Meet Jillian Wilding | Urban Farmer and Garden Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jillian Wilding and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jillian, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
The gardens I install and the trees I plant are living, breathing expression of my love and dedication to working with the earth and feeding my community. In a perfect world I would love for people to remember me smiling ear to ear, my face smudged with healthy soil, standing under a fruit tree I planted. My hope is that the kids I have taught in school gardens will hold the magic of tending a garden in their hearts and that fruit trees I have planted will provide food and shelter for many living creatures, long after I am gone.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel like I have had very little say in where I have ended up professionally. I have always been dedicated to following my passions which is truly what has lead me to my career as an urban farmer. Since a very young age I have been a dedicated and competitive water polo player. Junior year of high school I was recruited to play division 1 water polo at UC Davis. After visiting the campus and meeting the team I fell in love. I had never thought much about my future as an academic or what I wanted to be when I “grew up”, I just knew I loved water polo and that love got me an athletic scholarship to a great school that I grew to love so much. During my time UC Davis I felt myself being drawn to places like the student farm, ecological gardens and hanging out with more and more people involved in Sustainable Agriculture. After two years of being an undeclared major, I decided to commit myself to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems with and emphasis in Food and Society. I loved how this little community shared homemade meals together, the people were down to earth and were all activists and artists in their own way. I fell in love with the required classes (tractor driving, wood working, soil science, animal husbandry) and began to dig into the food system and growing food. My senior capstone project was focused on school garden education which is what eventually lead me to work with Good Neighbor Gardens as their lead school garden teacher for over 4 years. I feel like the garden has truly stolen my heart and now I cant really imagine myself spending my time any other way. There have been many growth edges and challenges along the way and I am still learning what it means to be a small business owner. I am always asking myself how I want to show up for my community and evolve as a business to be able to share the wisdom of the garden far and wide. As for now I trust that my passions, interests and love for tending the garden will lead me to my next opportunity, All things grow in their own time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a friend visiting from out of town I would take them to Garden Club on Thursday morning down at San Diego Urban Timber in Chula Vista. I would show them all the reclaimed lumber and art being made on site and of course get their hands dirty in our community garden. We would harvest some fresh veggies and fruit to make an awesome homemade lunch. Then we would head to Birdrock to hop in the ocean to rinse off (farming is sweaty and dirty). Then we would head to Trilogy for some food, a yoga class or maybe even a full moon party. We’d definitely have to take a cove swim/snorkel in La Jolla and say hi to the sea lions (from a distance). Id also take them to Balboa park to check out some art, enjoy a nice walk and have a drink at Panama 66 in the sculpture garden. I love to finish my days with a sunset walk at mission bay. We would also check out the San Diego Botanical Garden for a fun all day activity. The more plants we could hang out with the better!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success as an urban farmer and garden educator was all made possible by my amazing mentor Mia Vaugnes, the owner of Good Neighbor Gardens. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, I lacked the confidence to implement the information I had learned in university. Mia graciously took me under her wing and taught me about high density urban farming, how to lead school garden programs and what it means to be in service to the garden as a spiritual practice. Mia opened my eyes to the magic of tending the earth and ignited a passion for feeding my community local, living and organic food.

Instagram: @Jelly.Wilding

Facebook: Jillian Wilding

Image Credits
Steffi Reyes-Thomas