A retired grandmother in East County built an award-winning water-wise landscape with some help from the kids in her neighborhood.

Lois Scott, who once worked as a registered nurse, decided to address years of high-water usage, a lack of rain and “rabbit-yard invaders” by converting her once green front lawn into a water-wise landscape she now calls “Nana’s Garden.”

Instead of rose bushes and grass, Lois turned to native California plants like succulents which require less water to maintain. With help from her best friend and young neighbors, Lois gradually made the transition.