This past August, Stacy Moore from Institute of Applied Ecology, (IAE) gave a presentation on prairie restoration at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (CRCC) in Connell, WA. The presentation is part of an on-going monthly sustainability lecture series created by the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). IAE and CRCC staff work collaboratively to offer a variety of subjects including soil conservation, fracking, climate change, song birds of the shrub-steppe and monarch migration research.
Inmates ask the best questions and provide great comments about their own experience making the presentation an interactive learning experience. Often inmates ask, “How can I get involved?” to which partnership staff respond by providing additional environmental education materials and information about conservation efforts and future volunteer opportunities.
Mike Brown, a student in Mr. Scott Knapp’s horticulture class at Cedar Creek Corrections Center shared his poem with Mr. Knapp, who then shared it with us. With Mr. Brown’s permission, we now share it with all of you:
In Service to the Earth
To those who heal and protect the earth
In all ways and large.
To those who throw a protective shield ‘gainst
Industries toxic barge.
Endangered Checkerspot Butterfly from Mission Creek Corrections Center. Photo by SPP Staff.
Valued be the composters; gardeners;
Breeders of worms; frogs; bees and soil renewers.
To those who train dogs for the military vet;
Much appreciation, though we’ve never met.
To those who choose to purify the air.
Makers of clean water…all share,
From rivers, lakes, creeks and sea’s.
To those who plant trees.
Rearing Endangered Frogs. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
Valued are those who heal the prairies,
Grasslands, and renew the seeds.
Those who fight pollution by recycling and restore
The lore of fisheries
Herbs of plants (their healing salve),
Wildflowers that feed the gopher, butterfly,
And larks in the sky.
Valued are those who ask questions, “Why?”
Amending the Soil. Photo by SPP Staff.
Valued are those who heal cities.
Healing to them for whom the flock flows slowly.
To those with excitement and creativity.
Those who promote prison sustainability.
Beekeeping at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Photo by SPP Staff.
DOC Classifications Counselor, Gina Sibley was the SPP liaison for Cedar Creek Corrections Center for almost two years. We want to thank her for her partnership and support and congratulate her on her recent promotion. She will be missed!
Gina Sibley always went above and beyond while supervising the technicians in the bee, turtle and frog programs at Cedar Creek. Supervising was not all she did.
Ms. Sibley Teaching About Bees. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.
She joined in the experience by participating in seminars on science journal articles, facilitating the creation of a turtle emergency response team, staying late to participate in and supervise the bee keeping certification classes, assisting in capturing honey bee swarms, coordinating clearances for tours of the program and the list goes on!
Ms. Sibley helping turtle technician Mr. Boysen measure an endangered Oregon spotted frog. Photo by Sadie Gilliom
Thank you so much, Gina. You have made your mark on SPP and we know you will continue spreading the word of science and sustainability wherever you go.
Ms. Sibley with a tomato grown in the aquaponics greenhouse. Photo by SPP staff
By Sadie Gilliom, SPP Western Pond Turtle Program Coordinator;
All photos by Sadie Gilliom unless otherwise noted
Congratulations to Tammy Schmidt, our partner with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, on her new position! We are happy for you, Tammy, but sad to see you go.
Tammy Schmidt has dedicated much of her time in the past 3 years to the Western Pond Turtle Program at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. As an expert in the endangered western pond turtles, this Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist shared her knowledge and passion for wildlife conservation and turtle care with me and eager technicians and correctional staff.
Tammy shaking hands with a technician. (Note: We are respecting Tammy’s wish for privacy by not showing her face in photos.)
She brought her patience and great sense of humor to the program. She always took the time to explain and answer the many questions we had — and repeat answers as new coordinators and technicians came into the program.
She came out to Cedar Creek once a month to check-up on the turtles’ wounds from their shell disease. She trained the technicians and myself in how to monitor the wounds in the shells to make sure they were healing well. In case of any turtle emergency, she was the one we called.
Tammy examining a turtles shell.
She took the technicians out to the release site, showed them how they track the turtles, and how they protected their nests with a wire protector.
Tammy showing the technicians around the release site. Photo by Fiona Edwards.
I want to say a personal thanks to Tammy for her support during any health emergencies with the turtles, for sharing her knowledge, and for allowing me to assist with the annual exam of the turtles at the release site.
I (Sadie) assist Tammy with data collection.
