Community Corner
Essential Workers Honored With Giant Grass Mural In Pleasanton
The tribute was made possible thanks to New Ground Technology, in collaboration with Patch, Alameda County Fair and Pleasanton Golf Center.
PLEASANTON, CA — A 150-foot mural honoring essential workers giving their all in the fight against the coronavirus was imprinted into the golf course at the Alameda County Fairgrounds by local company New Ground Technology.
New Ground's "#InThisTogether" mural was created in collaboration with Patch, the Alameda County Fairgrounds, and the Pleasanton Golf Center, where the mural is temporarily located.
"We hope [essential workers] all have the opportunity to see this amazing piece of art," said Angel Moore, Alameda County Fair vice president of business development, in an email.
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For Kelli Pearson and Pete Davis, the husband-wife team who runs Pleasanton-based New Ground Technology, the tribute is personal.
Pearson said essential workers are her heroes, and the couple has family and friends who are police officers and nurses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. They worry for their safety, she said.
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Essential workers risk their lives "to make our day-to-day more comfortable, safe and healthy," Pearson wrote in an email. The mural is a way to share their love and gratitude, she said.
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New Ground Technology creates temporary designs on grass fields — usually golf courses or baseball fields — using a "TurfPrinter" that uses air to bend grass, creating a contrast seen only from above, she said. Blades bent away from the viewer are lighter, while blades bend toward them are darker. Grass is not harmed in the process, Pearson said.
It took three hours for Pearson to design the image and about an hour to create the 150-square-foot design in the grass, she said. Each pixel on the design is the equivalent of a three-inch square of grass.
In January, New Ground Technology made national headlines after they created a dramatic grass mural in memory of Kobe Bryant, following the sports icon's tragic death in a helicopter accident Jan. 26. In February, the company cheered on the San Francisco 49ers ahead of Super Bowl LIV.
The mural can be seen from the skies through Saturday.
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