The first painted lady butterfly to eclose in the SPP lab at Evergreen.
At long last, the wait is over. After almost a year of preparation, the butterflies have finally arrived! Inmate technicians at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) have been caring for painted lady larva for almost three weeks now, and over the weekend they got to watch their first butterflies emerge from their chrysalid.
The painted ladies are being reared as a training surrogate for the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot, which inmates will begin to work with next February. These training butterflies were chosen for their relative hardiness and fast life cycle, which will allow the inmates to go through several complete revolutions before graduating to the much more delicate Taylor’s checkerspot. So far the inmates involved have surpassed expectations in every way.
As the final phases of greenhouse construction were being completed, the student intern on the project, Dennis Aubrey, began rearing painted ladies at the Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) lab on The Evergreen State College (TESC) campus. This was done to work out the fine details of adapting the Taylor’s checkerspot rearing protocol for use with the painted ladies, and to prepare for training the inmates at the facility. Following this, 200 painted lady eggs were ordered and delivered to MCCCW, where eager inmate technicians began learning how to care for these delicate insects. Working with butterflies in the SPP lab approximately two weeks ahead of the ones at MCCCW was incomparably helpful in training the inmates effectively.
Inmate butterfly technicians at MCCCW caring for painted lady caterpillars and recording observations
From the time they began, the inmates have been taking very detailed carefully drawn notes, and have been tending to their charges with the patient meticulous care that makes all the difference in rearing projects such as this. At SPP’s frog project at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, the large amount of time inmates dedicate to caring for the endangered Oregon spotted frogs has led to the largest specimens raised at any institution. Last week, when Dennis visited Mission Creek to check on the inmates’ progress, he couldn’t help but notice that the painted lady chrysalids were significantly larger than he was able to produce in the SPP lab. Whether that’s a factor of the light and beneficial conditions in the greenhouse, or is directly attributable to the increased daily care, it’s hard to say. Either way, it’s a great sign of things to come for the future success of the project.
A French documentary crew recently visited Western Washington to film a new episode for their National Geographic series “Guardians of Nature”. The episode will include segments featuring the Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) Oregon Spotted Frog Program and riparian forest research conducted by SPP Co-Director Dr. Carri LeRoy.
The film crew spent an entire day with the SPP Oregon Spotted Frog Program team. Filming began at Cedar Creek Correction Center in the morning. SPP staff and inmates walked the crew through the daily tasks associated with caring for the endangered frogs. Prison Superintendent Doug Cole shared his thoughts on the benefits of the program from a prison perspective.
SPP Co-Director Carri LeRoy and Project Manager Kelli Bush at West Rocky Prairie
The afternoon was spent at West Rocky Prairie in the greater Olympia area. West Rocky Prairie is home to a wild population of Oregon spotted frogs. Dr. Marc Hayes, senior biologist at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, led the group to a wetland location where he netted two juveniles and one adult frog to show the film crew. He explained how factors such as habitat loss and bull frog predation have led to the decline of the species and discussed current efforts to recover the native population. The day concluded with summary discussion of the Sustainable Prisons Project and the many benefits of including incarcerated individuals as partners in conservation and sustainability work.
The film crew also spent a day with Dr. Carri LeRoy filming riparian and stream science research on the Hoh River. The Hoh River is a braided gravel stream channel fed from the glaciers of the Olympic Mountains and flowing through densely vegetated temperate rainforest and cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) gallery forests. Dr. LeRoy’s research on how the genetics of cottonwood trees can influence both other members of the ecological community associated with the trees and the ecosystem-level processes of riparian forests was the focus of the interview. Although it might seem impossible for something as small as a gene to have an effect on a whole ecosystem, there are many examples of the strong organizing power of genes. Genes can influence the insects that live in tree canopies, bird predation and nest building, deer browsing, soil organisms, nutrient cycling, carbon flux, water use and even adjacent stream communities and ecosystem processes. Dr. LeRoy’s “Genes-to-ecosystems” research involves examining the interactions between tree genes, forests and streams through leaf litter fall.
With the dynamic backdrop of ice-blue water and lush vegetation she demonstrated methods for measuring soil respiration (a combination of root respiration and microbial/insect respiration) at the base of a large cottonwood tree. In addition, she placed leaf litter bags of known tree genetics into a small tributary stream of the Hoh River and collected aquatic insects from the cobbly bottom. It was a gorgeous summer day spent in one of the most pristine river systems in Washington State.
