As Consulting Director of Programming and Partnerships, RE.CO founder Rodrigo Rodarte helped Studio-MLA and client LA County Parks and Recreation to set up the County’s first ever landscape architecture Youth at Work internship through a partnership with the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity. Working with cohorts of between 15-20 High School students from three High Schools in the Hacienda La Puente and Bassett school districts, the Studio-MLA team worked with the students on a series of community engagement and co-design exercises related to the Puente Hills Regional Park project. Over 3-4 months, cohorts of students learned accelerated lessons in landscape architecture, graphic design, community stewardship, urban planning and programming, urban ecologies, and landcare, and quickly assumed the role of project design assistants on this pivotal, real-world park design project.

The students, guided by Rodrigo and Studio-MLA staff, studied the project area, solicited community input, and conceived novel design and programming ideas for the new park as well as interim activation strategies and urban connection projects to the surrounding neighborhoods during the construction period. Several of these ideas are currently being tested as a means of activating the site and continuing to keep neighborhood stakeholders involved in the project while awaiting the completion of the park.

Now nearly two years, 100 students, and six cohorts later, the program has evolved into experimental planting and placemaking through a partnership with Test Plot at the trailhead parking area for the Schabarum-Skyline Trail and site of the future regional park.

**Project images represent work also performed and created by Studio-MLA, Active SGV, Nature for All, Test Plot, and others**