Rosemead High student gardener wins botany grant

ROSEMEAD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Kaitlyn Ly has always enjoyed plants, which is why the Rosemead High School senior heads up its gardening program. She has done it since she was a freshman.

Now, Ly's work is receiving special recognition as the Klorane Botanical Foundation recently named her program as one of the 2018 Budding Botanist Grant winners.

The grant awards much-needed resources to create and expand gardens at inner-city schools. Besides planting summer vegetables for people in need, Ly and her team of about 50 student gardeners have also launched a project aimed at educating others on the nutritional value of weeds.

"We are introducing weeds into the garden because we want to change people's mentality toward weeds," Ly says. "Weeds are more beneficial than people would recognize. Many weeds are edible and medicinal."

Rosemead English teacher Joseph Vasquez nominated Ly for the grant.

"I thought she really stood out. A lot of our students here have been important in maintaining the garden, but she's always been a driving force," Vasquez says.

This fall, Ly hopes to pursue agriculture and sociology at UC Riverside.