The crew has featured beautiful locations all of the world, but this will be the first episode filmed in the US. The show is primarily carried on stations throughout Europe. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to share our work with “Guardians of Nature” and an audience on the other side of the planet. The two segments will likely be available early spring 2012 and will be posted to our website as soon as they are available.
By Rowlanda Cawthon, Washington Department of Corrections, East Team Leader, Communications
Associate Superintendent Margaret Gilbert, center, with members of the Women's Village at Washington Corrections Center for Women
Principles behind the mantra, “It takes a village to raise a child,” have been adopted by a group of dedicated offenders at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Both offenders and staff at the prison wanted to foster a positive community environment and propel women to shift their thinking, so they formed the Women’s Village group to develop an approach that would change the prison culture.
With the cuts to offender programming, the women realized the need to tap existing resources to foster a sense of growth, collaboration and commitment. “The Women’s Village has been a great way for the women to really start thinking about their lives and how they can influence each other,” said Associate Superintendent Margaret Gilbert. “We’ve managed to get some staff on board and we are certain this project can change the culture of the prison.”
The mission of the Women’s Village is, “To encourage and foster an atmosphere of change by harnessing our unique strengths together as individuals and to create a new culture based on the pursuit of personal excellence.” The term Women’s Village was created by Psychology Associate Robert Walker and offenders developed the purpose, values and structure of the program. “The project offers the women a unique opportunity to share their personal experiences and knowledge to inspire each other to change and make positive contributions to the community in which they all live — the prison,” said Walker.
A village council serves the Women’s Village in an advisory and governing capacity to provide leadership and direction. There are ten women on the council who work incredibly hard to create a healthier prison atmosphere. Their criminal backgrounds vary as do their custody levels, but this doesn’t hinder their unified commitment.
Jeannette Murphy who has been incarcerated for 28 years firmly believes that the Women’s Village is a practical resource. “One goal of the village is to keep the women busy,” said Murphy. “If we can help keep the women busy and assist them in finding their passion, we can address problems before they escalate and greatly reduce violence. We can work together to prevent another Jayme Biendl incident from occurring where we live.”
As the project evolved, the women unanimously agreed that they needed to identify their passions and create work opportunities around what genuinely made them happy. This resulted in the formation of nine sub–councils that serve as a means to get women engaged in something bigger than themselves.
Violence Reduction Team – Responsible for gauging the prison environment and identifying ways to reduce violence.
Health and Wellness Team – Facilitates wellness classes to include women’s health, nutrition and daily health routines.
Educational Team – Assist offenders with their educational needs and work with offenders who have learning disabilities to help them achieve their goals.
Environmental Team – Creates sustainable programs and get women involved in creating a sustainable environment.
Peer Support Team – Help offenders who need assistance in dealing with the realities of prison life. Peer mentors also work directly with mental health staff.
Morale Building Team – Bring back a sense of order and respect within the prison by promoting a positive change in the way women deal with their feelings.
Reentry Team – Facilitates programs that will help with the reentry process including but not limited to job readiness classes, resume workshops and dressing for success.
Spiritually Team – Gives women a chance to explore a variety of beliefs and become more in tune with their own, whatever they may be.
Family Support – Facilitates parenting groups, create positive ways to build on family relationships, and host workshops centered on family dynamics.
Each team is lead by a council member who has a sincere passion for the work required. Women interested in the Women’s Village must officially become a village member by participating in three orientations, two accountability circles, and committing to engage in two self–help groups or classes offered at the prison.
The orientations are lead by the council members and staff, and give an overview of the purpose and values of the Women’s Village. The women are also given an opportunity during orientation to develop personal goals that will enable them to create a vision of who they are and who they are becoming. Accountability circles provide the women with an opportunity to meet regularly to discuss issues or problems they are facing, to set goals to address these issues, and to brainstorm ways to accomplish the goals.
“We are a group of women who want more for ourselves and we want the women around us to feel the same way,” said Offender Renee Curtiss. “Having women believe in you and hold you accountable is the key to changing attitudes and behaviors, and that’s what we are all about.”
The values of the program are respect, honesty, compassion, diversity, self–empowerment, education and usefulness. These beliefs have been the driving forces behind the members’ ability to assist offenders in transitioning from intensive management unit to less restrictive custody, developing recycling and gardening programs, and simply getting women to be a source of change for each other within prison walls.
