Free program aimed at coaching Canadians to better connect with nature

Adding the outdoors to everyday life Andrew Holland from the Nature Conservancy of Canada gives details on the Nature Coach, a program encouraging people to get outside.

A new program is calling on Canadians to disconnect from their devices in order to better connect with nature.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) launched Nature Coach, a free program aimed at helping folks build more of the outdoors into their daily lives.

“It's good for our physical, mental and emotional well being,” NCC’s Andrew Holland told CTV Morning Live Winnipeg in an interview Monday morning.

“We want more Canadians to feel connected to the outdoors and with nature because if they do that, then they'll be more likely to have a support for nature in their own communities in their own backyards, and will want to see more conservation measures.”

To take part, users must first take a six-question quiz to assess how much they like the outdoors. Folks are asked to weigh in on everything from their ideal vacation spot to how much the environment affects their actions.

After that, users will get a score. NCC’s Nature Coach will then send participants tips via email for eight weeks, offering pointers on how to inject more nature in their lives in an effort to improve overall scores.

NCC said the goal is to let people discover how connected they are to nature, and draws from research at Trent University.

“Especially now that our summer’s unfortunately coming to an end and our evenings are getting darker, sooner - here's a way to encourage people to really make that time to get outdoors over the next two months, really taking advantage of the natural beauty, the fall leaves and everything to try and make the most of the outdoors,” Holland explained.

To learn more about the Nature Coach program, visit NCC’s website.