Almost all the weeding and planting is being done by hand, by volunteers. She adds that controlled burning, a technique used in other locations to kill nonnatives while allowing most natives to survive, can't be used here because of nearby houses. Power tools can't be used either, because of concern that they could harm birds, snakes, or other wildlife. Girl Scouts from San Carlos, California, plant mative shrubs. As every gardener knows, pulling weeds is never a one-time activity.
Volunteers return repeatedly to weed revegetated sites.
Without help, the newly planted native seedlings won't survive. There's no way a project like this could be a one-year project, no matter how much you did. The planting is just as painstaking as the weeding. Volunteers collect seeds from native plants like beach primrose, yarrow, and coyote bush. Local nurseries grow the seeds, and in a year or so, when they reach gallon size, volunteers plant them.