Description
Ecological restoration needs to draw more intentionally on the principles of mental and physical health because of the same forces that heal people can also heal the land. This presentation addresses how integrating these perspectives can strengthen both human and environmental resilience. It positions mental, physical, and environmental health as interconnected pillars of collective wellbeing. Drawing from public health advocacy, narrative medicine, and native-plant ecology, the session examines how human resolve and ecosystem recovery mirror one another through shared processes of restoration, balance, and renewal.
By applying insights from field-based experience, personal narrative, and preventive health practices to native-plant work, the presenters reveal how the language of healing can deepen public engagement with the natural world. Understanding these intertwined restorative processes requires questioning how society determines what is “worth restoring,” and how stigma or misperception—whether surrounding mental illness, chronic disease, or so-called “weedy” native landscapes—can distort those judgments.
Through story, science, and lived experience, the presenters will illuminate how nurturing the natural world nurtures the self. Together, they argue that the restoration of soil and the restoration of soul are not parallel efforts but deeply interdependent ones—reminding us that cultivating health, in all its forms, begins with connection, compassion, and care for the environments within and around us.
Presenter Bios
Andrea Sonnenberg
LA Youth Mental Health Coalition
Andrea Sonnenberg is a mental health advocate, attorney, and educator dedicated to advancing youth wellness through advocacy, storytelling, and systemic change. She co-founded Wise Readers to Leaders, which addresses educational inequities through literacy and leadership programs, and began her advocacy after the tragic loss of her son, Bradley who struggled with mental health issues. Since then, Andrea has led a national speaking tour, produced the "Getting Thru" podcast, and established the Bradley Sonnenberg Wellness Initiative at USC, offering students therapy, peer support, wellness programming, and a curriculum now adopted nationwide. She is also the author of two children’s books, Panda’s Helping Paw and Elephant’s Big Climb, which introduce mental health concepts through compassionate storytelling. Andrea recently founded the LA Youth Mental Health Coalition, uniting leading mental health organizations to address the youth mental health crisis. She serves on several nonprofit boards and holds a Narrative Medicine certificate from Columbia University.
Diane Shader Smith
The Gottlieb Native Garden
Diane Shader Smith is a writer, speaker, and communications strategist who spent 17 years working with The Gottlieb Native Garden, one of the most biodiverse private native gardens in California, helping to share its story as a model for urban conservation and environmental education. She worked on the book, The Gottlieb Native Garden, and the upcoming documentary, which highlights the ecological and cultural significance of native plants, has written her own books, worked on a TV show, and led a department at an international PR firm. After the loss of her daughter Mallory at age 25, she posthumously published Mallory’s memoirs; Salt in My Soul (Random House, 2019) and Diary of a Dying Girl (Random House, 2024). She conceived The Global AMR Diary, an international storytelling initiative with the World Health Organization and the CDC among others. Across all her projects, Diane uses narrative as a catalyst for change.
DateThursday, February 5