The Oregon spotted frogs (OSF) at Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) are the subjects of a growth comparison study between two separate OSF populations: Black River and Conboy Lake. Inmates at CCCC are raising the two populations side-by-side in separate tanks, keeping all rearing conditions identical, in order to compare growth rates. Measurements have been taken throughout the rearing season and will be taken again just prior to release in October at Joint Base Lewis McChord. The OSF population at Conboy Lake is the only source population that successfully cohabitates with bullfrogs, a primary predator of OSF. The hypothesis is that OSFs from Conboy Lake are bigger in size, and as a result of that, are faster in their response to predation. This study will help determine whether or not captive rearing efforts should focus primarily on the Conboy Lake population.
As part of the comparison study, the OSFs predator response instincts were also tested. Twenty frogs from each population were isolated for a short period of time in a stimulus free environment. One by one, they were placed in a large plastic tub filled with just enough water to cover their bodies. Once they relaxed enough to come to the surface and rest with their eyes out of the water, a plastic ball–tethered to stop before impact–was dropped from above, simulating a predator in the wild. Each individual test is filmed to record the amount of time it takes each frog to react to the “predator”, and also to record response distance in its effort to escape. The film is reviewed and data logged at the Oregon Zoo. The data will allow for a parallel test between the Black River and Conboy Lake populations, and also a comparison between OSF rearing institutions, CCCC and Oregon Zoo.
The experiment took place at CCCC under the supervision and guidance of Senior Research Scientist Dr. Marc Hayes and Kyle Tidwell from the Oregon Zoo. SPP interns Dennis Aubrey and Sarah Weber, and CCCC OSF inmates assisted with noting sex, coloration and tag number as well as taking the measurements and weight of each individual frog in order to identify any size or mass related variation in response. The inmate’s contribution to the predator response experiment and the side by side growth comparison study is integral to development of the OSF captive rearing program. The rearing season continues at CCCC with inmates raising fat, healthy frogs getting closer to their release date.
Congratulations to SPP Director Dr. Carri LeRoy, and SPP Research Associate Carl Elliot on their recent publications in the Northwest Science Journal!
Together with Dr. Dylan Fischer of Evergreen State College they co-authored Germination of Three Native LupinusSpecies in Response to Temperature. Experiments to determine the effects of pre-germination treatment and germination temperature conditions on the proportional germination of three species of Lupinus are discussed. The results could lead to better understanding of germination requirements of native species, an important component of restoration in south Puget Lowland prairies.
Dr. LeRoy was also co-author of a paper on Responses of Prairie Vegetation to Fire, Herbicide, and Invasive Species Legacy. Native and exotic plant community diversity and composition were measured across areas that differed in burning history and grass-specific herbicide application in an effort to evaluate prairie plant community variation in a matrix of restoration treatments in the south Puget Lowland prairies.
Both papers are available for download via Open Access on the Northwest Science BioOne page:
The Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) recently celebrated another year with our many wonderful partners. The event, held on a cool summer evening at the Olympia Farmer’s Market, featured a wide range of guest speakers representing various aspects of the Sustainable Prisons Project. Speakers from Department of Corrections, Joint Base Lewis McChord, The Evergreen State College (TESC), Center for Natural Land Management, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a prison volunteer each spoke about the significance of SPP from their perspective.
The event was also an opportunity to honor out-going Co-Director and Co-Founder of the SPP, Dr. Nalini Nadkarni. Nalini has accepted a position at University of Utah as the Director of the Center for Science and Math Education. She will remain involved with SPP as Senior Advisor. Nalini is also continuing work to share SPP with other states, including at her new location in Utah.
We also welcomed new SPP Co-Director Dr. Carri LeRoy. Carri began working with the SPP team in April and she officially began her new role as SPP Co-Director July 1st. She is a stream ecologist and a member of the Masters of Environmental Studies faculty at Evergreen. Carri is an excellent addition to the team and we look forward to continuing the Project with her leadership.
After a year filled with declining budgets we are extremely grateful to our partners, students, TESC staff, foundations, and grant funding sources that helped keep this project going. We are excited to see what the next year brings!
To donate to the SPP and help bring conservation into Washington prisons, click here.
By Graduate Research Associate Carl Elliott from Stafford Creek Corrections Center
Surrounded by acres of Douglas-fir forest and behind razor wire security fences, a garden tended by the offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center is flourishing. Their efforts to cultivate food and flowers has altered the landscape and nourished the spirit of those involved. These men asked me to provide a documentation of the garden for their families on the outside. I thought that this service alone was worth providing, but I also feel others outside the prison fence should have the opportunity to see and hear about the garden.
