Guelph June 9, 2017 – At an event marking the culmination of 4 months of hard work, 15 students, engaged in an experiential learning opportunity offered through Youth Fusion, held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of their Environmental Design initiative. These students, supported by their teacher Mr. Chaves, and a Youth Fusion coordinator, Laura Armstrong hired from Guelph University, worked countless hours a week to transform an unused outdoor space into a beautiful Japanese Garden. Students handled everything from tree planting to landscaping and were mentored throughout the process by Laura as well as local Landscape Architect, Paul Brydges, who currently serves as President of Landscape Ontario.

Youth Fusion’s Founder and President, Gabriel Bran Lopez notes: “It’s remarkable what these students have been able to accomplish since our launch in February. The passion demonstrated throughout this process is clearly reflected in the quality of their work. We are very proud that our model allows for students to feel engaged in their own learning, discover career paths and pursue their passions.”

The Honourable Liz Sandals, MPP for Guelph who attended the event commented, “Congratulations to all of the students involved, the local teachers who guided them through this process, and Youth Fusion who delivered the experiential project. I had the opportunity to speak directly with the students involved and they had a tremendous sense of pride in having completed their Japanese Garden. As a graduate of GCVI, I am glad to see students fully engaged and reflecting about the future of their community.”

About Youth Fusion
Youth Fusion is an award-winning charity dedicated to lowering school dropout rates. By creating continuous ties between the school system and the community, we involve at-risk students in innovative and meaningful educational projects that foster learning, skills and social integration. Our innovative formula is simple: we hire post-secondary students and recent graduates as project coordinators, and send them into schools to implement projects that engage youth in learning both inside and outside the classroom—while strengthening their sense of belonging. The approach is a win-win: targeted youth experience compelling activities that expose them to different post-secondary choices, employment prospects, and personal development opportunities, while project coordinators gain valuable practical experience to complement their studies, and discover new career-related interests. Youth Fusion has over 10 different project areas: robotics, environmental design, music, cinema, healthy living, leadership, digital and visual arts, fashion design, entrepreneurship, video game creation, science & technology, among others.

For information
Mathieu Dagonas
416-209-4328
mdagonas@youthfusion.org