Narrative change on the border: The binational native plant garden

Since the spring of 2007, Spanish teacher Daniel Watman, along with other volunteers, has made the binational native plant garden in Friendship Park bloom. The goal of the project, which is located on the border between Tijuana and San Diego, is to change the narrative of the border, according to Watman. “To create space,” he said, “where people can make friends through the wall and promote native plants.”

Three circles bound by pastel-colored tires define the space, each finding its half on the other side of the border. On a fall morning, accompanied by his black Irish hound, Watman takes me on a virtual tour of the flowers and plants that he and several volunteers care for on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“Here are some yellow flowers," Watman said, pointing to the first circle, "in the spring there are many more yellow flowers. The other circle is the mirror garden, since we plant the same species on both sides. Here we have lemonade berries and other native plants. What is native here is native there, the ecosystem has no political boundaries."

Watman was born in New York and grew up in Modesto, California, but he has lived in Tijuana for the past 20 years. As a Spanish teacher, he teaches his students not only the language, but the culture and brotherhood between Mexico and the United States. The binational garden project was proposed in March 2007 as a community project, he said, derived from Border Encounter, in which the border communities seek out common interests to unite and make friends. There were classes of yoga, salsa and poetry readings.

In the more than 13 years since its creation, the binational garden has faced many challenges, especially with authorities on both sides of the border, but mainly with the U.S. Border Patrol. In 2009, U.S. authorities erected a second wall, which blocked access to Friendship Park, established in 1971, thus limiting activities at the binational garden. Then, in 2012, the hurricane mesh that served as the wall was replaced by metal bars.

The last tragedy occurred Jan. 8, 2020, when authorities removed plants, roads, signs and even a bench weighing hundreds of kilos, without warning. The authorities maintained that the garden on the U.S. side compromised the safety of the wall. However, Watman said, the people’s reaction was phenomenal. The incident spread throughout social media and outlets like The New York Times, increasing pressure on the Border Patrol. Days later, Watman and other volunteers met with U.S. authorities, who allowed them to replant the garden.

During the virtual tour, Watman pointed to a small plant on the U.S. side, growing in the shadow of the wall. "I stopped here because there is a green plant, a white sage, one we didn't plant when they let us replant," he said. These native plants have roots of up to 10 meters, he said. "I'm showing you this because from those very deep roots it came out by itself. That made me cry because it's something very symbolic. The roots are very deep, even if they destroy what is above, there is hope that something will come out of the roots, whether from the plants or from the community, because very deep roots have formed in this garden.”

Yet the garden is still under threat. Soon, the metal wall will be replaced. Watman is aware of this, although he continues to fight alongside his colleagues to establish unifying projects by removing obstacles. In response to Donald Trump's plans to build more border walls, they launched a campaign called "Build That Park!” which seeks to reestablish the Binational Park, which will celebrate 50 years in August 2021, by inviting the community to share their vision of a true International Friendship Park.

Watman and his colleagues seek to convey the idea of ecological friendship and collaboration through the garden. "Many say that the wall is to protect, he said, “but I say that a friend is the best protection. The fact that the garden is there gives me hope that there can be a different narrative on the U.S.-Mexico border, in which friendship, collaboration, family unity, is part of security, not just militarization."