School Founder’s Horticultural Legacy Still Grows at Royer-Greaves School for Blind

Paoli, PA…The flowers, shrubs, and trees at Royer-Greaves School for Blind comprise an outdoor classroom where visually impaired students and adults examine their texture, size, shape and fragrance, learning to associate those experiences with a particular plant.

But many of the species on campus were first planted under the direction of Jessie Royer Greaves, who founded Royer-Greaves School for Blind nearly 100 years ago, so the precise identities of some specimens had been lost. Royer-Greaves Executive Director Vicky Mayer turned to a local horticulture expert - Steven Wright, Director of Horticulture/Curator of Plant Collections for the Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens in Devon, PA – to rediscover them.

Wright recently toured the grounds with Mayer and found a collection of Western cedars, Colorado blue spruce, flowering magnolias and a range of plant life indigenous to East Asia, including one special evergreen.

“The overall spectrum of classic American and international species on the Royer-Greaves campus is very interesting,” Wright said. “It includes a mature Japanese umbrella pine, which is a very rare living fossil species – a
species so old that it can be found in the fossil record, unchanged from what we see today. The umbrella pine at Royer-Greaves is one of the nicest ones that I have ever seen.”

Royer-Greaves School for Blind serves students and adults who have visual impairment accompanied by other disabilities. When Royer-Greaves opened its doors in 1921, there were no other schools that served
students who are both blind and cognitively impaired. As a result, students came from across the country and around the world. Founder Jessie Royer Greaves thought it important that students learn about their natural surroundings. Knowing that many of the students and adults would be returning to different geographic regions, she planted a range of domestic and international trees and plant life so that the students and adults would be familiar with
species native to their home.

In addition to identifying the trees and other flora, Wright recommended aplan of care to ensure the collection stays healthy. He and Mayer are discussing potential future collaboration.

“We truly appreciate the Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens’ expertise and recommendations regarding how best to preserve and nurture the natural resources on our campus,” Mayer said. “These trees and plants are a
living connection to our founder and a reminder that, like her, we should teach by embracing our students’ and adults’ abilities, and do what we can to make every member of the Royer-Greaves family feel welcome here.”

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The Royer-Greaves School for Blind, founded in 1921 and located in Paoli, PA, serves children and adults with a visual impairment/blindness and a co-occurring intellectual and/or physical disability. The Royer-Greaves community focuses on developing the unique abilities of each person served through individual support and attention. For more information, please visit www.royer-greaves.org