-access textbook on Protected and Conserved Areas. Take a look: ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/pcacanadaen/ @chrislemieux.bsky.social
- Every interaction I've had with @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social — whether it was championing nature prescribing and conservation or talking Canada's National Adaptation Strategy — revealed someone who listens, cares and acts with integrity. Thank you for always putting people and the planet first.
- “Anything that gets you outside, mindful and more connected to nature will likely improve your health.” The first place I tried barefoot hiking was in a Korean healing forest 2 years ago. ✅ Doctor approved. Thanks for including me in your story @donriddellcnn.bsky.social. www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/h...
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- What an excellent @cape-acme.bsky.social AGM and Friends & Family gathering this past weekend. Excited to support @samanthagreen.bsky.social + @srbhargava.bsky.social as they step into President & President-Elect Positions. Read more about our new board here: cape.ca/cape-welcome... /1
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- Every time my path crosses with @cathmckenna.bsky.social's my commitment to, and pride in, being a woman leading on climate level up. Thank you @kookaic.bsky.social + UBC Sauder School of Business for bringing hundreds of women leaders together in Vancouver last night to learn from her work. /1
- Reposted by Melissa LemVancouver Council votes this week on a budget that could slash programs supporting public health & climate action. We're submitting this open letter tomorrow. We have >200 signatures so far, including almost 100 health professionals. Help us reach 300 by morning! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Great to do my CBC TV column live from Brazil at #COP30 this week. @danburritt.bsky.social and I talked: 🩺 why doctors should show up on climate 🏭 health implications of fast-tracked fossil fuel projects in Brazil + Canada 🌲 my policy + advocacy priorities 📺: www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4uE... /1
- Hot. Hectic. Frustrating. Exhilarating. Still recovering after an memorable week in Belém, Brazil with @cape-acme.bsky.social for #COP30 — the Forest COP of Truth and Implementation. Read all about what CAPE did at COP30: cape.ca/cape-physici... And our closing statement : cape.ca/press_releas...
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- "A piecemeal approach that fails to address a root cause of climate change — BC’s expanding LNG industry — will fail to protect our health and health-care system.” Kudos on ecolens.ca, but BC must do more. My comments @vancouversun.bsky.social. vancouversun.com/news/bc-cdc-... @cape-acme.bsky.social
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- What an experience to join @jvipondmd.bsky.social and the @cape-acme.bsky.social team on the streets of Belém for the #COP30 Great People's March with 50,000+ people this weekend to call for #climatejustice now. Proud to bring the voice of health to this powerful community-led action.
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- As a Co-Investigator on the #PANDA Trial, I approve this message. Australian friends and colleagues, take note! 👇 www.powerlab.site/research/pan... #healthybynature
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- Hallowe'en has passed—but for many parents, the scary part is far from over. Great to join @danburritt.bsky.social to talk sugar + kids' health, including: 🧠 immediate mental + physical effects 🏥 long-term health impacts 🍭 which sweets are worse for health + more. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuCC...
- Every time I meet with this crew I leave inspired. Loved spending the afternoon learning + dialoguing with colleagues at @vanartgallery.bsky.social, @bcparksfoundation.ca's #PaRx, @unitedwaybc.bsky.social + more to advance nature, art and social prescribing across our region. /1
- Reflecting on memories with colleagues up in the trees + mountaintops after heading to South Korea this week to keynote the 2nd World Forum on Forest Therapy, on the Art + Science of Nature Prescribing. This field is at a global inflection point—and I'm so grateful to be part of it. wfoft.org/main
- Happy Hallowe'en from our pumpkin family to yours! Though we're experiencing an atmospheric river here in @cityofvancouver.bsky.social, our spirits are far from damp. Stay safe out there everyone. #happyhalloween
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- Honoured to join these incredible leaders from across Canada on behalf of @cape-acme.bsky.social in a unified call for Budget 2025 to fund a Youth Climate Corps—because young people deserve meaningful work that builds a #healthyfuture. Learn more: www.goodgreenjobsforall.ca
- Is your protein powder contaminated with lead? Good to cover @consumerreports.org's recent report today with @danburritt.bsky.social, including: 🧪 when (or if) to worry ☠️ symptoms of lead poisoning 💪 avoiding protein mania—most adults only need 0.8 g/kg/day Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx3G...
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- Loved spending the day with physician leaders from across Canada at @cmadocs.bsky.social's Canadian Conference on Physician Health today in Vancouver. The future of medicine, and physician health, looks brighter because of you all! More about the conference here: events.cma.ca/website/8372...
