Our Roots

Re:wild Your Campus began with two Berkeley students who refused to accept toxic pesticides as part of campus life. What started as a simple request to stop spraying near their volleyball court grew into a powerful campaign.

Where It Began

One afternoon at beach volleyball practice, Bridget (center) and Mackenzie (left) were warned: if the ball rolls off the court, don't chase it.

The grounds had just been sprayed with Ranger Pro, a glyphosate-based herbicide linked to cancer and environmental harm.

Shocked, they asked the Athletics Fields Supervisor to end spraying around the courts—and offered that the team would pull weeds themselves.

Lasting Change

Since that day, Bridget and Mackenzie have made lasting, institutional change. The campaign spread across campus, and now UC Berkeley manages 95% of their grounds aka 1,171 acres organically, without the use of inorganic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

The duo were inspired to expand the campaign in 2018 after Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a groundskeeper who developed cancer from spraying the same chemical, sued Monsanto in a groundbreaking trial that set the stage for over 100,000 similar cases.

Becoming Re:wild Your Campus

After Lee Johnson joined on as an advisor, they launched Herbicide-Free Campus to mobilize students across the UC system and beyond. What started as one campus campaign became a growing network of student leaders, staff, and community members pushing schools to break free from toxic herbicides and embrace organic land care.

In 2022, Herbicide-Free Campus joined forces with Re:wild, rebranding as Re:wild Your Campus. With expanded reach and support, the movement spread coast to coast, empowering students and groundskeepers to transform their campuses into safe, resilient, and biodiverse spaces.
Hear Mackenzie's Story

Looking Ahead

Our vision is bold: every university in the U.S. eliminate synthetic pesticides and fertilizers by 2030, and continue to empower students until every college campus in the country is ecologically safe. Lee Johnson remains an active advisory board member today, and his story is at the heart of why we do what we do.

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