UPDATE 9/28/2026:
Any donations received beyond $7,160 will go toward AWI's future student-run restoration projects.
All praise is due to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) for bringing this campaign to its goal and beyond! Thanks to your generosity, we've raised over $7,000 to bring the Heroes' Garden to life at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
To our incredible community: jazakum Allahu khairan. Every gift, big or small, is a continuing charity (Sadaqah Jariyah) that will keep giving. The garden is home to new fruit trees, benches built and placed beneath shade trees, and a growing bed of pollinator plants, California natives, and flowers, with more to come, inshaAllah. It was built with the intention that it will be, by the permission of Allah, a Sadaqah Jariyah for our Heroes and for all who participated.
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him." Sahih al-Bukhari 2320
This is just the beginning, inshaAllah. AWI students have already put their hands to work transforming neglected spaces into living gardens, like UMMA's Al-Shifa Clinic in San Bernardino, CA, and now the ICSD Heroes' Garden in San Diego, CA. These projects are led by students learning to be stewards of the land (khulafa' al ard) as a living practice, not just a lesson read about in books or discussed in a classroom.
If you'd like to help fund the next student-led restoration project, you can give right here on this page or at awicommunity.org/donate. Any amount raised here beyond $7,160 will go directly to future student-run restoration projects, wherever our community needs it.
May Allah accept this from all of you and make it a means of ongoing reward.
September 4, 2026
In May 2026, our Southern California Muslim community faced an unimaginable tragedy at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD). Join Art and Wilderness Institute in helping build a garden as a continuous charity (Sadaqah Jariyah) to the ICSD community. AWI is raising funds to build a Heroes' Garden on the ICSD Extension campus where families can connect with nature and volunteer together for our shared goal of environmental stewardship (khulafa’ al ard).
AWI instructor and soil scientist Joey Plemons has designed a beautiful, multi-zone space that blends landscaping with natural elements to create a sanctuary.
Financial Breakdown:
Native and Pollinator Plants: $1000
Outdoor Benches: $1000
Raised Vegetable Garden: $1500
Soil Testing, Soil, Mulch: $1000
Solar powered water fountain: $500