If you’ve walked by the Shakercrest side of the school in the last two months, you’ve probably noticed a large rainbow made entirely of plastic bottle caps.

The bottlecap rainbow was built by a coalition of student clubs including Beachwood’s MAC Scholars, The Council for Exceptional Children, The Climate Action Team and The Genders and Sexuality Alliance. 

“Rainbows are a symbol of nature and new beginnings,” said senior Greg Perryman, who is part of the Climate Action Team.

Over 1,000 caps were collected between December 2020 and June 2021 and sorted by deaf and hard-of-hearing students and the Council for Exceptional Children. 

The rainbow includes multiple shades of each color, including brown and black. It includes  large peanut butter bottles, coffee cans, cooking spray caps, small water bottles, juice cups, and even applesauce squeeze caps. 

The design and painting were a collaborative effort by the Climate Action Team and MAC scholars, with input from the Genders and Sexuality Alliance. 

“We actually glued them to the board first then determined that screwing them in would lead to a more durable mural,” Perryman said. “With the help of the MAC scholars we screwed in so many screws just weeks before the unveiling. The screws turned out to also provide a unique sparkle/shimmer to the final product.” 

Lori Joyner, the principal’s secretary and advisor of the Climate Action Team, said that in the wake of the pandemic people, were feeling isolated and wanted to do something that would bring people together. 

“I remember meeting with my kids the first time over zoom, and they asked me what our plan was,” Joyner said. “Frankly, I didn’t have one at the time, but I knew that I needed to get one, and that it had to be really, really good. I knew that it needed to be one that would be inclusive, make people feel good, and that it needed to be symbolic of hope, beauty and better days ahead.”

The rainbow colors are a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, with brown and black included in the full pride flag. The rainbow has also been used to symbolize the autism spectrum and neurodiversity.

Perryman noted that since Mrs. Joyer is retiring, they wanted to create something to carry on her legacy.  

“The rainbow took all summer to create, and was made out of true effort and love,” said senior Shivani Rajgopal, a member of the Climate Action Team.