Thank you, Tammy, for your huge role in making this program a possibility and for all of your support! Best wishes on your new adventure!
by Sadie Gilliom, SPP Western Pond Turtle Program Coordinator, and Mr. Goff, SPP Turtle Technician
Photos by Sadie Gilliom, except where noted
On May 18th, 2016, Larch Corrections Center released its first nine turtles into a pond in Klickitat County. These were state-listed endangered western pond turtles that received care at Larch. The turtles had been removed form the wild by biologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife because they were suffering from a shell disease. They received acute treatment by the veterinarian at the Oregon Zoo and then transferred to Larch Corrections Center where two trained technicians cared for the turtles until they were ready to be released back into the wild.
A Larch turtle is ready for release.
The release site was a lovely pond in Klickitat County.
The team—myself, Larch’s SPP Liaison Mr. Piliponis, Superintendent Oliver-Estes, the two technicians, Sergeant, and Mark Francis—drove 3 hours to a beautiful wetland. It was a sunny day with a clear view of Mt. Hood. We were greeted by WDFW biologist Stefanie Bergh, the founder of the Western Pond Turtle breeding program, Frank Slavins, and Oregon Zoo volunteers and staff. The Oregon Zoo was releasing the turtle hatchlings from their head start program on the same day.
Sgt. Mark Franklin guards the turtles.
Larch Superintendent Oliver-Estes says farewell to a turtle.
Turtle Technician Mr. Hill examined empty shells to learn more about turtle anatomy.
After meeting everyone, learning about the different tools the biologists use to study the turtles, and the technicians answering lots of questions about the Larch turtles from curious volunteers, we made our way down to the water’s edge. One by one all of the turtles were gently placed near the water. Then they trudged their way into the pond to swim off and join the others. This march to freedom was a moment to remember for all of the many players in the army to save the western pond turtle, but perhaps most memorable for the turtle technicians who are prepping for release themselves.
Turtle Technician Mr. Hill taught young zoo volunteers about western pond turtles.
After the turtle release, Turtle Technician Mr. Joseph Goff shared his response to the experience:
“On Dec 19 2015 I became a caretaker. It was probably the last thing I thought I would be doing in my current situation. Caretaking is a humbling experience. It gives you a perspective on yourself, but also makes you focus on something or someone else. To be one of the reasons that these turtles survive is amazing. Also to see all the other people that have a part as well or are even just interested in knowing what they could do to to help. In so many ways this in something pure. To have so many people come together on one common ground doing what they can to help a turtle that has no means to help himself.
This program has opened my eyes—first to my future. I always have loved anything to do with nature or animals. I want to go back to school for it now.I want to volunteer and do it for a living. This program has also changed my perspective on people. Outside of family I guess I’ve lost my ability to put trust in or listen to others. Surrounding myself with people who always had ulterior motives or just take and pretend to care. It made me close-minded and hardened. In fact, a lot of people probably might have said I was one of those people that had ulterior motives that pretended to care.
Now I’m caring for these turtles who ironically are sick just like I was. They are enclosed and cared for. When their time is up and they are well they get to leave; if they get sick again they come back. I’m also involved with other caregivers that have helped me find a part of myself I had lost along the way. I believe this program has greatly changed my current life and if I continue with this same line of work or similar, I will be forever changed.”
Turtle Technician Mr. Goff Releasing a Turtle.
The technicians watched the turtles swim away.
Here is the Larch’s Turtle Program team. Photo by Zoo Volunteer.
by Sadie Gilliom, Western Pond Turtle Program Coordinator
SPP’s Director for Washington Corrections, Steve Sinclair, holds a western pond turtle just before releasing it in a Pierce County wetland. The endangered species received care from conservation technicians at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Photo by Kelli Bush.
On April 14th, four western pond turtles were released back into the wild in a wetland in Pierce County. These turtles had come into the care of the western pond turtle inmate technicians at Cedar Creek Corrections Center due to shell disease. After being taken in by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and receiving acute veterinary care at PAWs wildlife rehabilitation center, the turtles were transported to the technicians. The technicians provided expert care for the turtles and their wounds until they were healed enough to be released back into their natural habitat. Please enjoy the following pictures of this fantastic event!
Turtle Technician Anglemyer and SPP Turtle Coordinator Sadie Gilliom discuss preparation for release. Photo by Shauna Bittle.
Technician Hufferd-Oulette, SPP Coordinator Sadie Gilliom and Technician Anglemyer pose with turtles getting ready for release. Photo by Shauna Bittle.
Saying goodbye and good luck to a turtle. Photo by Shauna Bittle.
SPP Liaison and Classifications Counselor, Gina Sibley, helping the technicians load the turtles in the van. Photo by Shauna Bittle.
