Linda Vista Community Garden Architecture Recognized Alongside San Diego Icons

When thinking of beautiful architecture in San Diego, places like Balboa Park, the University of California San Diego, the Birch Aquarium, and the Safari Park might come to mind with good reason. In 2026, the San Diego Architecture Foundation (SDAF) nominated the Linda Vista Community Garden, collaboratively developed and operated by Bayside Community Center, for a prestigious Orchid Award in the category of landscape architecture amongst some of San Diego’s most iconic landmarks.This nomination comes months after the Linda Vista Community Garden received a Merit Award from the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects in July 2026.

According to the SDAF, designs considered for this award, “Exemplify good place making, contribute to its surrounding context and add to community character, are skillfully and thoughtfully detailed and crafted showing respect for materials and the community, provide social and economic benefit to residents of San Diego, encourage social interaction or a quiet moment, and support community building.”

Regarding the garden’s design, Amy Zink, Director of Bayside’s Environmental Learning Center shared, “The whole process was collaborative. We wanted to make sure that the community’s vision and voice was heard when it came to the final design because this is their garden and that’s exactly what happened when it came time to plan and build it.”

JT Barr, President of Schmidt Design Group, the company responsible for designing the garden alongside Bayside said, “Our firm rallies around the ethos of Positive Change by Design and this project embodies that belief. From the collaborative process that brought it to life to the impact it continues to have on the residents of Linda Vista, it demonstrates that thoughtful design strengthens communities. The unique partnership model utilized to realize the garden and the tremendous benefit it offers the community establishes a model that others can follow.  Our sincere hope is the Orchid & Onion awards create a platform for others to see what is achievable in their communities.”

Commenting on the Orchid Award nomination, Bayside’s Director of Communications Adam Osorio added, “This garden isn’t just about teaching people important skills like how to grow their own food. It’s doing more than playing an essential role in the local food system; it’s also really beautiful. It helps Linda Vista live up to the meaning of its name, a pretty view. As one of the oldest nonprofits in San Diego, we’ve seen how Bayside has impacted the city’s development in different ways, including various urban gardening initiatives, and now it’s great to see that these projects positively impact the landscapes that we see everyday. They help make San Diego such a beautiful city.”

Votes for The People’s Choice Orchid Award can be cast until 11:59pm, September 17, 2026, and are limited to one vote per IP address. View all nominees and cast votes here.

Linda Vista Community Garden: Growing Food & Hope in San Diego

Contributed by Tanja Kropf of Explore Clairemont

In the middle of a food desert in Linda Vista, a garden blooms. Nestled in a park corner, the Linda Vista Community Garden provides nutrition, education, and a sense of belonging to an often overlooked and underserved community.

The community garden serves people of all ages and abilities, with programs for youth, college students, and seniors. Whether someone wants to learn how to grow their own vegetables or simply doesn’t have access to fresh vegetables, the Linda Vista Community Garden and Bayside Community Center are… read the full article here.

Training Leaders and Growing Food

Adam Osorio, Associate Director of Communications at Bayside Community Center, and Kimberly Kustenmacher (KK), a community garden volunteer, discuss the center's mission to empower communities through services, education, and advocacy. KK shares her journey to volunteering through a QR code. Adam and KK talk about the Linda Vista Community Garden, addressing food deserts, and the importance of community engagement. Diana Gonzalez, a resident Leadership Academy graduate, joins Adam and Kimberly, to chat about the program's role in fostering community leadership. Listen to the full episode here.

Elevating Student and School Voices

“Bayside really helped me learn to love learning,” remarks Fernando Lucas, former Bayside Academic Club student. Fernando is one of hundreds of local students who have learned to broaden their horizons and discover their fuller potential with Bayside’s afterschool literacy support program, the Academic Club.

On July 19th, Fernando and Carson Elementary STEAM magnet principal Lucille Ciudad Real joined Bayside Associate Director of Communications Adam Osorio in the studio with host Drew Schlosberg for another edition of “Spotlight on the Community.”

Supporting students and cultivating the love of learning goes beyond school and extends to the entire community. Principal Real comments, “We work with USD and we just started a partnership with San Diego State University so our 5th graders are taking trips to both universities to get exposed to college and see what it’s like.” Additionally, “As a community school we bring in a lot of other partnerships like the Linda Vista Farmer’s Market and the Multicultural Fair where we have a booth every year.”

Osorio adds, “What you learn in the classroom should supplement what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. So having [community] experiences early, getting your hands dirty so to speak, that’s teaching not just the practical skills but the ‘why’ behind it. Why is this skill so important, how does this impact someone’s life.”

Listen to the full interview on Spotify or Apple to hear Principal Real and Fernando’s full expressions on school, education, and Bayside’s impact on the community.

Cultivating Connection and Confidence Through Garden Based Learning

Bayside is proud to be featured among Preby’s Foundation photo essay series, People de San Diego, which documents organizations that develop and support our diverse community. Bria Lamb, Food Educator, is one of dozens of local teachers who has been mentored and trained by Bayside’s Amy Zink to unlock and magnify their potential as garden educators. See all photos and read Bria’s full interview here.

