Florence Williams: On Mental Health & Well-Being: The Nature Fix

Event Details

  • Date: –
  • Venue: Zoom Virtual Event
  • Cost: Free

Getting outside has never been more important during this time of isolation and anxiety. What is it about nature that is so important to our physical and mental health that our public lands are now—finally—considered “essential”? Parks and other natural spaces are so critical for our well-being, yet access remains a major issue for most.

Join us in a discussion of these timely issues with Florence Williams, journalist and the author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative—which was written in part during her 2018 residency at the Mesa Refuge. Dr. Anna O’Malley, local integrative medicine physician and Director of Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine, and Donna Faure, PRNSA’s Executive Director, will join Florence in conversation.

Co-presented by Point Reyes National Seashore Association, Mesa Refuge, Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine, and Point Reyes Books.

Florence Williams

Florence Williams is a journalist, author, and podcaster. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. She is also the writer and host of the Audible Original series, Breasts Unbound, as well as Outside Magazine’s Double-X Factor podcast. Her public speaking includes keynotes at Google, the Smithsonian, the Seattle Zoo, the Aspen Ideas Festival and many other corporate, academic and nonprofit venues. Florence is the author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative.

Anna O’Malley

Anna O'Malley, MD, is Executive Director of Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine and an Integrative Family and Community Medicine physician in West Marin. Through her work in the Commonweal Garden, she is steeped in the medicine of love, meaning, service, connection, play, dance, delicious food, plant medicine, and the deep appreciation of the wisdom of Nature.  Anna was a Bravewell Fellow and graduated from the University of Arizona’s Program in Integrative Medicine. Her residency training at University of California, San Francisco at San Francisco General, and her work within the California prison system deepened her understanding of the social determinants of health, and the beauty of the path of service.

Donna Faure

Donna Faure is the Executive Director of Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA). She joined PRNSA in 2010, bringing 25 years of fundraising, community organizing and program planning experience in the San Francisco Bay Area and abroad to her work. Donna has raised millions of dollars to assist homeless families, promote healthy communities, improve urban parks, and encourage the sharing of the wonders of nature with young people.