Prescribing Nature: How Mayo Clinic is Redefining Healing

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is a recognized Tree Campus Healthcare facility by the Arbor Day Foundation, meeting standards for tree care and community engagement at the intersection of trees and public health. Across its expansive campus, trees are being used in innovative, intentional ways to support healing, solve environmental challenges, and enhance patient and staff wellbeing. 

Decades of research have shown that exposure to nature can help improve mood, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and even reduce recovery times. According to the Arbor Day Foundation’s 2025 Canopy Report, more than half of Americans say trees and green spaces help improve their mood and reduce stress and anxiety. 

At Mayo Clinic, this science is guiding real-world solutions. 

The newly renovated Saint Francis Peace Garden offers patients and families a serene escape under a lush tree canopy. Designed for full immersion in green space, the garden helps reduce anxiety and offers a quiet moment of comfort in challenging times. 

Elsewhere, trees are solving unexpected problems. When heat-reflective panels near a parking garage began to raise temperatures in the courtyard and dry out nearby plants, trees were planted strategically to provide shade and block reflected sunlight. As temperatures dropped, plant health improved, and more people began using the space. 

Trees have also been used to protect patient privacy. In a courtyard used by patients, trees now form a living barrier between the space and a nearby road, offering both seclusion and the calming benefits of nature. 

Recognizing that healing extends beyond patients, Mayo Clinic created a dedicated, tree-lined sanctuary for staff to rest and recharge, too. They’ve even woven natural elements into the design of their Children’s Center — bringing the comfort of the outdoors inside. 

They not only have thoughtfully incorporated natural elements across the campus but, most inspiring of all, some physicians at Mayo Clinic have begun prescribing nature itself, encouraging patients to engage with green spaces as part of their care. 

Mayo Clinic is proving what we’ve long believed: the future of healthcare is rooted in green.