Finally tonight, sowing seeds of hope and fields of poppies is bringing a new life to a community that lost so much. CBS’s Joy Benedict has that story in our Weekend Journal.
And here we go.
JOY BENEDICT: It’s a wild idea that is spreading. Rene Amy is walking the empty lots of the Eaton Fire burn scar in Altadena, California, scattering a little seed, hoping for a lot of growth in a community that lost so much. He’s calling it the Great Altadena Poppy Project.
“100 years ago, Altadena was covered with California poppies. And here’s a great opportunity to bring some of that beauty, that natural beauty, back to this community.”
JOY BENEDICT: With so many lots empty, he’s scooping and sifting 130 million poppy seeds. For him, it started as a personal quest.
“I lost my house and everything I’d ever owned.”
JOY BENEDICT: It’s been more than a year since his home burned to the ground. His lot still sits empty. So Amy decided to plant the California state flower on his own property. He then offered to sow for his neighbors, and the idea bloomed. Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design organized a poppy planting event to help. 100 volunteers showed up.
“The poppy has long since been a symbol of remembrance. Seen on the battlefields after World War I, the flower is known to grow in the harshest soil, and in this case, on the lots with the most heartbreak.”
“I would just want to see color in the area. I want to see life brought back to the area.”
“But it’s not just a local push to ‘poppify.’ In fact, volunteers are putting seeds in these little packets and mailing out thousands all over the country in hopes that people join them.”
“Once these all start blooming, I think it’s really going to warm people’s hearts.”
JOY BENEDICT: From wildfires to wildflowers, replacing the destruction with a blooming field of dreams. Joy Benedict, CBS News, Altadena, California.