Dr. Bethany examines turtle prior to release. Photo by Kelli Bush.
Sadie helping to attach the radio trackers on the turtles. Photo by Kelli Bush.
Turtle ready for release! Photo by Kelli Bush.
Deputy Secretary Jody Becker-Green releasing her turtle. Photo by Kelli Bush.
Sadie and Kelli co-releasing the last turtle. Photo by Jody Becker-Green.
Each year a group of amphibian experts meets to discuss status, research updates and action items for the recovery of the state endangered and federally threatened Oregon spotted frog (OSF). This year, the two OSF technicians, who cared for and released 167 frogs in 2015, were able to attend this important meeting and share the critical role they have played in the OSF recovery effort. The following blog is inmate science technician Mr. Boysen’s reaction to the meeting. Thank you Mr. Boysen, for sharing your experience and for everything you have contributed to the program.-Sadie Gilliom-Sustainability in Prisons Project OSF and Western Pond Turtle Coordinator
Today my co-worker and I went to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. We left Cedar Creek Corrections Center earlier than I expected and made it to the Refuge a little late. We were greeted by our boss, Mrs. Gilliom and directed to our seats. It was a pretty intimidating place at first glance. There were lots of badges and logos on shirts and hats. I recognized most of them. There was Northwest Trek, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo and other people I have seen and given tours of the turtle program to at Cedar Creek. Seeing familiar faces made it less intimidating. Right out of the gate, Kelli Bush, the manager at the Sustainability in Prisons Project came up and thanked us for coming and I saw more and more people I’d seen before.
Mr. Boysen giving a tour to zookeepers and veterinarian from Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
The presentations started and I was amazed at the large size of this group of really smart people- these people spend so much of their time and career on these frogs. There are so many aspects of this project I didn’t really understand were going on behind the scenes. It was interesting to hear from JBLM about how they haven’t found any egg masses or frogs at the release site. It was nice to hear that they are finding Oregon spotted frogs in locations around the Black River area that are thriving. I didn’t recognize how much work was done just to survey the swamps, marshes, and ditches where frogs might be hiding. Getting to see the maps with the GPS lines that showed where people had actually slogged their way through mud and muck was pretty cool.
Another part of the presentation that I found to be really cool was the different types of work that is being done to restore habitat for the frogs. The different ways that the reed canary grass is being removed/eradicated was very interesting. The mats of native plants that were going into production at another prison sound like a good idea. It was fascinating to see how much work was involved with the restoration of native plants. They burn, move, weed wack, hand cut and till the soil to allow a more inhabitable place for the frogs to live.
You would never really think all of this was going on to save a frog from extinction. It kind of gives you hope when you really think about it. If this many people can spend this much time and brainpower on one little frog and one state’s government can spend this much money to stop one species of frog from disappearing then maybe we haven’t become blind to what we have done to the world we live in. Maybe we can fix the things we have messed up and the damage we have done to our world.
Mr. Boysen holding an OSF that was being raised at Cedar Creek Corrections Center
The most intimidating part of the trip was the presentation we gave. Now, I’m not a shy person or timid in any way, but when I walked to the front of that room with Mrs. Gilliom and Bill, I was a little surprised with how big the room got. Having that many intelligent people staring at you is intimidating. It was trial by fire for Bill and me. We told the group of leading experts in their field what we were getting from the program and why we wanted to be a part of it. Neither of us babbled or passed out, so that was cool. Then after we finished we actually got an applause. We were there for hours and saw 10 people go up and talk to the group. We were the only ones that got applause!
Then it was time for us to go, so we hopped into the transport van to go back to prison. It was an eye opening experience for the both of us.
I’ve been in prison for over half a decade and for that four hours we were there, we were not inside a prison compound and were not surrounded by prisoners and razor wire. I almost felt like I was a different version of myself, that I had not made the mistakes I made when I was young. It was nice to see that the work we do at Cedar Creek plays a pretty big role in trying to fix a problem we, as our own species, have caused in our environment and planet.
Mr. Boysen cleaning the OSF tank full of tadpoles at Cedar Creek Corrections Center
The following blog is the third article submitted to us by one of SPP’s Western Pond Turtle Inmate Technicians. Although we may not agree with all he says, we think it is a well thought out and interesting presentation of the challenges and possibilities of building a sustainable world. We want to thank Mr. Anglemyer for sharing his meaningful perspective.
By Mr. Anglemyer, Western Pond Turtle Inmate Technician
Simulation done by NASA showing CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere.
