MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- A new mural for the North Beach changing station was recently completed to reflect the mission and available recreation at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The changing station was constructed to provide surfers and beachgoers a place to shower and change after spending the day at North Beach.
The Facilities Department, Forest City Hawaii, Base Inspector’s Office, Environmental Compliance and Protection Department, and the Navy Seabees of Facilities Self Help coordinated on the project.
Families on base visit North Beach and Pyramid Rock in the hope of seeing green sea turtles and the migrating humpback whales.
Lt. Col. Heidi McKenna Schmitt, the base inspector for MCB Hawaii and a native of Albany, N.Y., said the major concern for building the changing station was the surrounding environment.
“Because of the protected area like the dunes surrounding North Beach, our main focus was ensuring the land or history would not be greatly disturbed,” Schmitt said. “We wanted to involve the community by conducting a contest to paint a mural on the changing station. The idea was to give it a nice, unique aloha touch to the base.”
Schmitt said the Navy Seabees built the station in approximately eight months, and Facilities donated the paint for the mural project. She said the collaborators on the project wanted to give artists a chance to show off their work.
Lance Bookless, the senior natural resources management specialist for Base Environmental and a native of Zanesville, Ohio, said the area is protected because of the rare native vegetation and endangered species like the Hawaiian Monk seal that are special to the beach. He said North Beach is also protected since it is a burial land.
“Houses were not built here and the park was created to keep this area intact, as well as respect Hawaiian history,” Bookless said.
Painters Zoey Johnson and Sarah Mathos colorfully highlighted the surrounding environment with oceanic and Marine Corps themes like surfboards and helicopters. Both entered the contest and were chosen to paint the station.
Mathos, a native of Jenison, Mich., said she thought the project would be a great opportunity to be involved with after moving to Hawaii.
“The contest requirement was to capture the essence of Hawaii and the base,” Mathos said. “I worked in Michigan as an art teacher. After submitting a few sketches, I was honored to be one of the painters selected to participate. I enjoyed getting to know people while I painted, as they stopped to say hello. This project has been fun to work on and I hope people enjoy the collaborated piece.”