LINK to LAist for full story (Feb. 2, 2022) | Phillip Lester drove his shovel into the earth, smiling as at last he pierced beneath the dry, hard dirt into dark brown fertile soil. “This whole lot used to be a junkyard,” said Lester.
…At a planting event last fall, Oya Sherrills stood in the shade of a tall eucalyptus tree and spoke about the calming effect of nature.
“A lot of the folks we engage with have PTSD because they are survivors of gun violence and gang violence,” said Sherrills, who leads the garden. “So exposing them to spaces where they have nature all around them nurtures the spirit and decreases PTSD symptoms.”
With funding support from the USGBC of Los Angeles, the non-profit cleared the trash and installed a rain garden to capture and clean stormwater.
They planted palo verde trees, with lime green trunks and yellow blooms, as well as many native plants including yarrow, red Buckwheat and California fuchsia. READ MORE at link.
