Our Team

Allison Mia Starcher, Garden LEAD 

Allison Mia Starcher is a garden author, illustrator, and teacher. She earned her nickname “The Bug Lady” when she wrote and illustrated “Good Bugs For Your Garden” (Algonquin Books, 1995) and was a contributor to the Southern California Gardener, Gardener’s Companion, Fine Gardening Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens. She has lectured extensively about beneficial insects and taught gardening at several local schools. She is a founding and active volunteer at the Ishihara Learning Garden in Santa Monica. She completed her Master Gardener Training Program in 2021 and has had the privilege of hosting their Grow LA Victory Garden course at her home on two occasions and taught segments of the course since 2021. In 2023 she designed a line of branded merchandise for Descanso Gardens.

Renee Meshul, Founding member

Renee Meshul, also known as Ms. Raspberry, has been a garden educator at Mark Twain Middle School since 2010. Before coming to Mark Twain, she spent 25 years as a child development specialist working with high risk populations and 25 years running her own successful land use consulting business. She has a MEd in Counseling Psychology and became a Master Gardner in the UC Cooperative Extension Program in 2013. Contact: rmeshul@gmail.com.

Jenny Burman, Science Facilitator

Jenny Burman is a Science and Health Teacher at Mark Twain Middle School, responsible for hosting controlled chaos inside and outside the classroom where students make discoveries, build teamworking skills and build the capacity to independently analyze data.