The following is my attempt to put the climate crisis into an analogy that defines the seriousness of the problem and how easy it is to become distracted from it by short term goals, wants and the ostensible necessities that we all seem to be obsessed with.
Nothing seems more important to people nowadays than their phones, so I’ve decided to use a phone analogy in order to be as relevant as possible. Let’s say that: Everyone has a cell phone that runs off the same communal battery. This battery has been around forever; before phones and even people. It belongs to no one and everyone (including non-human animals) at the same time. This battery has a really long life–four to five billion years or so. Unfortunately, this battery has no gauge to tell how much of a charge it has left; it is impossible to tell when it will run out. The battery can recharge itself to a limited degree, yet it never recharges faster than its optimum potential and it will recharge slower (or even to the point where the recharging is not sufficient to stop the battery from depleting) depending on the amount of use. Moreover, its recharging capacity will become permanently damaged by extreme over use.
All the phones will die if the battery is depleted completely. The battery cannot recharge itself if it is drained below half of its capacity. Once it passes the threshold of half charged to below half charged, that’s it. It will run down its last half charge and then go out forever, done, dead, kaput!
As long as the battery is kept charged above half full, it will continue to recharge itself and will be around for a very long time– the aforesaid five billion years. The problem is, although the battery will continue to hold a charge for a long time, the time that it takes for it to go from above half charged to below half-charged will happen in an instant. Because there is not a battery gauge it is necessary to be conservative with phone use and liberal in regards of charging the phone, right? That seems rational, does it not?
Let’s think of the planet as analogous with the phone/battery described above; a phone that will last for eons; a phone that we depend on. It is the only phone that we’ll ever have access to. The phone just needs to be kept charged above half at all times. This means that it is our duty to conserve use and be careful with how we use the phone. If we hand the phone over to our children only half-charged they will not be able to recharge it. It will last them and their children, and their children’s children (maybe longer, maybe not, definitely not equally in terms of quality); but it will never be recharged again. It will have a lifespan that is a small fraction of the four to five billion years.
The ability of the battery to recharge in this analogy is similar to how the planet’s ecosystems work to keep the planet healthy. The degradation of the battery represents the degradation of the ecosystems which sustain the planet in a livable form. The air, water, and soil are all necessary for life. Their degradation to a point which they are unable to regenerate themselves is the end of…well…the end of everything (at least as far as we’re concerned). These elements regenerate as long as the plants and animals that support their health are not destroyed, poisoned, or overharvested past the point of their own ability to replenish themselves. Once the soil and the animals that contribute to its ability to regenerate die out forever–it’s, as they say in showbiz, a wrap.
No more phones — forever. No more planet–forever. All that had to be done to prevent this tragedy was for people to take a stance on the side of caution, dial down their consumption, and put an end to their wastefulness; thusly, allowing the ecosystems to heal. Instead it looks like our species (and many others, thanks to our myopic actions) is soon to be evicted from this world–like loud, destructive, and messy tenets from a rental (and rightly so, if we don’t change our ways).
I know this is an oversimplified analogy. I’ve probably failed to put it down in an articulate way–the way it made sense in my head. I’m not a professional writer. I’m not a professional scientist. I’m not a philosopher. I’m just some dude in prison with lots of time to think. I may be wrong. The climate might not be becoming unlivable; the animals may not be becoming extinct; and, if they are, our species’ activities might not be the cause. But, if, there’s the slightest chance that they are, and we are causing it, wouldn’t it be sensible to be extremely cautious with regards to the impacts we impose upon them?
The thing that worries me though is that if I have come to these conclusions about playing it safe when it comes to our planet: why haven’t most of the extensively smart and caring individuals that have been elected to represent us in the legislature come to the same conclusions?
I’m sure that many of them would say that I’ve been brainwashed by environmentalist propaganda. They’d say that I’m anti-business, or even anti-American. Others might just make excuses for how change happens slowly, or how we’re just not ready to make the jump to a “green lifestyle/economy.” I’d retort by accusing them of being the lapdogs of industrialism and imperialism. But sadly, they’re not alone. We’ve all been enchanted by the spell of industrialism. We all live and depend on the conveniences and privileges that Industrialism and Imperialism force upon us–privileges and conveniences that addicted us to an extremely unsustainable and wasteful lifestyle.
