Botanical Community Development Initiatives

Reaching Roots is back for another season, and we are excited to build this year’s mentor team!

We are looking for two current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students to join our 2026-2027 program as paid college mentors.

Reaching Roots is a place-based, intergenerational, eco-cultural youth mentorship program led by Plants, People, Community in partnership with the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. From Palomar mountain to the ocean, youth build relationships with the lands, waters, plants, cultures, and people of the San Luis Rey watershed through cultural knowledge, community science, stewardship, food, movement, creativity, and reflection.

College mentors build meaningful relationships with youth, help plan and lead gatherings, and make college and different career pathways feel more familiar and reachable. They also learn alongside youth, Tribal and community mentors, knowledge holders, educators, and environmental practitioners.

You do not need to arrive as an expert. We are looking for people who will show up consistently, listen deeply, learn openly, and care for others and place.

Students from all backgrounds are welcome. We especially value applicants whose lived experiences and community relationships reflect the young people and places we serve including students connected to Tribal, Indigneous, Latine, immigrant, first-generation, LGBTQIA+, justice impacted and other communities historically excluded from environmental and higher education spaces.

The position pays $20 per hour and runs from September 2026 through May 2027. It includes weekly virtual mentor meetings and five primary weekend gatherings in the Spring as well as other opportunities to engage in events and after school program throughout the year. All required program work is paid.

Applicants must be current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students and be at least 18 years old before their first youth assignment.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 14.

APPLY USING THE LINK IN OUR BIO.

Questions: [email protected]

Reaching Roots is back for another season, and we are excited to build this year’s mentor team!

We are looking for two current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students to join our 2026-2027 program as paid college mentors.

Reaching Roots is a place-based, intergenerational, eco-cultural youth mentorship program led by Plants, People, Community in partnership with the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. From Palomar mountain to the ocean, youth build relationships with the lands, waters, plants, cultures, and people of the San Luis Rey watershed through cultural knowledge, community science, stewardship, food, movement, creativity, and reflection.

College mentors build meaningful relationships with youth, help plan and lead gatherings, and make college and different career pathways feel more familiar and reachable. They also learn alongside youth, Tribal and community mentors, knowledge holders, educators, and environmental practitioners.

You do not need to arrive as an expert. We are looking for people who will show up consistently, listen deeply, learn openly, and care for others and place.

Students from all backgrounds are welcome. We especially value applicants whose lived experiences and community relationships reflect the young people and places we serve including students connected to Tribal, Indigneous, Latine, immigrant, first-generation, LGBTQIA+, justice impacted and other communities historically excluded from environmental and higher education spaces.

The position pays $20 per hour and runs from September 2026 through May 2027. It includes weekly virtual mentor meetings and five primary weekend gatherings in the Spring as well as other opportunities to engage in events and after school program throughout the year. All required program work is paid.

Applicants must be current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students and be at least 18 years old before their first youth assignment.

APPLICATIONS ARE DIE SEPTEMBER 14.

APPLY USING THE LINK IN OUR BIO.

Questions: [email protected]

Reaching Roots is back for another season, and we are excited to build this year’s mentor team!

We are looking for two current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students to join our 2026–2027 program as paid college mentors.

Reaching Roots is a place-based, intergenerational eco-cultural youth mentorship program led by Plants, People, Community in partnership with the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians. From Palomar Mountain to the ocean, youth build relationships with the lands, waters, plants, cultures, and people of the San Luis Rey River watershed through cultural knowledge, community science, stewardship, food, movement, creativity, and reflection.

College mentors build meaningful relationships with youth, help plan and lead gatherings, and make college and different career pathways feel more familiar and reachable. They also learn alongside youth, Tribal and community mentors, knowledge holders, educators, and environmental practitioners.

You do not need to arrive as an expert. We are looking for people who will show up consistently, listen deeply, learn openly, and care for others and place.

Students from all backgrounds are welcome. We especially value applicants whose lived experiences and community relationships reflect the young people and places we serve, including students connected to Tribal, Indigenous, Latine, immigrant, first-generation, LGBTQIA+, justice impacted and other communities historically excluded from environmental and higher education spaces.

The position pays $20 per hour and runs from September 2026 through May 2027. It includes weekly virtual mentor meetings and five primary weekend gatherings in the spring. All required program work is paid.

Applicants must be current MiraCosta College or CSUSM students and at least 18 years old before their first youth assignment.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 14.

