I first visited El Grenada Elementary School in 1991 to do an author/illustrator presentation.
I commented that the school looked a little bleak with it's institutional grey paint when it was in such a stunning location by the ocean. They wrote a grant and had me come and do some murals with their 3rd and 4th graders. It was a wonderful lesson in working collaboratively. Each of the children involved painted a symbol to represent themselves on one of the hands in the border, while also contributing to the larger picture which we developed together. The text on the wall is from Chief Seattle's speech about the interconnectedness of all life.

We painted 3 sides of a building, each side representing a differnet natural environment: the ocean, the desert, and the redwoods.

Since then El Grenada has painted many murals, planted gardens and become a very beautiful school. Much credit goes to Melissa Moriarty who taught at El Grenade for many years and organized many of the murals. She now teaches at Hatch Elementary School in Half Moon Bay.