Recently, we had some people come out and give an estimate of what it would take to set up a solar powered shack. They gave a well-researched, thorough presentation. I felt so discouraged when it was over; Thousands of dollars for initial setup and one huge battery to run only four 100 watt heat lamps. At the time I remember thinking: “What a bummer! I really thought that solar power had come much further than that.” I had fallen victim to the energy addiction that industrialism has to offer. In reality, 400 watts of power is a lot of power. It is plenty to reasonably light a house, but it’s not enough to keep up with our excessive demand for energy.
A model of the proposed solar power unit for the turtle shed. Photo credit: Sadie Gilliom
We’re going to have to say goodbye to lots of the things we have become reliant on, before a sustainable—and healed—world is possible. This means that instead of depending on others to feed us, we are going to have to become responsible for growing our own food. This means cities will have to transform drastically from their current state of existence. This means that, our economy is going to have to change as well. We’re going to have to figure out new ways to feed and entertain ourselves, hopefully we can. We all might become more responsible family members, friends, neighbors (as people connected to their land bases usually are) … you know, better HUMANS, more connected to each other than with our stuff.
These changes are going to be fought against by many of us. “What do you mean I can’t have bacon and cheese on everything!? What do you mean I can’t have avocados in February? What do you mean I can’t drive a monster truck that gets 6 miles to the gallon? I’m an American! Which means that I can have whatever I want whenever I want it, and do whatever I want whenever I want to!” I can hear it now. Indeed, I do hear it now—it seems to be the attitude that many people have when told that things they have become accustomed to are destroying the planet’s ability to sustain life.
Switching back to the phone/battery metaphor, people with the above attitudes want to use their phones more and more. More data, more apps, more Google searches for meaningless trivia or celebrity gossip, more and more till the battery is drained past half and can never be recharged.
So when you hear some politician or plutocrat and their commercials spouting slogans like “energy independence,” “economic stability,” “more middle-class jobs,” “make America great again,” realize that they’re peddling the destruction of everything and everyone in the future in order to make gluttons of themselves in the present. They want to run the battery out as quickly as possible. They want to bleed the planet dry as quickly as possible, and they are relying on us to be complicit (or at least complaisant) in the waste. They are selling what we have been buying for centuries; the same myopic idea of utilitarian use and pervasive domination that got us into our current crisis.
It is an easy sell. Change towards a sustainable world is going to be hard work. I mean literally and figuratively. It will entail the literal, hard physical, work of growing food and raising animals and tearing up parking lots and renovating office buildings into more useful structures. It will entail the figurative, mental and emotional work of reimagining social organizations and power structures. (So much more could be written about these aspects, but this is a blog, not a book.) It’s a shameful fact that the hard physical work that sustains our agriculture and construction industries has been consigned, for the most part, to the most vulnerable of our population—the undocumented and uneducated, the marginalized and the poverty-stricken. If sustainability is to become a reality everyone is going to have to do their share of labor (real labor that produces needed things). The changing of deeply ingrained ideas is going to be a lot harder. It may take a very long time; and, it may never be completely finished.
So instead of running down the battery watching NASCAR on your 60 inch television, playing fantasy football, immersing in presidential politics, becoming obsessed with the latest exercise or diet fad—or some other wholly insane and preposterous activity, try thinking about what you have been buying all these years and why you need it (or don’t). Realize that it’s been easy for sellers to peddle these things/attitudes to you, because irresponsibility and gluttony sell themselves—especially when their disguised as inevitabilities that are going to be bought with or without your consent.
By Mr. Anglemyer, inmate technician for the SPP Frog and Turtle Program
The dog days of summer have almost gone which means that it is harvest time for some of the vegetables that are growing here at Cedar Creek Corrections Center.
The gardens are tended by inmates and all the food grown goes to the institution’s kitchen for inmates to eat. Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, corn, peppers, lettuce, beans, squash and pumpkins are all being prepared in the kitchen. There’ll even be a small amount of tomatoes and strawberries.
Cedar Creek Gardens Ready to Harvest. Photo by Joslyn Trivett.
Last year inmates grew close to twenty thousand pounds of produce. All this food will never see the inside of a can. It has all been grown organically — no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have been used in the growing process. Most of the compost used to amend the soil was made at the prison using leftover kitchen scraps (except for a layer of mushroom compost that was obtained locally).
Adding Cedar Creek Compost to the Soil. Photo by SPP Staff.
The food will be a welcome change from the normal fare of processed, frozen, canned or bagged produce that is the norm in prisons. It is unfortunate that fresh produce only lasts for a few months, but three months is better than zero months; especially when some inmates among the population haven’t had access to fresh food for years — or even decades. The difference between organically grown garden fresh produce and the frozen, dyed, and chemically grown/preserved stuff is night and day.
