SLA 2026: Momentum, Impact, and Growth

2026 has already been a major year for SLA.

So far this year, SLA has completed 3 pre-apprenticeship cohorts, graduated 35 participants, and helped turn 393 years of incarceration into new opportunity.

These graduates are not just numbers. They are people moving forward with training, support, and real pathways into meaningful careers.

SLA also celebrated Cohort #3 of 2026 with families, partners, funders, and community leaders, including LA County Department of Economic Opportunity and Bell Gardens Council Member Marco Bárcena as keynote speaker.

Another major win was being awarded a $1.5 million LA County Regional Park and Open Space District grant, helping move forward our work in parks, community greening, environmental justice, and workforce development.

SLA also received CAL FIRE funding with Lynwood Unified School District, supporting greener, healthier school campuses through trees, shade, native landscapes, irrigation, and outdoor improvements.

Through CAL FIRE and multiple other funding sources, SLA has now helped impact 6 school campuses overall- bringing more beauty, shade, and investment to students and communities that deserve it.

Across Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, Bell, Lynwood, Wilmington, Compton, and beyond, SLA is proving that workforce development, environmental justice, and beautiful public spaces can grow together.

We are building more than landscapes.

We are building opportunity, community, and a greener future-one project, one cohort, and one life at a time.