At Van Nuys High School, a new group of trees stands as a testament to student initiative and a teacher’s dedication. Chemistry and Biology teacher Ms. Jennifer Kim shared the journey behind the newly planted saucer magnolia trees and how they came to be.
The story began last semester when a student named Usrat Zain approached Ms. Kim with an idea: she wanted to plant trees on campus. Zain was persistent, which Ms. Kim appreciated, but planting trees at a school is not as simple as it sounds.
“You can’t plant just any tree, the tree has to be on the LAUSD approved list,” Ms. Kim said. “I ultimately found some trees named Saucer Magnolias.”
She planned to buy five Saucer Magnolias with grant money, but when the grant fell through, the project seemed impossible. The trees would have cost $4,000, a price too high to cover without funding.
Then, in an unexpected turn of events, Ms. Kim visited a nursery that was closing after 97 years of business named Hawthorne Nursery. There, she stumbled upon the same type of trees, only younger and scraggly, but at a fraction of the cost.
“I got them for $40 each, as opposed to what that would have been like $300 each for the big kind,” she said. “When I found them, they looked really scraggly, so I’m hoping that they’ll grow.”
Planting the trees was a community effort. Many students participated in digging, placing and watering them. Assistant Principal Ms. Bonnie and Giovanni, the school’s plant manager, helped determine the best locations based on sunlight and water availability.
Despite their efforts, the future of the trees remains uncertain.
“They might not even survive,” Ms. Kim said. “If they do, they could grow up to 30 feet tall, although such trees are rare in the valley’s climate.”
The students have also named the trees.
“The names of the trees are Treeodore Roosevelt, Morgan Treeman and Treeonardo de Caprio,” she said.
For Ms. Kim, the most meaningful moment came when she told the nursery owners that their trees would now be part of the school’s landscape.
“That’s like a legacy,” Ms. Kim said. “I think they were touched by that.”
For now, the new saucer magnolias stand as a symbol of perseverance and community effort. Whether they grow to their full potential remains to be seen, but their roots, both literal and symbolic, have been firmly planted at Van Nuys High School.
