The mural, which stands next to the tennis courts, is a project targeted to benefit the community.
After 124 hours of painting, 38 quarts of paint and with much appreciated help from the community, Smith and his 26 volunteers were able to complete the beautiful work of art which includes the message “Our Reef, Our Future.”
Smith, who has always had a great love for both the environment and the arts, “designed an environmental mural to help inspire the community to remember our reef and our connection to it,” his family tells Variety.
On Saturday, the mural was presented to Park Ranger Nancy Kelchner. Plaques of appreciation were also presented to some of the donors of the project including Ace Hardware which supplied the paint for the mural and Sherwin Williams who prepared the wall for painting.
“[The project] was Harrison’s own initiative,” Kelchner said. “It’s a great educational tool too. It’s very public and very big. We told him he had to come up with a plan: what will it look like, what educational message will it state, a construction plan, and a time schedule,” which he did quite efficiently.
She said it is important that the message he sends is brief: “A brief message packs a punch.”
When asked what made him decide on this project, Smith replied, “I wanted to do something that would catch the attention of everyone and I like art a lot. As I was going through a list of different projects to do, Coastal Resource Management said a mural would be a good idea. The wall has always been there and I chose it because it is at an intersection where people can see it from whatever direction they are approaching.”
Smith received some help from his art teacher, Nancy Provido, to create an original design.
The project started on May 26 and finished on June 11, “but we only painted on weekends,” Smith said.
“Hopefully people will realize the reef is a really important part of our life and without it the island would not be what it is today,” he added.
“The Boy Scouts and volunteers really came together,” Kelchner said. “It’s a great community project. It has the punch of a simple slogan and beautiful colors to catch a lot of attention. This is his triumph, we just assisted. We’re proud to be his platform.”
