Turn the Blues Green Program Overview
Mental wellness for parents and caregivers through nature.
"Parte de mi trabajo como enfermera obstetrica es ayudar a las nuevas mamás a aprender a cuidarse a sí mismas. El programa Turn the Blues Green me ayudó a mostrarles a las nuevas mamás de mi comunidad que salir al aire libre las hacía sentir mejor".
-Alejandrina, enfermera facilitadora bilingüe de Turn The Blues Green
"Part of my job as an obstetrics nurse is to help new moms learn to take care of themselves. The Turn the Blues Green Program helped me show new moms in my community that going outside made them feel better."
-Alejandrina, Bilingual Nurse Facilitator for Turn The Blues Green
The Turn the Blues Green program is designed to promote mental well-being for new caregivers, focusing on maternal wellness. We partner with community health workers to create safe, supportive environments where families can heal and thrive through nature-based interventions. This program connects families with newborns to the benefits of nature from birth. Turn the Blues Green emphasizes the therapeutic power of nature, offering tools and community support to manage the negative impacts of postpartum depression and the baby blues and improve overall mental health. By integrating nature into prenatal and postpartum care, we aim to create a holistic approach to wellness accessible to all families and allow them to improve their overall well-being, especially around ACEs and perinatal mood disorders, leading to healthier outcomes for our people and our planet.
This program is currently being piloted with the support of the REI Cooperative Action Fund with cohort communities in Gresham, OR; the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation along the coastal border of California and Oregon; and Denver, CO. Applications for the next round of cohort communities (2026-2028) will be posted in 2025.
Did you know? According to the March of Dimes, up to 80% of new parents experience Baby Blues, and Postpartum Depression is the number one complication experienced after giving birth. In a report by the CDC, it is estimated that 64% of adults have experienced an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), leading to approximately 748 billion dollars in ACE-related health consequences in the US, Canada, and Bermuda alone.
If you are interested in participating or supporting the Turn the Blues Green program:
REFLECTION JOURNAL
Created in partnership with Intermountain Health, our reflection journal for new parents is a pocket support tool that offers peer reflections from caregivers who’ve been there, mindfulness prompts, and a few quick tips to encourage new parents to get outside as an active way to overcome the overwhelm of having a new baby.
Turn the Blues Green is made possible thanks to these partners:
