This past weekend the Long Beach Chapter had the joy of helping bring to life a mural that will be a stunning backdrop to their Ocean Friendly Garden at Shoreline Village. The incredible artist duo from Studio Tutto guided our volunteer painters through the process of bringing this mural to life, celebrating the connection and harmony between our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Gardens program protects clean water at the coast by using nature-based solutions and sustainable landscaping practices to prevent runoff pollution. The rain garden that accompanies this new mural is collecting and repurposing the stormwater from the building's roof, preventing runoff pollution while creating a beautiful, biodiverse landscape. The chapter installed this project with volunteers and local partners about a year and a half ago, and are stoked to continue celebrating it with the new mural.
The mural does a great job of illustrating the seamless connection between our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, blurring the lines between kelp forests and above-water plant habitats. The marine blue background unites the plants and wildlife in the mural, reminding us that water unites and connects us all from land to the sea. When we steward our Ocean Friendly Gardens, we are caring for the oceans, waves, and beaches we love.
Details of the underwater portions of the murals show seagrass meadows, kelp, and fish; above water are California native plants and pollinators
The mural also highlights many of the California and Channel Islands native plants that are featured in the rain garden and naturally found in the region. Bright red blooms from channel islands snapdragons, magenta puffs of red-flowered buckwheat, and vibrant lilac California asters are all focal points of the murals design. These deeply rooted native plants resist erosion, soak up rainwater, and support healthy, living soils that are ready to sponge up extra water. Above ground, they provide habitat for native pollinators like sand wasps, fiery skipper moths, and gray hairstreak butterflies.
The water next to the mural building in the Long Beach Harbor; a fiery skipper visits a goldenbush flower in the Ocean Friendly Garden
The day was full of creative energy, connection, and a relaxed focus as participants immersed themselves in painting. The artists outlined the mural design the previous night, marking the shapes and colors that defined the kelp forest, native plants, and pollinators against the watery blue background. Volunteers then got to work filling in each shape in a paint-by-numbers style with a designated color. Some people only painted a small part and were content, others worked their way around the walls and stayed for a while to see the project progress.
Many folks passing by on the bike path or walking paths yelled encouraging words, exclaiming, "thank you!" or, "it looks great!" and many curious passerby stopped to chat with us. It was a great way to introduce more people to our Long Beach Chapter of Surfrider, talk about our Ocean Friendly Gardens project that was right next to the mural, and explain the theme of the artwork being painted. A few people walking by even joined us to paint!
Volunteers help paint next to the downspouts that redirect rainwater; Kathryn talks about the garden and helps some younger volunteers spread poppy seeds
The chapter did a lot of work behind the scenes to help communicate the goals and themes of the mural to the artists, fund the initial design, and work with multiple city departments to get the permits and approvals needed. The determination and enthusiasm from our volunteers and executive committee really made it possible for this awesome artwork to cross the finish line.
Metropolitan Water District's (MWD) Community Partnering Program and Long Beach Utilities Department generously supported the cost of the materials and installation, and the Parks, Rec, and Marine Department prepped the walls and painted the base coat for the mural. Thank you to all of our collaborators for your support!
Some of the Long Beach Chapter crew & Surfrider's OFG Coordinator; the talented artist duo from Studio Tutto, Henessey & Sofia