Friend of the Month | Debora Campbell

The demonstration garden outside the FOSC Native Plant Nursery in Joaquin Miller Park bursts with a variety of native flora, thanks in large part to the efforts of volunteer Debora Campbell (She/Her). Every week, Debora can be found in her signature large-brimmed gardening hat tending to the garden, caring for plants, and ensuring it remains a space that inspires visitors.

Debora has always had a special attraction to and affection for free-ranging waterways, so working with the Sausal Creek Watershed feels like a natural extension of that passion. Growing up in South Florida in the 1970s, she only saw human-engineered canals and straight lines. The meandering wild creeks and canals her dad grew up exploring as a child in the 1920s and 30s had been eliminated.

Her first encounter with a natural stream came as an eight-year-old in Pennsylvania. “I thought it was this amazing little water wonderland, and my mom couldn’t get me out of it,” Debora recalls. “I still carry this childlike enthusiasm whenever I encounter streams and rivers, and I always make sure to carry a mask and snorkel with me when I go hiking if there’s any chance I might run into a wild body of water.

Since joining FOSC, Debora has informally adopted the demonstration garden as her “watershed baby.” In addition to being a gorgeous place to spend an afternoon, she hopes that by beautifying it, others will feel inspired to incorporate native plants into their own gardens and communities.