The city of La Mirada has named Biola University one of the “Most Outstanding” properties in the city as part of its 2013 Spring Beautification Program. Biola’s campus was chosen for its beautiful exterior and its significant contribution to enhancing the quality of La Mirada’s neighborhood. Biola ground manager, Jim Curran, accepted the award on behalf of the university at the Spring Beautification Award ceremony on Monday, May 20, at the La Mirada Theatre.


“Spring Beautification honors property owners who have achieved a measure of excellence in the exterior maintenance and landscaping,” according to the Spring Beautification Program guidelines. “This program reinforces the spirit of neighborhood pride, which is the foundation of a well-kept community.”


Biola’s grounds crew is constantly updating the appearance of the school’s foliage in order to maintain a beautiful and colorful campus.


“Our grounds crew does an outstanding job of caring for our grounds and it is great to see their hard work recognized by the city of La Mirada,” said Brian Phillips, senior director of facilities management at Biola. “Beautiful landscaping makes Biola a better place to live, learn and work and it sends a  message to our neighbors that we care about the greater community.”

Curran oversees the other ground workers who, among other things, keep up the appearances of the campus and its plant life, including planting colorful flowers all over campus three times a year. These extra splashes of color people see as they stroll through campus are intentional — calculated to highlight different buildings, such as the library and the gym, he said.


“It’s an ongoing process. Over the years we've continually improved the landscape on campus,” said Curran. “We are continually changing out the plants that die. We are in constant rotation of the existing plants.”


“We just did this three weeks ago to get ready for commencement,” he said.


In recent years, Biola has updated the plants along Biola Avenue and recently a water feature has been added in the center of campus in front of the fireplace pavillion.


As Biola continues to construct new buildings, it is also looking for ways to be more “green.” Curran said his team is trying to find new and innovative ways to conserve water for new plants, such as the garden on the roof of the recently built Talbot East building.


“We’re building a new residence hall that’s going to have some new planting in it that we haven’t had before. Each project will have its unique planting system,” he said.


With every new project, Phillips says Biola is always looking for opportunities to improve the grounds.

Written by Rachel Snyder, Media Relations Intern. For more information, contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Specialist, at 562.777.4061 or at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu