Redondo Beach Kicks Off 'Earth Month' With Wyland

Redondo Beach officially kicked off "Earth Month" on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting for world-famous marine artist Wyland's restored mural on the AES power plant.

Wyland, who goes by only one name, painted the mural in 1991. This year's restoration saw the to the pod primarily composed of gray whales.

During the ceremony, Redondo Beach Mayor Michael Gin and other officials presented Wyland with a one-year membership to the local Chamber of Commerce and a coin that commemorates the 20th anniversary of Wyland Wall 31.

"Today is a celebration of community," Gin told the crowd as he introduced Wyland. "It's a celebration of a gentleman and an artist and an educator and an environmentalist."

In his speech, Wyland said the city had been almost like a father to him, and that's why he decided to come back to restore the mural.

"This town embraced this project from day one" 20 years ago, he said.

Thursday's festivities also kicked off the Wyland Foundation and Toyota's Mayor's Challenge, which encourages Southern California cities to compete against each other to see who can save the most water.

Gin said, to his knowledge, this was the first time the city decided Earth Day would last a month.

"We've always had an Earth Day celebration," he said, noting that Earth Month was a "wonderful idea" that "spawned out of Wyland's return.

"We're just grateful to him for his support of our city," Gin said.