Text and photos by Erica Benoit, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator
In July, incarcerated students at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center had the unique opportunity to participate in a screen-printing workshop through the SPP Workshop Series. Emily Adams of the Evergreen State College graciously offered two separate workshops so that a greater number of students could participate. Emily gave an introductory lecture on the history and process of screen-printing and then the students had about an hour to create their own prints.
Emily Adams describes the history of screen-printing in a classroom at Stafford Creek Corrections Center.
For inspiration, students had a variety of high quality
images taken from SPP’s various programs to choose from as the subject of their
screen prints. In some cases, the students practiced the skill of grid drawing
while others relied on quick tracings due to limited time.
Once they had a drawing in hand, Emily put the drawing through a Thermo Fax Machine to create a “screen,” which each student ran ink through to create the final product. The image below illustrates this process, as one student uses a squeegee to push yellow-orange ink through his screen. For the first workshop, students were pressed for time, but almost everyone was able to complete a print before the session ended.
Emily and I worked through a few logistical challenges to make the second workshop an even greater success. Most of the students in the class were able to leave the workshop with two or more different prints. We hope you enjoy some of the great prints the students created, posted below.
Workshop student Colton Green happily shows off his first screen prints!
Unless otherwise noted, text and photos by Bill Anglemyer, Evergreen student and former Turtle Technician.
SPP Biological Technician, Jeramie Inge, and Evergreen student, Bill Angelmyer, with a western pond turtle. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
With the technicians responsible for their rehabilitation, on
April 10th, ten turtles made their way back to the ponds at the South Puget
Sound Wildlife Area. Three incarcerated Biological Technicians working for The
Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) had spent the last five months caring
for the turtles and monitoring their progress. The turtles had been healing
after being treated for the mysterious shell disease that has been afflicting
their population.
Left to right: SPP Liaison Tyler Kennedy, SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain, WDFW Biologist Emily Butler, SPP Biological Technician Jeramie Inge, and SPP Biological Technician William Rathgeber. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
The turtles are western pond turtles, a state-listed
endangered species. The historic population had been devastated by human
harvesting. Their numbers were lowered additionally by habitat destruction and
an influx of invasive species. Twenty-five years ago, the population of western
pond turtles in Washington State was estimated to be only around a hundred and
fifty. Efforts were taken to protect and enhance their numbers. These efforts have
been successful. The current population is estimated at eight hundred.
SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain releasing one of the western pond turtles he cared for at Cedar Creek. SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain releasing a western pond turtle. From left to right: WDFW Biologist Emily Butler, SPP Biological Technician William Rathgaber, SPP Biological technician Donald McLain, SPP Conservation Coordinator Marisa Pushee, and SPP Biological Technician Jeramie Inge.
Tragically, the shell disease appeared in the last decade, and it is seriously impacting western pond turtles. While Washington State Fish and Wildlife biologists and veterinarians attempt to find the cause of shell disease, they are trying different tactics in treating the turtles that are most afflicted. After the treatments, which involve removing diseased sections of the turtles’ shells, the turtles need a place to heal. The technicians at Cedar Creek make sure that the turtles are well-fed and have clean habitats. Additionally, the technicians keep detailed records of the healing progress of the turtles’ shells. Lots of effort goes into keeping them as stress free as possible. The rehabilitation area is kept quiet because loud noises and other external stimuli cause stress in the wild turtles, which hampers their ability to heal.
WDFW Biologist, Emily Butler, demonstrates how she protects the nests of this state-endangered species. From left to right: Bill Angelmyer, SPP Biological Technician Jeramie Inge, SPP Biological Technician William Rathgaber, SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain, Officer James Erwick, WDFW Biologist Emily Butler, and SPP Liaison Tyler Kennedy.
Releasing the turtles back into the wild was a fairly simple
and fanfare-free procedure. The technicians, SPP coordinator, SPP liaison, corrections
officer, Fish and Wildlife biologist, and myself walked the strategically
placed wooden planks that grant access to the edge of the pond. The plastic shoebox
containers that were used to transport the turtles were opened, and the turtles
taken out and gently placed in the water. Most of the turtles looked around for
a second, as if to gain their bearing, and then swam off disappearing into the pond.
