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Tanapag Middle School’s “Ridge to Reef”-themed Mural
Nothing says “The Land and the Sea are the Pride of our Culture” quite like a community mural displayed prominently on several road-facing classrooms at Tanapag Middle School (TMS). Following months of planning and draft designs, and through the support of Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality (BECQ) and Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA), Tanapag artist Abraham “Bung” Falig, TMS Art teacher Suel Ki “Cris” Chang, TMS art students and community volunteers spent the past five months painting a mural that would enhance the aesthetic of their community and school. The finished product is a depiction of the ‘Ridge to Reef’ concept, the notion where everything that happens on land connects with and impacts our surrounding waters. The theme connects between each building, leading each scene into the next from Saipan’s picturesque cliffs and mountain ridges, past mangrove forests and leading to the Tanapag Lagoon’s coral reefs and Managaha Island, with the school and village mascot—Tataga/bluespine unicornfish (Naso unicornis)—featured prominently.
Entering its fifth year of environmental efforts focused on community conservation, Tanapag Middle School students established the first Micronesia Challenge Club in the region through the guidance and support of BECQ and MINA. Activities have included multiple campus and beach cleanups, turtle tagging, mangrove propagation, classroom presentations, a campus rain garden installation, MTEC presentations, and the latest project—the Ridge to Reef Mural.
Community partners and agencies include Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance, BECQ CNMI Coral Reef Initiative, and DLNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, as well as TMS club advisers and teachers. The mural was designed and painted by local artist Abraham “Bung” Falig, Tanapag Middle School Art teacher Ms. Cris Chang, Micronesia Challenge Young Champion Katelynn Delos Reyes and MINA’s Tasi Watch Rangers. (Katelyn Delos Reyes, Micronesia Challenge Young Champion)
