Mission Statement
At Planting Smiles, our mission is to cultivate a lasting love of the natural world in tomorrow’s leaders by bringing hands-on plant education into classrooms and community spaces. Students will experience firsthand how their choices impact living things. Caring for houseplants teaches responsibility, scientific inquiry, and nurtures empathy for all living things. Caring for plants also boosts air quality, reduces stress, and improves focus.
-Owen received a “Thank You” booklet following a lesson at a San Diego Elementary School.
Additionally, our mission is to push students to consider how their everyday decisions scale up to affect global ecosystems and can contribute to climate change mitigation. By making small household changes, our students are directly working to protect our environment one plant at a time. Our program empowers young people with the knowledge and skills to nurture growth at home and beyond, inspiring a ripple of environmental action that extends from window sills to global ecosystems.
Our Journey
Planting Smiles began in July 2024, when 10th-grader Owen Light at the San Diego School of Creative and Performed Arts (SDSCPA) found himself mesmerized by a spider plant on his windowsill. That fascination soon overflowed his shelves, inspiring him to convert the old family shed into a makeshift greenhouse. A summer visit to his grandfather in upstate New York presented an opportunity for Owen when he saw the number of plant offshoots at his grandpas house. Owen saw an opportunity to share these plants with his community. He and his aunt packed a suitcase full of spider-plant “babies” which he then flew across the country back to California. At home, he and friends potted and cared for 1,000 baby spider plants but the real spark came when he delivered them to a local elementary school, sharing not just greenery but his growing passion for plants and the environment as a whole.
-Owen being interview by Channel 8 at the San Diego Botanic Garden
Owen was shocked to learn that anthropogenic climate impacts were not taught in school until the junior or senior year of high school. In further research, he discovered that 80% of parents wish climate change was taught in schools and that the majority of educators believe they would be unprepared to teach about it (National Education Association). Supported by his high school guidance counselor and AP Environmental Science teacher, Owen learned everything about climate change and how to teach it to elementary schools, and we haven’t looked back since. Owen has since filed nonprofit documents, rallied volunteers, made a website, and continues to pour all of his energy into Planting Smiles.