Starlight Foundation and Embrace create colourful activity for WA Mental Health Week

Hand-crafted leaves, flowers, and insects adorned the Embrace Healing Tree for WA Mental Health Week 2026, creating a colourful display reflective of support systems and mental health and wellbeing.

This year’s theme focused on ‘taking control in the face of change’, and empowering Western Australians to reclaim their mental health and respond to life’s challenges with optimism about the future. This involved encouraging people to look at the tools, habits and supports that people can control to improve their wellbeing and that of the community.

Embrace researchers Amanda Zaffino and Dr Karen Lombardi and Starlight Foundation standing in front of the Healing Tree.

Done in collaboration with an Embrace partner, Starlight Foundation, the activities involved creating flora and fauna out of pipe-cleaners and beads, writing on wooden leaves about what makes you feel good, and reflecting with an activity about the supportive ‘ecosystems’ of people that surround us.

The Starlight Express Room and The Kids Discovery Centre at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) housed the activity, making a creative and reflective space for visitors and patients to visit between appointments. And while some kids used the leaves to write their wishes or motivational words for other kids at the hospital, others used the space to create friendship bracelets to share with their friends and family. 

Kids gathered around the Healing Tree to do creative activities

Embrace is proudly supported by principal partner Rio Tinto and Channel 7 Telethon Trust.