The spring weather on the coast of Washington this year was unusually cool and cool nights persist through July. Night temperatures have rarely stayed above 50° F. The cool weather caused heat loving plants like tomatoes, peppers, and squash to languish. However, crops such as broccoli, cabbage, peas, and carrots have exploded with growth. The offenders are gathering buckets full of carrots and peas to share with the prison kitchen.
All of the flower gardens were designed by the offenders. They paid special attention to creating habitat for insect pollinators. The plant families they cultivated in the pollinator garden were from the pink or catchfly family, the sunflower family, the pea family, and the mallow family. These plants provide nectar, pollen, and insect prey for beneficial insects. This is important because the garden is surrounded by concrete which provides poor pollinator habitat.
The other flower gardens include a cutting garden and a native prairie garden. The flowers from the cutting garden are used to beautify the visitor room in the summer. This allows friends and family to see the fruits of the men’s labors and make for a beautiful reception for visitors. The native prairie plant garden overflows with species from the conservation nursery. By seeing the plants they are cultivating for restoration, the men can begin to learn plant families and plant community associations found on the prairies.
The whole garden sits amidst a sea of concrete. Originally, it was a turf covered turn-around for delivery trucks. Staff grounds keeper, Jon Rydman, took the initiative to open up the space for the men to garden there two years ago. After a great amount of initial effort to cut the sod, lay the irrigation, and form the beds, the garden was started. Soil fertility has been improved by compost generated from prison kitchen waste. This unique in-vessel composting system is a pilot project coordinated by plant manager, Chris Idso. Creating a flourishing garden in a Correction Center requires cooperation and coordination among staff. The garden produces more than vegetables and flowers; it is also a place for education and change.
To donate to the SPP programs at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, click here.
SPP Launches New Conservation Program at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women
By Graduate Research Associate Dennis Aubrey
The Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) and the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) are preparing to launch a brand new conservation program. In addition to prairie plants and Oregon spotted frogs, we will be partnering on a new captive rearing program to raise Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies (Euphydryas editha taylori) for release on South Sound prairies. The Taylor’s checkerspot is listed as a state-endangered species in Washington and is a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. These butterflies once flourished on glacial outwash prairies, low elevation grassy balds and coastal grassland sites from southern British Columbia to central Oregon, but in recent decades habitat loss and degradation have reduced it to a few small, isolated populations.
Staff at MCCCW are currently hard at work constructing a custom greenhouse at the prison which will house the program, The UV light transmission of the glass structure will provide the checkerspots with ideal growing conditions, and its interior partition will create two separate climate controlled rooms. The building is expected to be complete by the end of the month, and the first release of larva onto South Sound prairies will occur in April 2012. Currently the Oregon Zoo is the only facility rearing Taylor’s checkerspots. The new structure at the prison will provide a second rearing program to assist with butterfly recovery efforts. The project is generously funded by the Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Nature Conservancy. Other collaborating partners include Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Corrections, the Evergreen State College, the Oregon Zoo, and Joint Base Lewis McChord. Even though the new rearing facility is not yet complete, SPP graduate student intern Dennis Aubrey has been busy preparing for the new program. Dennis is receiving training from staff at the Oregon Zoo as they raise checkerspots, as well as assisting with field activities. He recently helped release 1036 prediapause checkerspot larva at the Scatter Creek Prairie restoration plots. Along with staff at MCCCW, he also helped conduct interviews and hire inmates for the rearing technician position. Dennis will continue to play an active role in training incarcerated women to become butterfly rearing technicians.
Graduate student intern Dennis Aubrey helping release checkerspot larva at Scatter Creek
Our partners at MCCCW have been enthusiastic participants in all phases of the planning and implementation of this project. All involved are optimistic that this is the beginning of a successful long-term undertaking to recover endangered butterflies and bring science education to incarcerated women. This program promises to be an integral part of a growing culture of sustainability and conservation at the facility.
To donate to the SPP Taylor’s Checkerspot Program and help conserve biodiversity in Washington, click here.