Although the turtles need the treatment, they are wild critters, and they don’t
like to be in a captive environment; they
take to the murky pond like a prisoner to freedom.
WDFW Biologist Emily Butler shows Biological Technicians from Cedar Creek how she identifies each turtle. WDFW Biologist, Emily Butler, demonstrates how she protects the nests of this state-endangered species. From left to right: Bill Angelmyer, SPP Biological Technician Jeramie Inge, SPP Biological Technician William Rathgeber, SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain, Officer James Erwick, WDFW Biologist Emily Butler, and SPP Liaison Tyler Kennedy. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
It was a great experience seeing the turtles swim off into
the pond. It was great to talk to the technicians about their experiences
caring for the turtles. To hear the technicians talk about their plans for the
future was inspiring. This is because I was a turtle technician at Cedar Creek
for three years. I was caring for turtles inside the prison only a short year
ago. The current technicians seemed to be inspired by my presence too. We
talked about education—I’m currently in college. I was elated to hear that each
one of the technicians was seriously considering furthering their education
once released. I hope to be invited to future releases and to meet with new
technicians.
Left to right: Donald McLain, William Rathgaber, Jeramie Inge, and Bill Anglemyer. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
Photos and text by Marisa Pushee, SPP Conservation Coordinator.
Symbiotic Cycles Co-founder Nick Naselli and SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain evaluate plant health.
The aquaponics system at Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) received a new lease on life this winter. With assistance from CCCC’s technicians, Nick Naselli and Daniel Cherniske from Symbiotic Cycles first built the system at Cedar Creek in spring of 2018. To give the system a much-needed boost, they returned this January for a series of site visits and problem-solving sessions.
Nick Naselli introduces a suckerfish to the system. This fish eats algae and will improve visibility by cleaning up the water.
Aquaponics systems can be a great way to harvest food year-round, but they require some care and fine tuning to establish a system. It can take up to a year for a new aquaponics system to stabilize! SPP Biological Technicians have been putting in the work to ensure that the system thrives. And with the help of Nick and Daniel, Cedar Creek’s aquaponics is functioning better than ever, producing healthy and delicious greens for the facility’s kitchens.
SPP Biological Technician Lorenzo Stewart tests the water’s nitrate levels.During this last winter, Symbiotic Cycles worked with SPP technicians to introduce the steel cables shown in this photo. The installation of this tensioning system to stabilize the raft beds will prevent further bowing of the system’s wooden sides. After a few adjustments, we saw fast and impressive improvements in plant health. Left to right: SPP Biological Technician Donald McLain, Symbiotic Cycles Co-founder Nick Naselli, SPP Biological Technician Lorenzo Stewart, and Symbiotic Cycles Co-founder Daniel Cherniske.
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog with more details on the plant growth in Cedar Creek’s aquaponics system!
For the past year and a half, I’ve had a truly unique and remarkable opportunity. Once per month, I made the hour long trek out to Washington’s coast, not to surf or go clamming, but to teach a garden class to over 50 incarcerated individuals. The garden class began as a way for Ed Baldwin, the Ground/Nursery Specialist at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC), to support and encourage the gardens at the facility. Former SPP Coordinator, Joey Burgess, joined the effort by offering a superb (and free) introductory gardening curriculum called Seed to Supper. Oregon Food Bank and Oregon State University Extension Service teamed up to create the course which aims to educate and inspire adults to grow a portion of their own food and build more food secure communities. Topics covered range from building and planning to maintaining and harvesting a garden.
A PowerPoint slide from one of the very first lessons of the Seed to Supper curriculum.
During one of my first trips to prison, I got to watch Joey teach one of these classes. Joey made teaching look effortless with a laid back, but confident persona. But the following month, it was me up in front of 50 inmates and not Joey. I’m not a shy person by any means (I acted on stage in college and high school in front of well more than 50 people) but this was a bit different. For one, when I started I was by no means ‘an expert’ on gardening. And two, I wasn’t sure how well my teaching style would be received.