APPLY USING THE LINK IN OUR BIO.

Please send this post to a student who may be a good fit and help us spread the word!

Questions: [email protected]

Come out tomorrow to celebrate the Grand Re-opening of the Crown Heights Resource Center in Oceanside! We will be there with plantitas for your window sills, patios, and jardines. We are so excited that this space will be open again and to have many years of joy and resources flow abundantly from here for all of us.

🌿🦋 BORDER BIOBLITZ 2026 / BIOBLITZ DE LA FRONTERA 🦅🌿

Join us this Saturday, May 16th for a cross-border community science event documenting the biodiversity of la frontera.

This Border BioBlitz node connects the Tijuana River Valley and Cañada de los Sauces Norte - one shared canyon ecosystem spanning across borders and communities. Participants on both sides will explore, observe, and document plants, animals, fungi, and more while connected through a live cross-border.

Your observations will help restoration of the cañada and contribute to an eco-corridor being designed by local orgs to enhance the cross-border community of flora, fauna, y gente.

Border BioBlitz is a larger collaborative effort made up of many nodes and community-led events happening across the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. Together, these efforts help document the incredible biodiversity, ecological relationships, and interconnected communities of la frontera.

Using the iNaturalist app, participants contribute observations that support community science, ecological restoration, education, and long-term stewardship of borderland ecosystems.

🌱 Saturday, May 16, 2026
📍 Tijuana River Valley & Cañada de los Sauces Norte
📱 Download iNaturalist on your phone before the event
🥾 Bring water, sun protection, closed-toe shoes, and curiosity

📍Check flyers for meeting location and more details.

🍄‍🟫Joining the Latino Outdoors San Diego BioBlitz on the U.S. side?
RSVP required - sign up through the link in bio.

Whether you join from the north side or south side of the canyon, we invite you to participate in documenting the living world of this shared landscape.

Open to the public. All ages and experience levels welcome.

In collaboration with , , ,

🌱 Native Seed Workshop

Join us for our final workshop in this series as we explore the importance of native seeds, biodiversity, and community resilience. Together we’ll talk about why native seeds matter, how they support pollinators, wildlife, and healthy ecosystems, and how seed stewardship helps us care for the places we call home.

This workshop will feature Stacy Anderson, Research Coordinator with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and Mike Cerda, San Luis Rey Tribal Member, sharing knowledge on native seeds, land stewardship, and our responsibility to protect biodiversity for future generations.

📍 Civic Center Library
330 N Coast Hwy, Oceanside

📅 Thursday , April 30
🕔 5:00–6:30 PM

✨ Free event
✨ All ages welcome

Part of Oceanside Public Library’s Big Read 2026, inspired by The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.

Hosted by Plants, People, Community + Oceanside Public Library

🌱 Native Seed Workshop

Join us for our final workshop in this series as we explore the importance of native seeds, biodiversity, and community resilience. Together we’ll talk about why native seeds matter, how they support pollinators, wildlife, and healthy ecosystems, and how seed stewardship helps us care for the places we call home.

This workshop will feature Stacy Anderson, Research Coordinator with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and Mike Cerda, San Luis Rey Tribal Member, sharing knowledge on native seeds, land stewardship, and our responsibility to protect biodiversity for future generations.

📍 Civic Center Library
330 N Coast Hwy, Oceanside

📅 Wednesday, April 30
🕔 5:00–6:30 PM

✨ Free event
✨ All ages welcome

Part of Oceanside Public Library’s Big Read 2026, inspired by The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.

Hosted by Plants, People, Community + Oceanside Public Library

What does it mean to be a good ancestor?
🌱 ¿Qué significa ser un buen ancestro/a?

Join us for a reflective, hands-on workshop where we’ll slow down and reconnect with our relationships to seeds, land, and each other.
Acompáñanos en un taller reflexivo y práctico donde vamos a desacelerar y reconectar con nuestras relaciones con las semillas, la tierra y entre nosotros.

We’ll spend time with seeds - holding them, listening, remembering.
Pasaremos tiempo con semillas - sosteniéndolas, escuchando, recordando.

We’ll reflect on what we’ve inherited, what we’re carrying, and what we want to cultivate for those who come after us.
Reflexionaremos sobre lo que hemos heredado, lo que estamos cargando y lo que queremos cultivar para quienes vienen después de nosotros.

This is not about having the right answers.
Esto no se trata de tener las respuestas correctas.