Interview on the nation's longest running community podcast

"Spotlight On The Community" is the longest running community podcast in the country, continuously hosted by Drew Schlosberg for 19 years.  "Spotlight" is part of Cloudcast Media's line-up of powerful local podcasts, telling the stories, highlighting the people, and celebrating the gravitational power of local organizations and leaders.

On March 20, 2025, Kim Heinle, Executive Director of the Bayside Community Center, and Demi Brown, Founder and Director of the Empower Language Academy, met with Drew to discuss the impactful collaboration of their organizations in the diverse Linda Vista community. Heinle and Brown spoke about women leaders in Linda Vista; Empower's Community Engagement Initiative; and Bayside's impact in the neighborhood.

Listen to the full interview here.

Assembly Member Chris Ward Recognizes Bayside’s Executive Director as a Woman of the Year

Courtesy of The Linda Vista Update

In observance of Women’s History Month (March), the office of Assemblyperson Chris Ward (Assembly District 79) recently honored four women from across the district who serve the community in their own special way. One of the women was Kim Heinle, who serves as Executive Director of Bayside Community Center here in Linda Vista. As stated in Ward’s web site, “Crediting the amazing staff of Bayside for the work she is able to accomplish, Kim is an extremely dedicated leader who is always involved in Bayside's program management.” You can learn more about Kim and one of the other women recognized by viewing a brief video posted on the Assemblyperson’s Instagram.

The LV Update first wrote about Kim Heinle in the May 27, 2021 issue of this newsletter.

Spotlight on the Community Interview

On January 10, 2025, members of Bayside leadership were interviewed by Drew Schlosberg and Kristen Fogel on Spotlight on the Community, the longest running community podcast in the nation. They discussed the Center's ability to adapt to the ever-changing needs in the Linda Vista community; community projects; and its myriad of community outreach efforts. Listen to the full interview here.

Bayside Addresses Systemic Food Insecurity with Community Gardens

Food insecurity is a systemic and intergenerational issue facing Linda Vista, one of San Diego’s most diverse and socio-economically distressed communities.

“When we look at the impact that food insecurity is having not only on people’s physical and mental health, but also on their ability to succeed in school and maximize their potential in the workforce, we truly see the scope of the problem,” comments Adam Osorio, Bayside Community Center’s Associate Director of Communications. “This type of self-perpetuating problem only gets worse over time unless a systemic solution is created,” he adds.

Bayside and partners are pioneering one such solution by converting a third of an acre of San Diego City Parks and Recreation property into a community garden.

“We’re really excited to have helped develop this first-of-its-kind initiative,” says Kim Heinle, Bayside’s Executive Director. “Now that we’ve created a model for how this work can be done we want to leverage our experience to support other communities throughout the region as they seek to address food insecurity in a systemic and sustainable way,” she adds.

Watch and listen to ABC 10News interview Amy Zink, Program Manager of Bayside’s Environmental Learning Center about the community garden here.

Bayside Breaks Ground with Community Partners in First-of-its-Kind Garden Project

“This community garden will be so much more than just a beautiful green space in the community or an educational hub to address food insecurity in Linda Vista. This garden will be a model for many other communities throughout the city to grow food locally and sustainably.”

— Kim Heinle, Bayside Community Center, Executive Director

Photo credit: Some photos by John Cocozza Photography. Ariel footage by Avery Cramer.

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On Saturday, December 16, 2023, Bayside Community Center and several community partners, including San Diego Parks Foundation, officially broke ground on the first-ever community garden to be developed in an existing city of San Diego park. This project is the first to make use of a 13-year-old policy that allows for public space, such as local city parks, to support community gardens.

The Director of the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, Andy Field, commented, “This transformative project will bring about food opportunities for many who need it and also will demonstrate how easy it is to garden within your own community.”

Amy Zink, Bayside’s Environmental Learning Center Program Manager, who was recognized during the ceremony for her leadership in the community, explained, “Gardens like this third-of-an-acre space are an important part of addressing food insecurity because they allow for more produce to be grown locally. They also serve as a training-ground for residents to learn skills that can be used to continue growing their own food at home or on-site.”

Regarding Amy, City Councilmember Raul Campillo, added, “There’s nobody who makes more food, brings more people together, [or] teaches more children about this part of the miracle of gardening than you.”

Mayor Todd Gloria also remarked, “This has been a community-led effort and it takes an organization that has the trust of the community to be able to do that. Bayside Community Center has been doing hard and important work in this neighborhood for a very long time.”

Regarding this historic project, Kim Heinle, Bayside Community Center’s Executive Director, concluded, “This community garden will be so much more than just a beautiful green space in the community or an educational hub to address food insecurity in Linda Vista. This garden will be a model for many other communities throughout the city to grow food locally and sustainably.”

As reported by Times of San Diego, “Bayside Community Center, a Linda Vista community-based nonprofit with a 90-year legacy, will operate and manage the Linda Vista Community Garden when completed next year. The Linda Vista Community Garden was previously housed onsite at Bayside Community Center from 2011-2017. The center has been working to find a new home for the garden over the past six years.”

Read more news coverage of this event provided by Christy Simeral writing for Fox 5 San Diego and Roma Chang writing for Hoodline.