SPP Nursery Coordinator, Joey Burgess, presenting the Seed to Supper curriculum to gardeners at Stafford Creek Correctional Center. Photo Credit: Ricky Osborne
I remember staying up late the night before my first class scouring the material over and over to make sure I could answer any and every question thrown my way. Of course, I had no such luck. But at the same time I find it kind of funny that I was so worried. I should have guessed that the class would be full of smart, thoughtful, knowledgeable and kind individuals, and it was. They asked me tough questions and challenged me. They took what I offered them, and—with their ideas and questions—made it better. I had been too focused not being a gardening expert or that I am not a perfect teacher. It was helpful to remember that the students weren’t expecting me to be just as I wasn’t expecting them to be perfect students, or any of us to be perfect people. Sure, these men (and women) have made mistakes, but they are people. Many of whom are eager and thirsty for knowledge.
One of the unit gardeners at SCCC raises his hand to ask a question. Photo credit: Ricky Osborne
So for the past year and a half I’ve made the same trek every month not just to teach a group of men about gardening and growing vegetables, but also to learn from them.
However, in 2019 the gardening education program is transitioning and so is my role in it. I won’t be leading the class at SCCC anymore, but there are exciting developments underway. SPP has signed an agreement with Oregon Food Bank to propose changes to the Seeds to Supper curriculum. SPP staff along with incarcerated students and educators at Monroe Correctional Complex and Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Department of Corrections staff, Institute for Applied Ecology, University Beyond Bars, and Tilth Alliance, will be suggesting revisions to the existing Seed to Supper curriculum, enhancing the course with additional modules on select topics, and transitioning the resources to support a peer-led model. Developing this peer-led format builds on a growing number of efforts to empower incarcerated people with resources and support to increase educational opportunities in prisons across the state. So while it means my time delivering the program has ended, the possibility for reaching more incarcerated men and women and sharing the joys and wonders of gardening has never been higher.
And so to the unit gardeners I had the privilege to teach and learn with and to the staff at Stafford Creek I got to work with, I say goodbye for now. Hopefully someday, I will see you in the garden.
Flowers in full bloom at one of the gardens at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. Photo credit: Ricky Osborne
Text by Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director, The Evergreen State College
Presentation team with WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar (from left to right, Tony Bush, Carolina Landa, Brian Bedilion, Roger Millar, and Kelli Bush)
Alvina Mao presenting at WSDOT Partnerships and Innovations conference
Over the past year, SPP Evergreen staff have been working with Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Washington Department of Corrections (WA Corrections) partners to develop new opportunities for education and employment pathways. The new partnership has tremendous support from WA Corrections Secretary, Stephen Sinclair, WSDOT Secretary, Roger Millar, and many staff at each agency. Building on successful prison program tours and executive leadership and committee meetings, WSDOT staff invited SPP-Evergreen staff and former SPP program participants to present at two recent conferences.
Each conference presentation included a panel with Carolina Landa and Brian Bedilion sharing their stories from pre-incarceration to post-release, Kelli Bush providing a brief overview of SPP, Alvina Mao and Eric Wolin discussing partnership alignment with WSDOT equity and inclusion goals, and Tony Bush describing education and employment pathway ideas in the environmental field.
The audience for the first conference was WSDOT environmental staff. Session participants enthusiastically expressed their appreciation to Carolina and Brian for sharing their experiences.
Carolina Landa presenting at WSDOT Environmental Conference
Following a successful session at the environmental conference, the panel received an invitation to present at the WSDOT Innovations and Partnership conference. The 4th Annual Innovations and Partnerships in Transportation conference included a welcome from Governor Inslee and an impressive variety of partner organizations. Our session titled “Forging a new partnership and building safe, strong communities through successful reentry” included productive discussion with attendees.