Noe Cardenas- Certified Arborist- City of Seattle teaching about arboriculture
The SPP recently held a full day workshop on arboriculture at Cedar Creek Correction Center. The workshop was a great success with nearly 40 inmates (maximum allowed) and approximately 12 staff in attendance. Arboriculture is defined by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) as the art and science of planting, caring for, and maintaining individual trees. Arborists are knowledgeable about tree health and are trained and equipped to provide proper care. Inmates participating in the workshop already have an interest and some experience working with trees. They are all members of Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) forestry crews. Inmates on these crews work full-time planting trees, controlling weeds, fighting forest fires, and assisting with native plant restoration projects.
The workshop covered a wide range of tree-related topics including: forest ecology, an introduction to arboriculture, tree biology, tree career options, pruning, and a tree climbing demonstration. Seven different volunteer presenters took time away from their busy schedules to share their passion for trees with the inmates. The goal of the workshop was to introduce inmates to arboriculture and other tree-related careers. We hope to inspire inmates to consider becoming ISA Certified Arborists. ISA certification is quickly becoming a minimum requirement in many tree care companies. Certified Arborists are able to demonstrate a standard of knowledge and dedication to tree care; which can provide an advantage in today’s job market. The ISA has generously donated 50 certification exam study guides and featured the SPP in the April edition of their publication Arborist News.
Dan Kraus- World Champion tree climber giving climbing demonstration
If resources allow, the SPP will work with our partners at WDNR and Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC), to build a certification training program in the near future. The training program would bring together volunteer instructors to help qualified inmates prepare for the arborist certification exam. An education and certification program at Cedar Creek Correction Center could provide multiple benefits including:
employment opportunities at a decent wage for inmates post-release;
green-collar job training which builds a new work force to care for our urban forests;
involvement with the ISA, an organization that encourages on-going educational and professional development;
the program may serve as a model for other prisons and other states;
with increased employment opportunities and education, inmates may be less likely to re-offend when they are released.
Inmates participating in arboriculture workshop
Many thanks to the volunteer presenters, students, and agency partners that helped make the workshop a success. Please stay tuned as we carefully explore options for expanding this education opportunity.
Posted by Graduate Research Associate Carl Elliott
In a plant nursery that focuses on native plants and restoration, expectations are a bit different than at a traditional commercial nursery. Commercial nursery production has focused on those plants that make a good economic return for the grower. All managers of commercial nurseries know that if you have a rapid and efficient turn-over of plant material through the year, you generate a greater income per square foot. There is an industrial infrastructure and research to support the industry in this process. For restoration nurseries interested in basic germination protocols or more complex issues of genetic integrity or in-breeding depression, there is not such a well-developed research infrastructure, and a great many questions remain to be answered.
At the conservation nursery at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, we have generated a number of basic scientific questions regarding the germination ecology of the prairie species we cultivate. One of the most engaging is the seeds response to prairie fires. Fires have been an integral tool to maintain prairies in the Pacific Northwest for at least 8,000 years. The fires in this ecosystem are not natural; they were used by First Peoples to maintain the extant and health of the prairies that are surrounded by evergreen woodlands. The seeds of over 250 species of plants have been shown to significantly increase in response to the smoke generated by fires. This is particularly true for species from fymbos matorral, chaparral and grassland ecosystems. So, our project developed a question to determine whether the smoke from fires could increase the germination rates of some of the more difficult to germinate plants. Rather than apply smoke (and therefore fire) to the seeds themselves we applied smoke infused water as a treatment to seeds.
I took on the scientific design and execution of the seed germination experiments as part of my graduate thesis at The Evergreen State College. However, the experiment is a fully collaborative endeavor. The Nature Conservancy collected and curated the seed from their Shotwell’s Landing nursery. The offenders at Stafford Creek cleaned the seed, counted out replicates and participated in the germination experiments involving six of the species. The experiment involved measuring the germination rate of the six species. The seeds were divided into three treatment groups: two different levels of smoke water and a plain water control. The offenders applied the treatments to 10 replicates of each and the monitoring for germination went for 35 days.
Inmates at Stafford Creek Corrections Center count seed.
To prepare for the experiments, the offenders participated in workshops designed to facilitate discussions about the scientific methods used to come to robust conclusions. It was not the first time that offenders were exposed to a scientific reasoning process. Many have previous educational experience or have attended enough lectures organized by the Sustainable Prisons Project to be confident about offering their opinions to a discussion on scientific methods. At this point the experiments are nearly complete on most of the species and we can compile and analyze the results. My goal is to be able to go over some of the statistical methods used and get the offenders input on how the results we get can be used in the nursery to increase our propagation success. Look forward to the results in future posts.