It’s about being in relationship.
Se trata de estar en relación.

It’s about choosing, again and again, to care.
Se trata de elegir, una y otra vez, cuidar.

✨ We’ll be gathering in community for:
✨ Nos reuniremos en comunidad para:

• reflection + journaling
• reflexión y escritura

• seed meditation
• meditación con semillas

• shared storytelling
• compartir historias

• hands-on seed work
• trabajo práctico con semillas

📍 John Landes Community Center Library
📅 Wednesday, April 22
🕔 5:00–6:30 PM

Este taller es parte de The Big Read 2026, inspirado en The Seed Keeper de Diane Wilson.

All ages welcome. Free event.
Todas las edades son bienvenidas. Evento gratuito.

Come as you are. Bring your curiosity. 🌿
Ven como eres. Trae tu curiosidad. 🌿

🌱 What does it mean to be a good ancestor?
🌱 ¿Qué significa ser un buen ancestro/a?

Join us for a reflective, hands-on workshop where we’ll slow down and reconnect with our relationships to seeds, land, and each other.
Acompáñanos en un taller reflexivo y práctico donde vamos a desacelerar y reconectar con nuestras relaciones con las semillas, la tierra y entre nosotros.

We’ll spend time with seeds - holding them, listening, remembering.
Pasaremos tiempo con semillas - sosteniéndolas, escuchando, recordando.

We’ll reflect on what we’ve inherited, what we’re carrying, and what we want to cultivate for those who come after us.
Reflexionaremos sobre lo que hemos heredado, lo que estamos cargando y lo que queremos cultivar para quienes vienen después de nosotros.

This is not about having the right answers.
Esto no se trata de tener las respuestas correctas.

It’s about being in relationship.
Se trata de estar en relación.

It’s about choosing, again and again, to care.
Se trata de elegir, una y otra vez, cuidar.

✨ We’ll be gathering in community for:
✨ Nos reuniremos en comunidad para:

• reflection + journaling
• reflexión y escritura

• seed meditation
• meditación con semillas

• shared storytelling
• compartir historias

• hands-on seed work
• trabajo práctico con semillas

📍 John Landes Community Center Library
📅 Wednesday, April 22
🕔 5:00–6:30 PM

Este taller es parte de The Big Read 2026, inspirado en The Seed Keeper de Diane Wilson.

All ages welcome. Free event.
Todas las edades son bienvenidas. Evento gratuito.

Come as you are. Bring your curiosity. 🌿
Ven como eres. Trae tu curiosidad. 🌿

Nature knows no borders.
Who better to learn from than birds?

Join us for a Bird Sit & Nature Journaling session with Krystal Guerrero as part of the Border BioBlitz.

Slow down, observe, and connect through writing, drawing, and shared time with the more-than-human world.

Free • All ages • Family-friendly • Queer-friendly
Accessible trail (strollers, walkers, wheelchairs)

Please RSVP through the link in bio to help us prepare enough materials for everyone.

What to bring / prepare:
• Hat, water, and comfortable outdoor clothing
• A chair (recommended)
• Optional: binoculars, journal, or drawing tools

We’ll have some binoculars, journals, and colored pencils available, plus light snacks.
Don’t forget sunscreen!

🗓️ Sunday, April 26
⏰ 9:00–11:30 AM
📍 Bayshore Bikeway

⸻
La naturaleza no conoce fronteras.
¿Y quién mejor para aprender que las aves?

Acompáñanos a una sesión de observación de aves y diario de naturaleza con Krystal Guerrero como parte del Border BioBlitz.

Un espacio para desacelerar, observar y conectar a través de la escritura, el dibujo y el tiempo compartido con el mundo más-que-humano.

Gratis • Todas las edades • Familiar • Inclusivo LGBTQ+
Sendero accesible (carriolas, andaderas y sillas de ruedas)

Por favor confirma tu asistencia a través del enlace en nuestra biografía para ayudarnos a preparar suficientes materiales para todas las personas.

Qué traer / recomendaciones:
• Sombrero, agua y ropa cómoda para estar al aire libre
• Una silla (recomendado)
• Opcional: binoculares, cuaderno o materiales para dibujar

Tendremos algunos binoculares, cuadernos y lápices de colores disponibles, además de bocadillos ligeros.
¡No olvides usar protector solar!

🗓️ Domingo 26 de abril
⏰ 9:00–11:30 AM
📍 Bayshore Bikeway