History
The Roynon Beautification Committee was formed in September of 2000. A group of teachers, parents, and alumni from Roynon Elementary were dismayed when they returned to school in the fall to once again discover that the grass surrounding the school was all dead. The Bonita Unified School District (BUSD) had been looking at the possibility of installing automatic sprinklers over the summer months, but ultimately there was no money in the budget.
There was talk of “floating a bond” to modernize the schools in BUSD, upgrading old electrical and plumbing and installing air conditioning in the classrooms. When the district planning group was questioned about the possibility of also installing automatic sprinklers, they responded with a very positive, “Yes!” However, upon closer examination, the landscaping and irrigation upgrades were priority #5 in the list of projects to be covered, and the district only expected to have Bond money to fund priority #1, 2, and 3 projects.
When the concerned group realized that nothing would be done to address the landscaping at the district level, they formed the Roynon Beautification Committee and committed to raising money for much needed campus landscaping projects. |
Phil May, a local landscape architect, was hired to draw up plans for the front of Roynon School along “E” street. These plans were taken to the head of the maintenance department, Mike Phillips, for approval. Phillips said he could not approve them because the district didn’t have the manpower to keep the proposed landscaping maintained.
The Roynon Beautification Committee shared that they would install the proposed landscaping and keep it maintained. Phillips hesitated and said that he’d heard it all before. His experience was that after a few months these types of projects always ended up as the district’s responsibility to maintain. The Committee was persistent, however, and Phillips finally agreed.
In Spring of 2001, landscaping began with a huge work party of students, teachers, parents, and alumni. Over one weekend all the existing shrubbery was removed and piled in a huge mound in the street in front of the school. The City of La Verne volunteered to help by disposing of the huge debris pile.
The Roynon Beautification Committee shared that they would install the proposed landscaping and keep it maintained. Phillips hesitated and said that he’d heard it all before. His experience was that after a few months these types of projects always ended up as the district’s responsibility to maintain. The Committee was persistent, however, and Phillips finally agreed.
In Spring of 2001, landscaping began with a huge work party of students, teachers, parents, and alumni. Over one weekend all the existing shrubbery was removed and piled in a huge mound in the street in front of the school. The City of La Verne volunteered to help by disposing of the huge debris pile.
Kasey Jones, of Jonescape Landscaping, became interested in the Committee’s project and agreed to do the major work of installing irrigation and all the hardscape. Jones had an artistic eye and a generous spirit. He suggested alterations to include curving sidewalks around the campus with stacked concrete benches in many locations to make the area look inviting and restful. He agreed to take his payment, which was heavily discounted, in small installments as the Committee was able to raise the money. The Beautification Committee paid Jonescape over $60,000 that first year, and all the money was raised in small amounts by having bake sales, an outdoor rock concert (called Rockin’ for Roynon), teachers babysitting students on Friday nights (called Kids’ Night Out), selling bricks with names on them for the walkways, and by gifts from generous donors.
Throughout that first year the Beautification Committee continued to have workdays to dig the grass out of flowerbeds and plant shrubs and trees that had been donated by Monrovia Nursery, a gift worth over $10,000! Committee members scavenged river rock from the site of the 210 Fwy which was under construction during that time. These rocks were used to line the flower beds and provide an aesthetically pleasing edge to all the planted areas.
The district mowed the grass that was now growing rapidly due to the regular watering provided by the automatic sprinklers. Committee members and volunteers kept the areas weeded and trimmed. |
The next year the area in front of the Kindergarten rooms was landscaped, putting in classroom garden boxes, flowering shrubs in front of the classrooms, and planting two large sycamore trees. Funding projects continued as before with Jonescape being paid as the Committee was able to raise the money
The next project was landscaping of the classrooms on 8th Street, with the hardscape and irrigation done by Jonescape and the planting and maintenance done by volunteers. After 5 years of almost constant improvement, the Committee decided to wait a few years before attempting any new projects. Enthusiasm for maintaining the areas already completed was waning, and the maintenance work was largely being done by one or two dedicated Committee members. These workers were feeling overwhelmed. The Committee became a 501-C3 non-profit group in 2004. Jim Thorton spearheaded the drive to achieve non-profit status and paid for expenses involved in the endeavor. The Beautification Committee was now able to pay Jonescape without having to funnel its money through the District Office. Following this change, the Committee decided to no longer do projects on credit. Work would not begin until all the money needed for new projects was earned. |
The next major project involved landscaping the areas between the classrooms on both the North and South Campus, making them an inviting space for students to do outdoor work. Then in 2016, plans were made to beautify the exterior of Roynon’s school library. A total of $16,000 was raised for this project which included two vine covered arbors, a large Camphor tree and a mural painted by Jennifer Mc Cartney who would later become the school librarian and an active member of Roynon Beautification.
