Teens start big mural project in Pacifica as a reminder to take care of the environment

“We originally started with the message of protecting the beach from litter, people leaving their trash on the beach,” Wu said. “Because after going to many beach cleanups and even hosting some, we realized that a lot of people see the beach as just a place to relax and have a good time. And they forget that it’s a natural habitat for a lot of plants and animals that are needed.”

They started planning at the beginning of sophomore year through Innovation Diploma, a program at their school that encourages high school students to create a project that targets one of the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals. After brainstorming many ideas, they came up with the idea for the mural which evolved to include native life not just on the beach but in all of Pacifica.

They applied to the Dragon Kim Foundation Fellowship, a selective social entrepreneurship incubator based in Southern California for high school students where they were accepted and received $5,000 in grant money, a mentor and three weekends of leadership training.

“It was so necessary for our project, not just the money, but as we’ve gone through talking with the city and talking with mural advisors that we have, having just the credibility that we were accepted into the fellowship has helped a lot of people to trust us,” Wu said.

The fellowship also helped provide guidance for their project and gave them the opportunity to meet and work with many other teens with similar passions, Phillips said.

“Being able to have such an immersive-like experience with the fellowship with so many different resources, it just felt really rewarding,” she said.

They decided to include QR codes into the project to direct people to their website which will have information on the native plants and animals seen on the mural as well as other plants and animals found in Pacifica. Each QR code will lead to a different part of their website.

“So you can know what to look for and what to protect and then get more resources on why it’s so important to protect these things and how you can get involved in doing so,” Wu said.

The website will be launched once the mural is completed and the two will keep building it throughout the school year.

They are also looking into creating a contest or raffle with the idea of people submitting photos of themselves picking up trash and being entered into a raffle to win prizes to local businesses.

And in September, they will be presenting their completed project at the end of the fellowship to a competition called the Dragon Challenge. If they win the prize money of $5,000, they hope to possibly create a nationwide contest where they would sponsor another environmental advocacy mural.

They also want to encourage others with similar goals and passions to go for it.

“Just not to be scared to try and create some kind of similar project with ours if you have some kind of passion, whether it’s environmental issues or social justice issues,” Phillips said. “You shouldn’t be afraid to pursue your passions like we did. It’s provided a lot of opportunities and it’s been a lot of fun too.”

Phillips is interested in possibly studying environmental management and working in an environmental science career. Wu is considering double-majoring in mechanical engineering and art.

The project’s Instagram account is @splashofcolorproject where it will be posting updates and plans on making a TikTok under the same name.

julia@smdailyjournal.com

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