Rhubarb Growing Along the Fence. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.
There are some extra challenges this year due to the drought. We’re worried about water usage here just like everybody else on the west coast, but hopefully the lack of water won’t have a huge effect on crop yields. The inmates are doing a great job of using water efficiently and of recapturing where they can.
Many of us in the population are extremely grateful to the guys from the horticulture program whom work in the gardens, as well as the people at Centralia College and the Sustainability in Prisons Project who do their part in making the gardens possible. Fresh food makes the late summer and fall seasons here at Cedar Creek a special time.
Introduction by SPP Frog and Turtle Program Coordinator, Sadie Gilliom. Blog by SPP Frog and Turtle Program Inmate Technician, Mr. Anglemyer.
Mr. Anglemyer, the author of the following blog, is one of the inmate technicians for the Sustainability in Prisons Project’s Frog and Turtle Program at Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC). Each technician brings unique skills to the program. We like to provide opportunities for all of the technicians to develop the skills they have in addition to learning new ones. Anglemyer is an aspiring journalist and expressed interest in writing about his experience with the frogs and turtles. The following blog is Anglemyer’s first piece. Although dark at times, I think he provides an interesting and important perspective to consider. It has given me insight into how working with an endangered species can stimulate deeper thoughts and self-reflection and how some aspects of the program may be improved by providing the technicians with more hopeful information for the future of the frogs and our world.
Rearing OSF Tadpoles at CCCC
Taking care of Oregon Spotted Frog [OSF] tadpoles is fairly easy…yet, stressful. It’s easy because the tadpoles pretty much take care of themselves. All we have to do is keep them supplied with food and clean water. The stress factor comes in the form of “unknowns” and “what if’s”. The “unknowns” are only a factor because of our lack of experience. When I say “we” and “our”, I’m speaking of me and my co-worker. We’re both prisoners at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, and neither one of us had ever heard of the Oregon Spotted Frog before we started working with them. The “what if’s” are: What if we make a mistake somehow, and they all die? What if we don’t make a mistake and they all die? What if it is thought that we were neglectful, incompetent, or even malicious?
Mr. Anglemyer holding an Oregon spotted frog. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.
I have no rational reason to have any of these fears. The staff at the prison and the people connected to the program have been helpful and supportive. They give us clear instructions and everything we need to carry them out. Furthermore, these fears are my own. My co-worker does not share them. I’ve always been a bit of a worrywart—it’s been a rough go. Once bitten, twice shy and all that jive. Murphy’s Law (what can go wrong, will go wrong) has been a constant companion in a large part of my life.
On top of all that, taking care of an endangered species engenders deeper and darker thoughts concerning mortality. Not just the existence and mortality of the animals under my charge, but of the entire species, and my own species as well. If the OSF is doomed, aren’t we all doomed? On a long enough timeline everything and everyone is doomed. Frogs, people, even our planet and solar system will one day be gone. If that were not the case, life would be bland and meaningless. Please don’t regard me as some type of banal armchair (or in my case, steel cot) philosopher for expressing these sentiments. I’m fully aware that these thoughts and feelings are not new and original. Since the first caveman contemplated his own navel, people have struggled with these notions. In the past, present, and future people have and will continue to ponder this stuff, until…well, until…there’s no one left to ponder anything (think about Buddhist teachings on impermanence, and Shelley’s poem Ozymandias). All I’m trying to relay is that working so close to a species that is close to the brink of extinction magnifies these feelings.
Now enough with the heavy stuff, apart from the above stresses, fears, and existential baggage, working with the Oregon Spotted Frogs is extremely rewarding. It’s the most interesting thing that I’ve taken part in in the last decade—and I’ve only been in prison for half that last decade. In that last half decade, I’ve been relegated to necessary yet menial work; I spent three years mopping a top tier at Coyote Ridge. So working with endangered animals is a new and stimulating change. Watching the tadpoles change into frogs and documenting these changes, studying conservation biology, working with people from an educational, rather than, a correctional setting is a great experience. I’ve been exposed to critters that I would’ve only read about. Caring for them connects me to them in a way that reading about them alone would not. And through this connection to these creatures I’m connected in a larger way to the plight of all the other species that will soon no longer be because of my and my species affinity, no, not affinity, rather addiction to strip malls and track housing.
And the great hope that can be taken from the existence of programs like these in the prison sphere, an area of society that is traditionally punitive and reactionary, is that maybe the pendulum is swinging towards a more compassionate world.