Melissa Lem

PaRx Director | BC Parks Foundation

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.

As a widely published writer, climate change panellist 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 named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 List in 2025, recipient of a King Charles III Coronation Medal, the 2024 Canadian Eco-Hero Award, a 2024 YWCA Women of Distinction Award and 2022 Adult Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature, and also sits on the Advisory Committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Health and Well-being Specialist Group.