The “butterfly greenhouse” at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women. Photo by Seth Dorman.

Several butterfly technicians involved with the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Rearing Program at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) have expressed how the SPP program has helped them further their education and while also impacting them personally. Susan Christopher has been with the program for almost two full seasons and expressed the following:

“I am currently incarcerated at Mission Creek Correction Center for Women (MCCCW) in Belfair, Washington. Last March I was selected to participate in the Sustainability in Prison Project’s (SPP) Butterfly Program as a Butterfly Rearing Technician.  I was excited, but had little knowledge or expectations about the program. Since then, I have been on an incredible journey through the world of science, biology, and my own spirit.

 This program is an amazing opportunity, especially considering the fact that I am in prison.  The responsibility of caring for an endangered species, adding to that, the responsibility of recording and maintaining all the correlating scientific data involved, has given me a sense of accomplishment unparalleled in my pre-prison life.  The trust awarded me by prison staff and all the SPP partners has also been a tremendous boost to my self-esteem.  Throughout this program, my thoughts and ideas are heard, considered, and utilized when applicable.  It’s an extremely important affirmation that what I’m doing is truly worthwhile.

Our successes in the program have also shown me that I can make a difference in this world, even from behind bars.  Each and every one of us has the ability to contribute to society in a positive way if given the chance.

I know that my involvement with this program has forever changed my life.  Everything from the sustainability of this planet to the beauty of the cycle of life has become a passion of mine.  As a result of that, I am also currently targeted to become an inmate instructor for the SPP-sponsored  “Roots of Success” program here at MCCCW.

Additionally, I can’t help but see the comparison of my life to that of the butterfly.  I have grown to love the butterfly in all of its life stages, but the miracle of its metamorphosis has come to symbolize the changes I’ve gone through in my own life.  I now understand that some struggles in life are necessary to shape who we are to become. 

I would like to thank everyone involved with this program for giving me the chance to view myself as one of God’s beautiful creatures, much like the Taylor Checkerspot Butterfly.  And because of that, I’m definitely looking forward to spreading my wings and using the wisdom and knowledge I’ve gained here upon my release back into the world.”

Very Respectfully,

Susan Christopher 

Susan Christopher crafting butterfly masks for Girls Scouts Behind Bars scheduled to visit the Butterfly Greenhouse. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.

Butterfly technician Kristina Faires was with the program for one full season and is now enrolled at The Evergreen State College for the fall quarter of 2016. Kristina said the following about her experiences with the Butterfly Program:

“To be able to say, I love my job, is huge, but to say that I love my job in prison is monumental! My experience this last year working as a butterfly rearing technician with the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, an endangered species, has been incredible, to say the least. I have been fortunate to be given such an amazing opportunity.  This year alone my co-workers and I raised over 2,500 larvae that were later released back into their native prairie lowland habitat. There is a sense of accomplishment I feel knowing that our efforts are being recognized daily, in the form of restoring an endangered species. The acknowledgment our program receives from collaborators, staff and peers have been fundamental in realizing our potential on a personal basis as well as a professional one.

Being able to have this positive experience has triggered my own metamorphosis. I had forgotten how good it felt to be interested, absorbed and stimulated in something that matters. During my involvement with this program, I have developed a strong attachment to the natural world and a desire to continue my education in environmental studies. I am proud to say that I have been accepted to The Evergreen State College this fall with a scholarship as well as a nice financial aid package. I feel humbled when I look at the universe of living things that endure, evolve and flourish around me when I remember to slow down and look.”

-Kristina Faires

Kristina Faires “wakes up” sleeping butterfly larvae from their winter dormancy or diapause life stage. Photo by Seth Dorman.

SPP student-staff and butterfly technicians at MCCCW install four new raise beds to grow plantain, a common weed preferred by the endangered butterfly as food in their larval life-stage. Photo by Seth Dorman.

A refreshing, overcast morning at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) made for great weather to build four new raised beds for the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Program. We will grow plantain (Plantago) in these beds to increase the amount of food for the caterpillars (larvae) at the facility. SPP’s nursery crew—including Carl Elliott, Allie Denzler, and Ricky Johnson— joined the butterfly team on the project.

Lindsey Hamilton, Taylor’s Checkerspot Program Coordinator, and butterfly technician Eva Ortiz unload a wheelbarrow full of soil. Photo by Seth Dorman.

Butterfly technician Michelle Dittamore and SPP nursery coordinator Allie Denzler install support brackets. in a corner. Photo by Seth Dorman.

The Taylor’s Checkerspot larvae require Plantago leaves for foraging, and then as adult they can use the plants as a place to lay their eggs. In recent years, the larvae have prospered; the hard-working technicians dutifully supply each larva with an appropriate serving of food. The larvae will eat as much as they can in the fall to grow and store up enough energy to survive the cold, winter months of dormancy (diapause). When the hungry larvae wake-up in mid-February, they require an ample food each day to  become a pupa (pupate). Some Februarys, the Plantago plants have not yet had favorable weather conditions for sprouting new, plentiful leaves. Consequently, the food the larvae desperately need to complete their life cycle is scarce. Some years, technicians are forced to pick from scattered Plantago around the perimeter of the facility.

By adding the new raised beds, we hope to have a more dependable supply for larvae to metamorphose into beautifully checkered adults. With the bed additions, we hope to grow at least 3,500 plantain plants. This means each of the 3,500 larvae reared in a season will have their own individual plantain plant! We plan to add cold frames for each raised bed, which will boost plantain production in late winter. Bountiful food resources for the butterfly larvae are beneficial in the warmer months of the season if some food recourses become contaminated or reduced due to pests and disease.

SPP’s nursery crew and butterfly team shovel soil to be placed in new raise beds. Photo by Seth Dorman.

After some heavy lifting of soil with shovels, the maintenance crew at MCCCW shows SPP their bulldozing skills. Photo by Seth Dorman.