b'Landscaping GraduationIn the spring of 2024, we delivered the second year ofour Landscaping and Restoration program with abrand new cohort of participants. Eight youth aged18-25 with a self-identified disability developed socialand professional connections, employment skills, andlandscaping and horticultural expertise over thecourse of 12 weeks.landscapinggradThe legacy of this cohort will be the creation of auniversally accessible garden that will house food,native species, herbs, and sensory plants forfuture generations of participants.grad Not only did they plant a successful garden, theyalso got to enjoy it, making salads from the freshlandscaping veggies they grew from seeds.This years cohort saw participants eager to get theirhands dirty and work directly with the land. Even inthe pouring rain, the landscaping crew was ready to Did You Know?mulch the front beds and work together as a team. A The SENOEN name for Prospectfavourite gardening task was pulling thistles; it was an Lake is XOEs TE W SSENE exciting day of weeding when they collected giant which translates as lake of the littlepiles of thistles and saw their hard work pay off.emerging mountain.Participant favourite activities included: field trips toHeart Lake Farm to work with therapy horses and Thank you to PEPAKE HUTW , The HorticultureSatinflower Nurseries to learn about native plants, Center of the Pacific, and permaculturist Bethany ofmeeting local landscape architects, invasiveGarden Alchemist who helped design ourspecies removal, site maintenance, meadow and permaculture garden. Thank you to CanAssist, thestream restoration, and instruction on how to use programs delivery partner, for providing participantshand tools, mowers, weed whackers, trimmers,with First Aid certification, Food Safe certification,and safety equipment.outdoor work attire, and job coaching sessionsduring and after the program. A huge thank you to our many partners within thisprogram: Patio Gardens for bringing our crew toThese technical employment teachings, intheir classroom and helping participants build their conjunction with hard skills training and one-to-oneown planters to take home; Mustang Landscape for wrap-around emotional support from Power To Besdonating time and materials, and for their mulch facilitators, means that in a world that historicallydeliveries, and Hatch and Seed for working with usfails to serve young people with barriers, youth arein their garden.graduating this program with confidence, ready forfuture endeavours.'