Malden Launches ‘Outdoor Rx’ Pilot Program for Massachusetts Residents, Individuals With Disabilities

Malden is launching The Great Malden Outdoors Rx, a first-in-the-nation pilot program linking a city-owned asset, the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation (MOOR), and health care to provide free access for people with disabilities.

According to a news release from Outdoor Sportswire, the four-week pilot begins this spring and offers four professionally led activities — outdoor art, forest bathing, birding, and adaptive hiking — with all equipment and instruction provided on-site. This initiative is funded by a $25,000 grant from the Molina Healthcare Foundation, in collaboration with Molina Healthcare and MOOR.

“Cities and states across the country are still figuring out how to meaningfully connect outdoor recreation to health care,” said Darren “DJ” Josey, creator of The Great Malden Outdoors and CEO of First Seed Sown, a co-presenter of the effort. “This program removes cost, equipment, and access barriers so people can experience the proven mental health benefits of being outside, together.”

The program builds on The Great Malden Outdoors campaign, aiming to boost outdoor participation for health and local economic development, and to serve as a model for public-private partnerships in health equity.

Participants will complete the WHO-5 Mental Well-being Survey to gather evidence on outdoor recreation as a public health intervention, with a focus on anxiety, depression, and social isolation relief.

To ensure the program is trauma-informed, equitable, and governed by best practices for mental health, First Seed Sown is partnering with And Still We Rise (ASWR), a liberation-focused mental health and consulting collective. ASWR will offer on-call clinical consultation throughout the pilot and will collect and analyze participants' well-being data into an insights and learning report to inform future Outdoor Rx models.

The pilot is open to participants with disabilities from across Massachusetts. Malden residents will receive a two-week priority registration window, after which enrollment opens to Massachusetts residents.

For more information or to get program updates, visit The Great Malden Outdoors website.