Brian Bedilion presenting at WSDOT Environmental Conference
The developing partnership among WSDOT, WA Corrections, SPP and others will provide exciting new education, training, and employment opportunities to incarcerated people in a variety of disciplines. Washington State Governor Inslee is a strong supporter of providing formerly incarcerated people employment as a way to build safer and stronger communities. The Governor signed executive order 16-05 directing state agencies to “implement further hiring policies intended to encourage full workforce participation of motivated and qualified persons with criminal histories.” We are grateful to WSDOT and WA Corrections for providing such excellent support and enthusiasm for this growing partnership.
Conference presentation team (from left to right): Kelli Bush, Tony Bush, Carolina Landa, Alvina Mao, Brian Bedilion, and Molly Sullivan
Text and photos by Erica Benoit, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator
Over the last two months, representatives from Wolf Haven International, a frequent partner in the SPP Workshop Series, led workshops about wolves of Washington at both the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor and Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) in Aberdeen. Both workshops were well attended at both facilities, and students were fully engaged, thanks to the great presentation skills of Wolf Haven staff members Chris Montero and Cindy Irwin.
Their presentations touched on the ecological importance of wolves, behavior of wolves and their packs, historical and current conflict between humans and wolves, as well as recovery efforts to reestablish wolf populations in Washington. Chris and Cindy showcased compelling videos of the wolves residing at Wolf Haven’s sanctuary, life-size cutouts of a wolf and a coyote, skull replicas, and plenty of brochures and bookmarks for the students to take with them!
Wolves are commonly confused with coyotes, which are much less afraid of humans and are responsible for most of humans’ fear of wolves! These life-size cutouts were used to explain the difference coyotes and wolves.
Chris Montero, Outreach Coordinator at Wolf Haven, enthusiastically presented to students at WCCW on October 2nd, 2018. From his ability to connect with the students, you can tell he’s done this before!
Cindy Irwin, Wolf Haven’s Director of Education and Volunteer Services, joined Chris at the workshop at SCCC on November 15th, 2018.
Chris was especially knowledgeable about wolf behavior. One student at SCCC noted: “Very informative. I’m amazed by the behavioral similarities that wolves and humans share.”
Students at SCCC were excited to hear about the opportunity for public tours at the Wolf Haven sanctuary in Tenino, Washington.
Students at WCCW asked so many wonderful questions, and related what they were learning to their lives! One student shared in writing”: “Loved this lecture! I am from Rainier, which is right by Tenino, and have been by Wolf Haven many times. I am looking forward to actually visiting it – so fascinating!”
Text by Bethany Shepler, SPP Green Track Program Coordinator, and Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education and Outreach Manager.
Photos by Bethany Shepler, except where otherwise noted.
Group photo from the Beekeeping Summit in Spring 2017. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
The summit was well timed to meet growing interest in bringing beekeeping to prisons around the state. A few WA prisons have hosted beekeeping for years and SPP partners were hearing inquiries from many others interested in starting new programs. SPP Co-Director Steve Sinclair suggested a summit, and that was the catalyst we needed; it brought everyone together to learn from each other, expand practical knowledge, and build enthusiasm.
Each program is worthy of its own article. Here, we will share just one or two highlights from each. Check out all of the incredible accomplishments of beekeepers in prisons:
AHCC has one of the fastest growing beekeeping programs in Washington prisons, and the first to create their own bee club. Working with West Plains Beekeepers Association, incarcerated beekeepers created the first draft of a new, state-wide Journeyman course manual, pictured above—a stunning accomplishment. Currently, Washington State Beekeepers Association is refining AHCC’s draft for publication, for both prison and non-prison programs! We are ecstatic to see the support and excitement AHCC has shown for their beekeeping program and look forward to their continued success!
Clallam Bay hosted its second beekeeping intensive this spring. Students had already completed the Beginner Beekeeping modules, and prepared further by reading books and scientific articles. Mark Urnes of North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers spent a full day with students; he answered questions and work-shopped on beekeeping best practices.
