A podium awaits as a crowd gathers in front of a public restroom. Members of the San Mateo community marveled at the building’s new mural during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Coyote Point Recreation Area.

The ceremony took place on Sept. 6. In a collaboration between two non-profit organizations, San Mateo County (SMC) Parks Foundation and Compass Point Mentorship, a group of more than 40 children painted a scene that features Coyote Point’s animals, activities, and nature. 

The project has been a long time in the making. Around one year ago, when the SMC Parks Foundation first contemplated creating a mural in their parks, Compass Point Mentorship offered to do just that.

“It was sort of a miraculous thing that happened,” said Michele Beasley, executive director of SMC Parks Foundation.

SMC Parks Foundation was founded 25 years ago. San Mateo County does not have a designated park fund, so SMC Parks Foundation raises money for programs like the interpretive program that helps people enjoy and engage with the parks.

“I kind of like to think of it as the icing on the cake. So your taxes are baking the cake that supports our parks, and then we come in and we’re the icing,” Beasley said.

That “icing” includes the mural project.

Creating the mural

In the months leading up to summer, park rangers working with SMC Parks Foundation worked closely with a group of teenagers called youth leaders from Compass Point Mentorship to create a design for the mural. 

The goal was to depict Coyote Point accurately.

“It was a back-and-forth process. The teen artists would say, ‘Okay, here’s our first pass at the artwork. What do you think?’ The interpretive park rangers would say, ‘That’s great, but you need to know that bird isn’t seen at Coyote Point, or those flowers aren’t seen at Coyote Point. So switch it out and have more of these,’” Beasley said.

Archbishop Mitty High School junior Bailey Su was one of the youth leaders involved in the planning process.

“I was there for months of planning and the meetings every Monday. It was just a lot of planning and trial and error, but we got through it,” Su said.

Finally, at the beginning of summer, the painting could begin. Compass Point Mentorship led a summer camp for kids aged 5 to 14 to help create the mural.

Xiangfei Bai, one of the lead muralists in the project, used the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset to trace an outline onto the wall. This was his first time trying this new technology in his murals.

“This is my first year trying the new technology. Before, I used a projector to draw the silhouette in the night,” Bai said.

Bai taught the kids how to use paint sprayer machines, the only way to paint the mural, as the restroom walls were textured with bumps. The idea was for the children to paint the background and landscape, while Bai would paint most of the more complex details.

While Bai was busy painting the details, youth leaders helped keep the campers under control and led them throughout the painting process. This included teaching the children to keep paint off the ground and helping them choose a more natural shade of green rather than neon.

However, while the children had much to learn, they contributed much to the mural.

“A lot of the campers were actually better than we thought. Even though they’re kids, 5 through 13, they were really passionate about it,” said Carlmont sophomore Helen Li, a volunteer at the camp. 

Within the span of three weeks, the mural was complete.

“We really couldn’t have done this without everyone involved,” said youth leader Elizabeth Yang.

Blending art and community service

Many of the youth leaders from Compass Point Mentorship came from a background in art and were scouted by Catherine Liu, the executive director and founder of Compass Point Mentorship.

Liu founded the organization to help Asian youth utilize their skills beyond the academic realm.

“They need to be outside for a community impact project. So I started with a lot of workshops and telling them how important it is to connect with the community,” Liu said.

She talks with parents first to see if they would be willing to have their child participate in community service projects that her different committees run, one being the public art project.

“We have a lot of kids. They study art, right? They know how to draw, but we don’t have a lot of kids really use the skills to do something beneficial to the community,” Liu said.  

The impact of a restroom mural

Painting a mural on a restroom has three purposes, according to Liu.

One is that murals serve as a shield against graffiti.

“So in Santa Clara County, we paint on bathrooms as well. In Santa Clara County, especially in low-income areas, a lot of people paint on the bathroom with graffiti. And the best anti-graffiti is actually painting a mural on top of it,” Liu said. “And the second reason, in general, is to add beauty to the park.”

The third reason is to educate the community. Depicted on the mural are various species native to the area, including the namesake coyote.

“This mural can last for over 15 years, right? So over the next 15 years, more people will come here to this famous beach, and they will know the old species from this park,” Bai said.

The project also created meaningful connections. The youth leaders built new friendships. Yang, along with youth leaders Annie Yu and Annie He all became close friends due to the summer camp. All three girls go to different school districts. 

In addition, the youth leaders gained experience in leadership roles while getting a break from their academic lifestyle.

“We’re talking a lot, and we’re painting, so it’s really peaceful and calming to be able to get away from all of the school stuff,” Yu said.

Due to the success of the mural project, SMC Parks Foundation and Compass Point Mentorship plan to continue the mural camp next summer in new locations, such as the other restrooms in Coyote Point.

“I think the real magic and what makes this so special is that all the kids who got to participate have this lasting memory of Coyote Point in a very special way, and it’s the kind of memory they will hold onto as they get older,” Beasley said.

This story was originally published on Scot Scoop News on September 9, 2025.