A great horned owl feather is passed around for the kids to see.
On Wednesday, Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) hosted Take Your Child to Work Day. SPP Graduate Research Assistants Brittany Gallagher, Bri Morningred, and Fiona Edwards joined the festivities.
At the suggestion of Paula Andrew, the Science and Sustainability Lecture Series lead staff member at WCCW, Brittany invited a popular SPP guest lecturer, Lynne Weber from West Sound Wildlife Shelter, back to visit the prison again. Ms. Weber gave a presentation about birds to the kids. She brought a great horned owl and a turkey vulture, both of which were hugely successful with the audience. Lynne explained how animals ended up in the care of the West Sound Wildlife Shelter, and how important it is to respect wildlife. Many questions were asked, my favorite being: “Will the turkey vulture get its license when it’s 16?”
Lynne Weber from West Sound Wildlife Shelter shows Remington, a turkey vulture, to the audience.
Next up, Brittany and Bri did an exercise on the meaning and applications of sustainability, asking the kids to share their experiences with sustainable practices. Then I spoke about the Western pond turtles, which SPP is expecting to care for very soon. I attempted to explain the concept of shell rot (a disease which the turtles suffer from) without gory details, and when I asked how a healthy turtle’s shell is supposed to feel, one audience member told me, “It’s hard like a sandwich.” In the coming year, I’m hoping to get the sick turtles’ shells back to sandwich levels.
The Prison Pet Partnership came out next with two well-trained dogs. They showed the kids how they could help their future owners by flipping on light switches, closing doors, picking up fallen items, grocery shopping, and rolling on their backs so the owner could inspect for anything unusual. One excited audience member asked if the dogs could jump over the table, to which the head of the program replied that the dogs are in fact taught to jump: one of the dogs jumped over a cardboard box and inspired roaring applause.
After lunch, we helped the children color paper Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly wings and told them about the relationship between the Taylor’s checkerspot and the prairie plants. And even though we were not allowed to give away plugs of beautiful Castilleja hispida to those who asked, we had a great time; we hope we get to come back next year!
Dr. James Pawelski welcomes the crowd to the conference hosted by the International Positive Psychology Association
In late June, I attended the third international conference on positive psychology in Los Angeles. There were 1,200 participants with numerous representatives from every continent. Both the participants and the programming represented a huge diversity of expertise. I made friends with a psychiatrist from Australia, a corporate-culture specialist from the Gap, and a community college teacher. I heard the latest research on how love improves physical health, how strength-based coaching transformed a hospital unit’s job satisfaction from the 1st percentile to the 86th percentile within a year, and the benefits of aging on creativity.
It was gratifying to confirm that SPP’s philosophy and practice are very much consistent with positive psychology in practice. I presented an overview on SPP’s positive outcomes—social, economic, and environmental—and heard delighted responses from those attending.
On the topic of environmental sustainability, I attended a panel discussion on how to reduce humanity’s ecological footprint. The panel included John Fraser, our associate at New Knowledge Organization, and he and I challenged the group to pursue societal agendas that are compelling at the same time as pro-environmental. Dr. Fraser suggested SPP programming as a model for a societal shift of this kind: such a welcome compliment!
The starting place for a discussion on reducing humanity’s global footprint: how to acknowledge real biological limitations and pursue positives leading to sustainability?
Thank you to Mark Hurst, a member of the Evergreen faculty, who invited me to present at the conference. He impressed me with his own programming in western Washington prisons; new data (from Kim Huynh at Seattle Pacific University) from his eight week, strengths-based intervention with incarcerated men show excellent, sustained increases in optimism, hope, and life satisfaction. Thank you also to SPP Co-Directors Carri LeRoy and Dan Pacholke for encouraging me to attend the conference and helping to frame my presentation.
To support the positive work of SPP, please donate or get involved; our innovative work can always use your help and support.
By Education & Evaluations Coordinator Brittany Gallagher
Planète Grenouille (“Planet Frog”) is an exhibition running this summer at the National Natural History Museum in Paris. To create the exhibit, photographer Cyril Ruoso visited frogs living in extreme conditions around the world, including SPP’s Oregon spotted frogs at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Now his work – and SPP’s frogs – are on display for all to see in Paris!
A tree-lined walkway leads up to the main museum building, with a fence separating the walkway from the extensive Jardin des Plants, an impressive teaching garden with plants from all over the Francophone world. It is along this fence that Cyril’s photos are found, larger than life.
Metamorphosis: “As a tadpole becomes a frog, the prisoners, ostracized from society, transform themselves through a project called “Sustainability in Prisons”. Little by little, they learn to become useful again, and accompanied by these frogs, reconstruct themselves.”
Many people pass by these photos each day – admission to the Jardin des Plants is free to the public!
“This is a slightly crazy project that grew from the head of a biologist: entrust the breeding of an endangered species to prisoners with the double objective of participating in the conservation of local biodiversity, but also helping to reduce violence in the prison environment.“The candidate for this uncommon rescue is a frog. Native to the northwest of the United States, this frog has seen its numbers fall by more than 70% with the disappearance of many swamps, the arrival of invasive plants and of a redoubtable exotic predator: the bullfrog.