In 2018 the Committee decided to build a Friendship Pavilion under the sycamore trees on the South Campus. Fundraising began and new members with creative ideas suggested a Yard Sale and a Mother’s Day Plant Sale. Both ideas were successful. Recycling efforts also began at this time. Staff, families, and community members brought the Committee their bottles and cans to recycle, slowly but steadily earning money for Roynon Beautification.
The Beautification Committee raised between $6,000 and $7,000 each year through its many fundraising efforts. Projects like the Friendship Pavilion cost $27,000, so it takes a long time to raise enough to complete these impactful, but expensive new projects. |
Karen Huigens, a founding member of Roynon Beautification and a Roynon Kindergarten teacher, had taken the maintenance of the Beautification Committee’s landscaping as her passion project since her retirement in 2010. Her son, Brent Huigens, an alumnus of Roynon, was concerned about how the school would be maintained when his mom was no longer physically able to do the work. He challenged the Committee to begin a 5-year plan to raise money for an endowment fund. This fund could then be invested and allow the Committee to hire gardeners using interest payments to maintain the landscaping when Karen was no longer able to do the job. Brent committed to donating $25,000 every year for five years that the Committee raised $8,000 in donations. All the money raised and then invested was committed to maintenance, helping the Beautification Committee lay the groundwork to ensure the campus would look beautiful in perpetuity.
In 2020, Roynon Beautification Committee hired a team of 2 gardeners to work for 2 hours each Saturday to help trim bushes. Karen continued to work on weed control and mowing the grass in front of the school and along the landscaped pathways between classrooms. In 2021, the paid gardeners’ work expanded to also include mowing the grass not done by BUSD. Additionally, the Committee also paid to keep the irrigation system in working order.
As of Spring 2023, the Beautification Committee made a commitment to pay a team of three gardeners from “Manuel Mercado Landscaping” to mow the grass and trim the shrubbery each week. The money to pay for this work comes from various sources.
#1 Interest from our endowment fund
#2 Money raised each week from recycling
#3 Annual Fundraisers like the plant sales, holiday ornament sales, tile murals created by the students, etc.
#4 Dedicated yearly gift from Roynon PTA (new in the 2023/2024 school year)
The Roynon Beautification Committee’s work and dedication continues to beautify the landscape and grounds of Roynon Elementary School by engaging in projects that improve and maintain the aesthetics, enjoyment, and use of the outside learning environment.
In 2020, Roynon Beautification Committee hired a team of 2 gardeners to work for 2 hours each Saturday to help trim bushes. Karen continued to work on weed control and mowing the grass in front of the school and along the landscaped pathways between classrooms. In 2021, the paid gardeners’ work expanded to also include mowing the grass not done by BUSD. Additionally, the Committee also paid to keep the irrigation system in working order.
As of Spring 2023, the Beautification Committee made a commitment to pay a team of three gardeners from “Manuel Mercado Landscaping” to mow the grass and trim the shrubbery each week. The money to pay for this work comes from various sources.
#1 Interest from our endowment fund
#2 Money raised each week from recycling
#3 Annual Fundraisers like the plant sales, holiday ornament sales, tile murals created by the students, etc.
#4 Dedicated yearly gift from Roynon PTA (new in the 2023/2024 school year)
The Roynon Beautification Committee’s work and dedication continues to beautify the landscape and grounds of Roynon Elementary School by engaging in projects that improve and maintain the aesthetics, enjoyment, and use of the outside learning environment.