For immediate release

Kwantlen Horticulture Students Help Make Dream Come True With 2011 Home Makeover

METRO VANCOUVER, BC – (September 28, 2011) – For the fifth year in a row, Langley Kwantlen Polytechnic University Horticulture students partnered with Cornerstone Church in a ‘Home Renovation Makeover’ for a needy Maple Ridge family. A tragic workplace accident recently left a family of four without a Dad and with a rapidly deteriorating house and yard. Cornerstone sent the family away for 10 days while they completely renovated their house and Kwantlen students renovated the landscape. Student project managers Craig Van Pelt and Mathew Pocock worked many hours to plan yard design, secure donations and organize resources.

On Sunday September 25, the day of the final reveal, 15 Kwantlen Horticulture students worked all day long to complete the landscape transformation, which included: showcasing front entry garden beds, re-sodding both front and side lawns, rejuvenated the rear native garden bed, rebuilding raised veggie beds with terrace beds and adding a kid-scaled soccer field.

The family was thrilled with their new landscape. Kwantlen students were warmed to find out that Dad was a soccer coach and also a former Kwantlen welding student.

"Kwantlen Horticulture students gave 110 percent, working tirelessly to show their compassion for a deserving family," commented Stan Kazymerchyk, Turfgrass Management Instructor at Kwantlen. "They showed hard work, respect, cooperation, creativity and excited smiles throughout the whole process. I am very proud of everything our students were able to accomplish and more importantly how they did it."

Turf and Landscape industry support was critical to the success of this project, with generous donations by Taylors Turf Care, Anderson Sod, Target Products, Cedar Rim Nursery, Eljay Irrigation, Vancouver Golf Club, True Grade Construction and Mark Van Pelt.

Congratulations to students Mathew Pocock, Craig Van Pelt, Dawna Tilbury, Steven Keller, Marie Pudlas, Glenn Ross, Toni Barrett, Matt Wilson, Nikki Oldridge, Samantha Clark, Trent Brown, Lance Keashly, Dave Allison, Jesse Cowan and Mio Jancovic who put in such a great effort to work with Cornerstone Church to help the family this year.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has been serving the Metro Vancouver region for 30 years, and has opened doors to success for more than 200,000 people. Four campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley—offer a comprehensive range of sought-after programs, including business, liberal arts and science, design, health, trades and technology, apprenticeships, horticulture, and academic and career advancement. Over 17,000 students annually have a choice from over 135 programs, including bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates and citations.

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For more information on Kwantlen’s Turfgrass Management Program, contact:
Stan Kazymerchyk
Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Tel: 604.599.3295
stan.kazymerchyk@kwantlen.ca

For more information about Kwantlen, contact:
Joanne Saunders
Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 604.599.2243
joanne.saunders@kwantlen.ca