Cedar Creek is one of the oldest beekeeping programs in the state and has certified more than 60 beekeepers so far. The wood shop at the facility built the hives for the McNeil Island beekeeping program. The picture here is of wood shop crew and Centralia College instructor Bruce Carley tasting honey at a beekeeping workshop; expert beekeeper Laurie Pyne covered beekeeping basics and the differences in honey types from different pollen sources. CCCC’s beekeeping program is in partnership with Olympia Beekeepers Association.
Coyote Ridge supports a beekeeping program that has been going strong since its inception 2 years ago. To support the bees, staff members and inmates planted more pollinator friendly plants around the facility. To protect the hives from central Washington’s cold winter weather, they “winter-ize” the boxes, shown above: they wrapped the hive in insulation and put cedar chips or burlap inside the hive to draw up moisture. CRCC beekeeping program is in partnership with Mid-Columbia Beekeepers Association.
Larch has four hives and a nuc (that’s the small box on the left) at their facility. This picture was taken last week, just after the bees had been fed and they were all buzzing around busily! Their hives are really strong right now so we’re hopeful that they’ll do well over the Winter. LCC beekeeping program is in partnership with Clark County Beekeepers Association.
McNeil Island Beekeeping Program (McNeil Island and CCCC)
This project is so exciting and unusual! The McNeil Island beekeeping project has been a dream for more than 4 years and the Summit helped launch it into realty. Ownership and management of McNeil Island is complex, so the program needed input and support from many partners: staff and administration from Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and CI staff (thank you Brian Peterson, Vania Beard, and Henry Mack!). Enthusiastic endorsements from Secretary Steve Sinclair and then Deputy Secretary Jody Becker Green helped, too! 🙂
This past May, the first hives of bees arrived at the island. Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, a team of local beekeeping experts visited the hives frequently. On many visits, they support incarcerated beekeepers’ gaining hands-on experience (pictured above). The program’s beekeepers seek to understand the impact that pesticides have on bees–McNeil Island is a rare, pesticide-free environment. The expert beekeeping team includes Laurie Pyne, Maren Anderson, Gail Booth, Andy Matelich, and Dixon Fellows. Photo by Laurie Pyne.
Monroe Correctional Complex-Special Offenders Unit (MCC-SOU)
MCC-SOU has shown incredible amounts of enthusiasm for beekeeping! They launched their program just this spring, and it’s been so exciting to see the students, staff, and local beekeeping expert dive into the program. This is the only facility in the state using Top Bar Hives. The picture above shows the bulletin board in the facility advertising the beekeeping program, courtesy of Kathy Grey.
Monroe Correctional Complex – Twin Rivers Unit (MCC-TRU)
Inmates and staff at MCC-TRU have shown tons of energy for beekeeping! Even though bees were only delivered in April, they’ve already completed one Apprentice level certification course. Their hives have been so successful that they were able to split hives and collected honey! They also had a hive on display at the Evergreen State Fair, and they exhibited many photos of their beekeepers in action. The photo shows a staff beekeeper showing a frame covered in bees to onlookers at the fair. Photo by SPP staff.
Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW)
MCCCW may be small, but they are a mighty program. Over the last year, they faced some challenges with finding pollinating plants and relocating their hives. But that didn’t stop them or even slow the program–they graduated 3 times as many incarcerated students in their most recent class as their previous class. They also have strong, healthy hives going into winter! MCCCW beekeeping program is in partnership with West Sound Beekeepers Association.
SCCC has had hives for many years. Next to the hives is a beekeeping interpretive sign–picture above–and in the summer of 2018 a few queen bees found that sign to be an ideal place to emerge into the world! Photo by Kelly Peterson.
SCCC’s bee program added a beekeeping class this year with it’s first class graduating in January. Since then, they have completed 4 classes, and the wait list of students keeps growing. Their classes regularly include both incarcerated and corrections staff students. SCCC beekeeping program is in partnership with local expert beekeeper Duane McBride.
