Growing Leadership from the Garden
Our San Carlos Community Garden is guided by people who are committed to showing up, contributing, and supporting the community. As we continue to grow, we are pleased to welcome three new board members whose leadership developed through consistent volunteer work and practical experience in the garden. Michael Land, Elena Banks, and Asha Muhiddin each bring relevant expertise, long-term involvement, and a clear focus on education and community engagement, and we are glad to introduce them as the newest members of our board.
Michael Land teaching about benefits of using compost in your home garden.
Michael Land joins the board after nearly three years of hands-on involvement at the garden, bringing with him a deep commitment to service, education, and community-building. A longtime San Carlos resident who first connected with the garden during the slower pace of the COVID years, Michael began as a volunteer pulling weeds under Gayle’s guidance and steadily grew into a leader of the garden’s composting efforts. Mentored early on by local composting educators, he has since pursued formal training through the Solana Center, led workshops, and built partnerships with nearby schools – welcoming high school students into the garden to learn by getting their hands dirty. A scientist by training and a volunteer by nature, Michael sees the garden not just as a place to grow food, but as a hub for connection, learning, and friendship. As a board member, he hopes to continue doing what he’s always done: expanding access to education, strengthening ties with local schools and neighbors, and helping the garden remain a welcoming resource where opportunity and community can take root.
SCCG Board Member, Elena Banks, happily planting native seedlings.
A longtime San Diego native and dedicated educator, Elena Banks joins the board after more than two years of meaningful volunteer leadership in the garden’s native plant spaces. A science teacher at Grant Elementary in Mission Hills, one of San Diego’s oldest schools, she brings a rich background in conservation biology, ecology, and environmental education, along with a lifelong passion for teaching learners of all ages. Her path to the garden began through her work with Wild Ones San Diego, where she supports native plants and pollinators through seed sharing, workshops, and hands-on education, efforts that naturally expanded into stewarding the garden’s extensive native plant area, which spans from fence to fence. Whether stocking the native seed library, leading workshops, supervising volunteer groups, or quietly tending plants, she sees the garden as both a peaceful refuge and a dynamic hub for community connection. As a board member, she hopes to continue nurturing sustainability, education, and inclusivity, helping others discover what she has found here: a rare and magical place where community, stewardship, and curiosity grow together.
SCCG gardener turned Board Member, Asha Muhiddin, with her fiancé.
Avid SCCG gardener and volunteer since 2022, Asha Muhiddin, joins the board bringing focus for growing a sense of community. Upon moving back to San Diego in 2021, one of the first things Asha wanted was to get involved in the community and get back into gardening. Gardening was something Asha did with her parents growing up and was an activity that always grounded her and has brought herself calmness and fulfillment; she feels there is no better reward than growing yourself the food you eat. Thankfully, Asha discovered the San Carlos Community Garden soon after. Asha and her boyfriend (now fiancé) leased their first SCCG plot in 2022, adding a second plot in 2023 and then a third in 2023 enjoying growing succulents, flowers and various vegetables. Asha has volunteered with our compost posse and anything else the garden needed. Most recently, Asha has been involved with the set-up of SCCG’s monthly garden education workshops. Being so involved made her much more aware of community and how we can all contribute to creating better communities wherever we live by working together. As a board member, she hopes that her perspective as a community gardener will help SCCG and other neighborhoods around San Diego improve how we can all contribute to a growing community!
Together, Michael, Elena, and Asha represent the kind of leadership that defines the San Carlos Community Garden—grounded in hands-on involvement and a commitment to the community. We’re grateful for the time, skills, and perspective they bring to the board, and we look forward to working with them as the garden continues to grow and serve our neighbors.
