Dr. MELISSA LEM — 2024 Canadian Eco-Hero

Dr. Melissa Lem is a Vancouver family physician who also works in rural and northern communities within Canada. Director of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program powered by the BC Parks Foundation, and President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, she is an internationally recognized leader in the field of nature and health. She has also engaged in advocacy and policy work on a broad range of other issues, from extreme heat and hydraulic fracturing to sustainable health care and low-carbon transportation.

A widely published writer, her work has appeared in media including the CBC, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, The Narwhal and National Observer. As a climate change panelist on CBC Radio’s Early Edition, in-house medical columnist for CBC TV Vancouver and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, one of her major priorities is knowledge translation. She is currently a co-investigator and advisor on two international nature prescription research projects (PANDA and RESONATE) with total funding of $10M+.

Dr. Lem was the inaugural winner of University College’s Young Alumni of Influence Award at the University of Toronto, recipient of a 2024 YWCA Women of Distinction Award and 2022 Adult Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature and sits on the Advisory Committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Health and Well-being Specialist Group.

Dr. Lem spoke at a CATS forum on Nov. 19, 2023.