WCC hosts an ever-growing beekeeping program! They started out on the right foot, building a high quality shelter for their hives. The bees are housed next to the Prairie Conservation Nursery Program, and this means there can be a lot of cross pollination between the two SPP-supported programs. WCC’s beekeeping program is in partnership with Olympia Beekeepers Association. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
A crew from WCCW has been keeping bees at Mother Earth Farm for many years. Tacoma Community College students at the prison have long learned about beekeeping and pollinators as part of the horticulture program. In 2016, the two programs joined forces and brought hives inside the prison fence. Now you can see honeybees throughout WCCW’s gardens, happily tending to the many flowers. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
WSP hosts an enduring and impressive beekeeping program! Two WSP staff members are experienced beekeepers, and they serve both as instructors and program sponsors. This year they had 15 hives and participated in the USDA National Honey Bee Pest Survey! In this photo, beekeeping students learn from expert beekeeper Mona Chambers. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
Inmates at the WSRU Vermiculture program partner with the University of Washington to test the ability of soil health to influence human health
By Nick, Teaching Assistant for University Beyond Bars, Monroe Correctional Complex Photos courtesy of Joel Strom, University Beyond Bars
Ms. Landefeld harvests from the plots with the help of a composting technician.
With the goal of improving how we grow food, Washington State Reformatory (WSRU) vermiculture technicians and scientists from the University of Washington (UW) are studying soil health at the prison. The incarcerated technicians are assisting with scientific trials of different types of soils to see if they can produce vegetables containing higher levels of key elements that have been shown to improve human health.
Earlier this year the vermiculture program was approached by Dr. Sally Brown, a professor at the UW Ecosystem Science Division, College of Forest Resources, to assist in this project. Dr. Brown had become familiar with the vermiculture program when she co-authored an article with one of the inmate technicians about some of the composting techniques employed at the facility. Dr. Brown had been working with graduate student Sally Landefeld on a series of trials to grow vegetables in several different types of soil to test for relationships between soil health and antioxidants and other important disease-fighting nutrients. On a tour of the facility, Dr. Brown noticed a unique opportunity in the gardens adjacent to the worm farm: the soil there had been treated with composting by-products for several years, some areas with Bokashi-treated (fermented) compost and others with vermicompost (worm castings).
A trial plot is ready for planting; Washington State Reformatory Unit (WSRU) at Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC). Photo courtesy of Joel Strom, University Beyond Bars (UBB).
In April, Dr. Brown and Ms. Landefeld met with vermiculture technicians and set out three separate plots that would be used for the trials:
No soil treatments with soil amendments
Several treatments of Bokashi composted food waste over several years
Heavily treated with worm castings and vermicompost.
One of the vermiculture technicians was asked to be the project lead. He and his peers prepared and marked the plots for planting.
Dr. Brown and Ms. Landefeld returned in May and planted broccoli, carrots and onions in all three plots. Despite an ongoing battle with rabbits throughout the spring, by June the crops in all three plots were growing well.
Ms. Landefeld returned to the vermiculture program in mid-June to deliver an instructional presentation on how she decided on the path for her doctorate and what she was hoping to accomplish with the prison-hosted study. The WSRU vermiculture program offers a 1,000 hour SPP certification in collaboration with Tilth Alliance, and guest lecture are part of the curriculum. In this presentation, Ms. Landefelt said:
“We are just starting to understand the intricate relationship between soil health and public health. Healthy soil contains plenty of organic matter, which provides nutrients to plants, fosters microbial life, and improves soil physical properties including water holding ability and tilth. If we deplete soil organic matter, we may reduce the soil’s ability to produce high yielding crops that are also rich in nutrients. This project aims to (i) characterize soil health by analyzing soil properties including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, soil structure and microbial content, and to (ii) quantify both quantity and quality of the vegetables grown on the control and high organic matter plots. In addition to plant yield, we will test the vegetables for nutrients, vitamin B6 (pyroxidal) and phytochemicals including sulforaphane, beta-carotene (provitamin A), and quercetin.”
Broccoli growing in the vermicompost plot.
By mid-July, the broccoli was ready to be harvested and Dr. Brown and Ms. Landefeld worked with the technicians to harvest from all three plots.
