Building synergies to leverage the power
of ecological restoration
About the Ecological Health Network
We live in a world of possibilities. Ecological restoration projects exist worldwide in which people are doing heroic work to bring ecosystems back to health. But there is little connection among these sites. The Ecological Health Network is changing that. We work at the intersection of human health & well-being and ecological restoration, where there are answers to some of the most urgent crises of our time.
Strengthening seed and plant supply chains in the US Northeast
Ecological restoration remains constrained by chronic commercial shortages of genetically appropriate, viable seeds and plant material of known provenance for most native plant species. EHN is reinforcing and building network connections among private, public, and non-profit stakeholders to help strengthen the US Northeast’s native seed and plant supply chain. As a result of these efforts we have helped establish the Northeast Seed Supply Network. This is a first step in ensuring that seed and plant materials are and remain widely accessible to meet the region’s burgeoning restoration goals.
Eve Allen is the Director of the Seed and Plant Supply Chain Program at EHN. Check out Eve's August 2022 interview on the Native Plants, Healthy Planet podcast about the Ecological Health Network and her drone footage of Pinelands Nursery's native seed and plant production in New Jersey. Listen to the Native Plant Trust’s November 2022 Need for Seed Symposium where Eve presented about why it is important to adopt a network approach when strengthening seed and plant material supply chains.
Click the button below to sign up to receive email updates and learn about joining the Northeast Seed Supply Network.
Network Hubs, Sites, and Regional Networks
Learn about our Network Hubs, Sites, and Regional Networks.
Events
- Public Launch Event for the New EcoHealth Network: May 13, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- EcoHealth Network 1st International Workshop: May 14 – 15, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Symposium at the Society for Ecological Restoration Conference: September 24-27, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa
- Four Islands EcoHealth Network Workshop: February 17-20, 2020, in Hobart, Tasmania
- Scaling Up Ecosystem Restoration Webinar: Online September 28, 2020
- European EHN Workshop: June 30-July 3, 2022 at Qvidja Farm in Finland
- Workshop at SER European Conference: September 5, 2022 in Alicante, Spain
View All Events »
Publications
From our colleagues in Australia and the Four Islands Ecohealth Network. Stanhope, J., & Weinstein, P. (2023). Exposure to environmental microbiota may modulate gut microbial ecology and the immune system. Mucosal Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.03.001
June Sekera, Neva Goodwin (EHN co-founder and steering committee member), Dominque Cagalanan (EHN's former executive director), and colleagues find that biological methods are more effective and efficient than mechanical methods at achieving climate-relevant CO2 removal. Sekera, J., Cagalanan, D., Swan, A., Birdsey, R., Goodwin, N., & Lichtenberger, A. (2023). Carbon dioxide removal–what’s worth doing? A biophysical and public need perspective. PLOS Climate, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000124
Robinson, J. M.; Aronson, J.; Daniels, C. B.; Goodwin, N.; Liddicoat, C.; Orlando, L.; Phillips, D.; Stanhope, J.; Weinstein, P.; Cross, A. T.; Breed, M. F. Ecosystem Restoration Is Integral to Humanity's Recovery from Covid-19. The Lancet Planetary Health 2022, 6 (9)
Orlando LF, DePinto AJ, Wallace KJ. Ecohealth Villages: A Framework for an Ecosystem Approach to Health in Human Settlements. Sustainability. 2022; 14(12):7053
News & Press
The ’23 National Native Seed Conference – Cultivating the Restoration Supply Chain and Launching the Northeast Seed Network, Eve Allen and James Aronson (Ecological Health Network), Sefra Alexandra (The Ecotype Project), Geordie Elkins (Highstead Foundation), and Uli Lorimer (Native Plant Trust), Natural History of Ecological Restoration, May 1, 2023
“We planted a forest!” – The mental health benefits of ecological restoration: a pilot study, Suzanne Hicks, Natural History of Ecological Restoration, October 21, 2022
EHN Workshop convened by James Aronson at the SER European Conference, Alicante, Spain, September 5 - 9, 2022: Ecosystem health, ecological restoration, and human health: let’s identify and strengthen the linkages. Read the abstract.
Time to learn from the past: Indigenous Peoples are leading land management in Southwest Australia, and the rest of the world should take note, Adam Cross and James Aronson, Natural History of Ecological Restoration, July 2022.
Photos by Thibaud Aronson