Land trust hopes to raise $2 million to preserve Moraga landmark from development

MORAGA — For more than 50 years, generations of students have taken part in a rite of passage to spray-paint witty, heartfelt and eye-catching messages — homecoming slogans, prom proposals, RIPs and about local high schools — on the boulders that face downtown Moraga.

And, over time, the hill has become known as Painted Rock, and the name stuck over what’s become a treasured sight in Moraga across from Campolindo High School.

Now, the John Muir Land Trust has announced the start of a campaign to raise $2 million to save the 84-acre Painted Rock property that would be connected to more than 420 acres of open space. The widow of the late property owner, Roger Lee Poynts, who died in 2014, has agreed to preserve Painted Rock if the land trust can come up with the funds by May 31, 2019.