As the project progresses they will return to the prison periodically to harvest other vegetables and take soil samples. The vitamins and phytochemicals will be tested using a technique called liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in order to relate the phytochemical content of common garden crops with soil health.
This project is a great example of SPP’s vision to create a collaborative, intellectually stimulating environment in which incarcerated men and women play key roles in conservation and advancing scientific knowledge and has been a win-win for the vermiculture program as well as the University.
Dr. Brown and a vermiculture technician harvest from a trial plot.
Text and photos by Amanda Mintz unless otherwise noted.
If you have never seen Stafford Creek Corrections Center, you might be surprised; among the fences and gray buildings are one and a half acres of flower and vegetable gardens. This includes several very large plots, many ornamental plantings, and a plot for every living unit. Inmates tend the gardens daily among the bees and butterflies; they experiment with novel gardening techniques, and carefully hand-water the plants.
A unit garden at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. Photograph by Kelly Peterson.
The incarcerated gardeners take a monthly class called Seed to Supper, co-lead by SPP Conservation Nursery Coordinator Jacob Meyers and SCCC’s Grounds and Nursery Supervisor Ed Baldwin (Ed is also the Prairie Conservation Nursery Liaison). Seed to Supper lasts nine sessions, during which participants learn how to grow and harvest produce in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Baldwin decides what to grow, sometimes choosing unusual vegetables new to the gardeners. In class, the gardeners are encouraged to share their strategies and successes with one another to improve their skills collectively. Each class concludes with Mr. Baldwin announcing the weekly haul for each living unit—usually several hundred pounds per garden. Last year, SCCC produced 11,000 pounds of food. This year they have already broken that record, and will harvest over 19,000 pounds of produce by the end of this month!
This hoop house was donated by SPP’s conservation nursery for growing food, and according to Ed Baldwin, it has increased production of heat and sun loving vegetables that are difficult to grow in the cooler coastal climate of SCCC.
Conservation Nursery Technicians Shabazz Malekk and Aaron Bander strike a pose in the hoop house.
SPP’s Conservation Nursery Technicians maintain the HUB gardens, where they use experimental techniques for natural pest suppression and increasing plant growth.
Most garden seed comes from Harvest Now, an organization that works with correctional facilities nationwide to grow-to-donate and provide fresh food for their own cafeterias. At SCCC, most of the produce is donated to Coastal Harvest, a non-profit organization serving food banks and pantries in a seven-county area of Southwestern Washington. Ed Baldwin was responsible for initiating the partnership; he visited Coastal Harvest and invited them to come tour the gardens at SCCC. According to Coastal Harvest staff, the response to the partnership from the community is very positive; SCCC is their only regular weekly contributor of fresh produce, and they are grateful for it.
I asked some of SPP’s Conservation Nursery Technicians, who also tend the HUB gardens and greenhouse, and Mr. Baldwin how they feel about donating most of the food they grow.
Technician Dale King said that, before he came to Stafford Creek, his life was all about himself; he never did anything for anyone else. Now he feels good about the opportunity to do something for others in need.
Conservation Nursery Technicians Dale King and Daniel Travatte are proud to provide food for Coastal Harvest.
In addition to experimenting with growing techniques, the garden crew re-purposes as many items as possible, such as using plastic bags and buckets to grow tomatoes and eggplants.
The other technicians agreed; because they have their basic needs addressed, their work has become a labor of love; the gratitude from the community is more important to them than eating the food themselves. The community served by Coastal Harvest is their community too, and it cultivates a sense of pride to be able to give back. They brought up the idea that it takes one to one-and-a-half acres to feed one person for a year. There are almost 2000 people at SCCC, and not even two acres of gardens; Ed Baldwin and the technicians agreed that what they grow would be only a drop in the bucket at the prison.
Starting in July, they figured out how to send some produce to the inmate kitchen; kitchen staff come out every Monday to look through the harvest and take what they can use to supplement inmate meals for the week, usually salad greens and herbs. Many of the prison-grown pumpkins will be contributed to SCCC’s monthly Family Fun Night in October, where inmates and their families will paint them for Halloween.
