📣 Meet the changemaker proving quiet action speaks loudest

Cassie in the native plants garden she built with neighbors and school children in a public park in San Diego

On a recent trip to San Diego, I stumbled across a little garden tucked into a public state beach—a thoughtful space full of native plants, each labeled with its name, the child who planted it, their grade in school, and which wildlife species it supported.

Curious, I stopped to chat with the woman pulling weeds nearby. That’s when I met Cassie, the force behind this humble yet powerful project.

Cassie lives near the garden in Palisades Park and is pursuing an MA in Wildlife Conservation Biology. She’d been noticing how cultivated, non-native plants were taking over her community—draining precious water and offering nothing to the wildlife around them. But her neighbors were skeptical about native plants. They worried a native garden would look messy or uncared for.

Instead of arguing or trying to convince them with words, Cassie decided to show them.

📝 She called and emailed city and park officials, a lot.

📣 She canvassed her neighborhood.

🤝 She recruited volunteers and teachers to get on board.

💪 And then she dug in—literally—moving two tons of earth and weeds to bring the garden to life.

What’s especially remarkable is that she did all of this on public land—a space tangled in red tape and approvals.

And that garden has done something the internet or a local Facebook group rarely manage: it’s fostered conversation, not shouting.

🌿 Kids now know the plants and wildlife they’ve nurtured.

💡 Neighbors see firsthand that native plants can be beautiful, not messy.

💖 And without a single “comment thread,” trust and connection have grown where skepticism once lived.

In a time when the internet bombards us with endless information—some helpful, much not—and social media sows distrust between neighbors, this garden is proof of the power of quiet action. It’s not a debate. It’s not a post. It’s just there—living, growing, and inspiring.

Cassie didn’t just restore a patch of land; she restored a sense of community.

To design your own native plant garden, visit the project’s website at restoretheshorepb.com