School Garden Founder Named La Mesa Beautiful’s Citizen of the Year

Dawn Rucker was surprised Wednesday when she was named winner of La Mesa Beautiful’s Citizen of the Year Award for her years of work creating and sustaining the garden at Rolando Elementary School.

Part of the surprise was she hasn’t been doing much gardening lately—thanks to a recent  injury from too much painting and pruning. She called it tennis elbow.

Hers was the only award not known beforehand as 50 people met at the La Mesa Community Center for plaque presentations, including several sponsored by the Helix Water District.

Thanks to grant money, Rucker wrote in a National Wildlife Federation publication, Rolando School transformed an underused, weed-choked side yard into an outdoor learning area when her two girls were students there.

“The site already features a beautiful large mature live oak tree, and has great potential to be the centerpiece of a native habitat garden,” Rucker wrote.

“I have been working with my Girl Scout troop in the planning of the songbird garden. … In addition, I have been working with a third-grade class on the characteristics of a chaparral environment, and the habitat needs of specific animals. I shared several native plants from my own garden so they could touch, smell and observe different characteristics of these plants and how they are suited for the chaparral environment.”

Rucker, whose daughters are now at La Mesa Middle and Helix Charter High schools, said she recruited other teachers to involve their students with the planning and development of the native habitat garden.

Mark Weston, the district general manager only days away from announcing his retirement, noted the conservation ethic fostered by his agency.

Mayor Art Madrid emceed the presentations—including one to a garden of City Treasurer Eldon “Bud” Vogt, who spoke of how old rubber tires were used in the mulch.

City Public Works Director Greg Humora accepted a prize for the city’s Allison Avenue streetscape project, which has won several major awards this year already.

Gail Ballard, an older Cuyamaca College student preparing for a second career in nursery management, won a $1,000 scholarship from La Mesa Beautiful Inc.

Recognition as Arbor Day Schools went to La Mesa Middle School and Murray Manor Elementary School.

This year, the Citizen of the Year Award was dedicated to the memory of Ruth Wordell, who with her husband, Mac, founded La Mesa Beautiful in 1974

Award winners in the 33rd annual event, chosen by the 12-member Board of Directors, were:

• Best Residential Design: 9140 Golondrina, David and Carol Lasky
• Best Residential Color: 7760 Highwood, Joe A. Holle
• Low Water Design: 4585 Date,  Bud and Darlene Vogt
• Low Water Landscape: 4970 Porter Hill, Patty and Charlie Peterson
• Multifamily Residential: 5401 Baltimore, The Reserve on Baltimore, Jenn Reed
• Business or Commercial: 8324 Allison,  Corporate Management Inc., Dick Kipperman
• Public facility: Allison Avenue in downtown La Mesa: Hamed Hashemian or Greg Humora