More than anything else, the Conservation Nursery Technicians at SCCC expressed that they appreciate the learning experience created by the partnership with Coastal Harvest. They have experimented with unusual fruit and vegetable varieties and adjusted their production based on feedback about the most popular items at the food banks and pantries. Mr. Baldwin thinks that at this point, each participating gardener could easily start his own business. Technician Daniel Travatte even went as far as saying he would pay to do this work!
Conservation Nursery Technicians Kelly Lund and Stanley Feliciano cool off inside the squash trellis.
Many plants begin their lives in the greenhouse and move into the gardens as they mature.
Although less popular at the food banks, Coastal Harvest uses unusual or unknown vegetable varieties at their pantries, where they prepare and give away meals.
In late April, the Astrobiology for the Incarcerated program visited five prisons plus a youth facility in Ohio. In four densely-packed days, we reached 440 incarcerated participants and 55 staff and teacher participants—it was a satisfying whirlwind of activity and ideas. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction‘s Energy Conservation & Sustainability Administrator Jacqueline Langhals gave excellent administrative support for the program, and Corrections staff and incarcerated students were gracious and enthusiastic hosts. Whereas Dr Drew Gorman-Lewis presented on astrobiology research in the Washington State series, in Ohio it was Dr Jackie Goordial who covered research; she is a microbiologist currently at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
In Ohio, nearly every event was held in the prison chapel, which—for many—elicited a perceived conflict between science and spirituality. Luckily, Daniella Scalice is a master of taking a hard question and suggesting how to transform it into a beautiful idea. She offered that we think about astrobiology’s origin stories as complementary, even reinforcing, the origin stories of many religions. She pointed to the root meaning of the word Universe:uni meaning one; verse meaning story. Thinking about it this way, astrobiology gives us one of many powerful and meaningful origin stories.
At every presentation, Daniella read a moving quote by Carl Sagan in which he describes a photograph of Earth taken by Voyager 1 from about 4 billion miles away; the earth appears as a pale blue dot—barely visible at that distance:
Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
~ Carl Sagan, 1994
At Grafton Corrections Institution, Daniella Scalice reads Carl Sagan’s response to an image of Earth from 4 billion miles away.
Impromptu Seminars
At every facility, the incarcerated students brought excellent observations and queries. As Jackie described her research on microbes in an Antarctic desert and the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, she was peppered with keen questions. Sometimes, the questions were so insightful that Jackie would pause before responding to say, “That’s amazing.” Then she would explain how the question exposed the very heart of the topic, bringing up questions that she and her colleagues had investigated for months, or would be central to her future work as a scientist.
Students at Franklin Medical Center, just south of Columbus, asked highly scientific questions of Dr Jackie Goordial, to her delight.Many students engaged in informal seminars following the presentation; this one is at Noble Corrections Institution.
Following every presentation, many students would gather for informal seminar on astrobiology topics. Jackie and Daniella fielded their questions and input with grace and humor, listening carefully and validating the many astute observations. They discussed pathways for studying astrobiology and other scientific disciplines, how a person can become a scientist, and who pays for scientific research and outreach.
At Cuyahoga Hills Youth Facility, Daniella Scalice supported teams of students and teachers designing and budgeting a mission to search for life elsewhere in our Solar System. Photo by Doc Brown.
What next?
Next on the schedule is Florida Department of Corrections, where seven facilities will host the program in September. At the same time, the team will offer return visits and multimedia materials for prison libraries. Noble Corrections Institution plans to do even more, creating a multi-speaker series that’s a proper “program” yielding a certificate; speakers would present via video, and those sessions would tie to the multimedia library with post-lecture “homework” assignments. Sounds like an ideal iteration of the program!
Abundant thanks to all the staff, leadership, and incarcerated students in Ohio. It would be wonderful to bring the program back again in the future!
The crowd at Noble Corrections Institution takes in Daniella’s presentation.Jackie is charmed by Miss Josie at Grafton Reintegration Center. The tie to astrobiology? Well, even the atoms of adorable Miss Josie were built in the heart of a star.;-)
