Gardening Without Permission

Oxnard’s Guerilla Gardeners Share Their Story with Santa Barbara

The Environmental Justice Through Grassroots Activism Panel featured (from left) MiniNature Reserve Leaders Diego Magana and Solimar Gutierrez, and organizers Miranda Magana and Cody Howen. | Credit: Jhana Studio

Vigilante gardeners are quietly transforming Oxnard. Where there was once only dirt and concrete, vibrant wildflowers now bloom, alive with birds and bugs.

Two of these young “guerrilla gardeners,” Solimar Gutierrez and Diego Magaña, shared their story at a recent Community Environmental Council (CEC) panel. As leaders of the MiniNature Reserve, they spoke enthusiastically about restoring neglected urban spaces by planting native species — with or without permission.

But often without.

“Low-income communities of color face many environmental issues — environmental decay; racism; living in high-priority cleanup areas that still aren’t cleaned up; a lack of access to nature,” Magaña explained. “We can start to solve those problems with just a seed.”

The group began guerrilla gardening — raising plants in derelict spaces without explicit permission — after witnessing their hometown be treated as a “dumping ground,” transforming it into what they described as a toxic, concrete jungle, known to most as Oxnard, California.

Solimar Gutierrez (left) and Diego Magana (right) were inspired to beautify their hometown city of Oxnard, noting the environmental degradation the city has suffered. | Credit: Jhana Studio

Despite its rich cultural heritage, including a history of farmworker advocacy, the city has borne the brunt of environmental degradation exacerbated by its neighbors, including Santa Barbara. Harmful pollutants from industrial facilities and agriculture dirty their communities, their air, and their water.

“I grew up in a little RV, with no front lawn, next to an empty lot filled with trash,” Gutierrez recounted. “My parents and other residents spent nine months cleaning up that empty lot and planting a garden.”

However, she explained, Starbucks came in and bought the lot, and not long after it was planted, the garden was destroyed. “That’s what we’re up against,” she said, citing issues of gentrification. “Either you get defeated or you keep going.”

But this is not a story of defeat. Both panelists were beaming with excitement just speaking about what they’ve accomplished. In many previously neglected areas, orange and purple wildflowers have sprouted, attracting all kinds of wildlife and disrupting the city’s monotony.

“When you take your morning walk, you should be able to see native plants,” Gutierrez said matter-of-factly.

MiniNature Reserve started in Magaña’s backyard, with his sister, Miranda. Miranda is a recent graduate of the CEC’s Climate Stewards program, which equips its cohorts with the know-how to battle climate change. She and fellow alum Cody Howen organized the panel.

[Click to zoom] The “before” and “after” of a MiniNature Reserrve along an Oxnard sidewalk. | Credit: MiniNature Reserve.

A small crowd attended the CEC panel discussion. | Credit: Jhana Studio

Using money from their own pocket, the Magañas started propagating native plants in their backyard. With help from Gutierrez, they’ve since cultivated entire nurseries, employed 700 volunteers, and grown more than 2,000 native plants.

“We believe we don’t need permission,” Miranda said of their gardening practices. “Nature should thrive where it should be.”

That, however, leads to “situations,” Diego said with a chuckle. “If it’s not the landowner ripping out our plants, it’s the city ripping out our plants.”

A MiniNature Reserve garden full of wildflowers. | Credit: MiniNature Reserve via Instagram.

In an unincorporated area in Ventura, they cultivated a garden with a family of Chumash women and named it “s’sukekes hi xutas,” or “Mother Earth’s Garden.” It flourished on a plot of land occupied by TheLab805, with yarrow, milkflowers, and golden currants, alongside painted stones. Soon after, however, Lab805 changed locations. Within months, the plants were pulled up and discarded by the landlord, and the garden was destroyed.

“It was not a failure, but still a hard lesson to learn,” Magaña said. “It was the only garden so far to be led by Chumash women…. It symbolizes the gentrification happening there. They don’t care about plants, earth, life, and the health of soil. That’s what we’re up against: greed.”

In another space, the City of Oxnard deemed their plants a “tripping hazard,” pulled out the garden, and poured concrete in its place. “We just keep going on our mission and get over the roadblocks as they come,” Gutierrez said.

Still, even with these tough lessons and a small team, they are seeing results. Last year, they raised 25 monarch butterflies, planted and maintained 17 gardens, and trained a cohort of more than 35 volunteers, including working with kids.

They’ve even found endangered species poking around their gardens.

“Guerilla gardening is nothing new. It should be done. This is a form of indigenous science, or ‘traditional ecological knowledge,’” Guitierrez attested. “We’re proving that it works. Hello?” she waved her hands with a smile, “There’s the results.”

To get involved with the guerrilla gardeners, follow their next steps, and aid in their journey finding a permanent home or adopt a garden, visit mininature.org. To learn more about how to become a Climate Steward, see cecsb.org.