“The eggs entrusted to Matt and Taylor have today become frogs and the time has come to release them to their natural environment in order to enhance wild populations. The long process creates a precious pride in the two prisoners, and has opened up new opportunities for the future. The double gamble has succeeded.”
by Bri Morningred, SPP Graduate Research Assistant and SPP Coordinator for Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) conservation nursery
photos by Shauna Bittle
Heading out for a tour of SPP programs, passing the gorgeous gardens at WCCW
It was a beautiful day in Gig Harbor, WA, perfect for the celebration of the amazing sustainability programs at Washington Correction Center for Women (WCCW). We had prepared for the celebration for months, and it was gratifying to share with partners and the public the many contributions offenders have made to a sustainable prison community.
Restoration and Conservation Coordinator Carl Elliott describes the SPP conservation nursery program at WCCW
The tour began with introductions from the superintendent of WCCW, Jane Parnell, and from Carri LeRoy and Carl Elliott of SPP. The tour’s first stop was the Conservation Nursery hoop houses at the minimum security campus. Attendees had a chance to watch the conservation nursery crew at work, walk through the carpet of Indian paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) that was beautifully in bloom, and speak with the SPP staff and offender technicians about the conservation nursery program.
Outside and inside of one of the hoop houses in the conservation nursery
Scott Skaggs, Construction and Maintenance Project Supervisor and WCCW manager of the conservation nursery crew, demonstrates monitoring for insect damage on Indian paintbrush
SPP Graduate Research Assistant Bri Morningred enjoys a high five with an offender technician in the conservation nursery
Indian paintbrush thriving in the conservation nursery
Next up was the community gardens on the way to medium security campus. This leg of the tour was led by Ed Tharp, who runs the Horticulture Program at WCCW. These gardens are in the courtyard area of the minimum security campus and grow a variety of foods that are harvested for the prison’s kitchen.
Ed Tharp, Tacoma Community College, runs the horticultural program at WCCW
The final tour stop was in the concrete courtyard of the medium security campus. Located next to the education building—which houses the horticulture classroom, the floral program, and many other wonderful educational programs—there are various garden beds growing onions, garlic, and strawberries.
Enjoying the strawberry beds at WCCW
Assistant Superintendent for WCCW David Flynn, the champion of many SPP programs for the facility, talks to the group about recent activities
The tour visits gardens in the close custody area of WCCW; Audrey Lamb, Conservation Assistant at the Center for Natural Lands Management, in the foreground
We ended with a poster session and awards ceremony in the gymnasium. We ate prison-grown salad and strawberries and cupcakes decorated with prairie flowers. Attendees toured informational tables for many of the sustainable programs at WCCW, including the Prison Pet Partnership Program, Mother Earth Farms, the Horticulture Program, Food Services, the Recycling Program, Sustainability in Prisons Project, and Center for Natural Lands Management.
SPP’s Carl Elliott receives fresh garden salad at the poster session
Melissa Johnson, publicity and outreach for WCCW, admires the horticultural program display at the poster session
Best cupcakes ever! SPP’s Bri Morningred collaborated with a local bakery to produce native plant-decorated cupcakes for the celebration. They also tasted great!
Jane Parnell, Superintendent of WCCW, presents an offender technician with a certificate of appreciation at an awards ceremony
An offender technician on the conservation nursery crew shows a certificate of appreciation recognizing her dedication to the program
It was wonderful to get to recognize the amazing things happening at WCCW. The prisons community is taking great strides toward sustainable living and it is inspiring to work with them towards that goal.
By Brittany Gallagher, Graduate Research Assistant
SPP-Washington has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past year.We have been busier than ever and have doubled the number of graduate students working out of our Evergreen offices.We have started several new educational and job-training programs, have been the subject of national press attention, have presented at various conferences, and of course, have begun supporting new SPPs springing up across the United States.
There are many moving pieces involved in our operations: new and established partnerships evolve over time, funding sources change, and staff members join and leave the team for a variety of reasons.This theme of dynamism runs throughout our organization, and may be understood as akin to ecological disturbance.As in a dynamic and healthy ecosystem, changes in our organization make us stronger and more resilient (see our recent TEDx talk on this theme).
In this period of great growth and change, SPP wanted to pause and throw a little party.We wanted to take a snapshot and capture the ideas and dreams of the team as it stands in June 2013.As three SPP graduate research assistants recently finished their Master of Environmental Studies degrees at The Evergreen State College, they will be moving on from their positions with SPP at the end of the summer, making room for new MES students to work with the Project.And Vicki Briggs, a highly valued staff member at the Department of Corrections, is retiring from her position as the on-site lead for the Oregon spotted frog-rearing program at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, welcoming Classification Counselor Anthony Pickard to take over.This “think tank” or “crazy idea party,” as it came to be called, was our chance to capture the ideas of these folks as they move into or out of formal employment with SPP, as well as for everyone to dream big and think about what we’d all like to see for SPP’s future.
Along with other innovative ideas, the party’s drawing group points out the benefits of sharks with laser beams for prison security.
We took over a room at Ramblin’ Jacks restaurant in downtown Olympia on a bright Friday evening and enjoyed some silly and serious thinking over hors d’oeuvres.A “Big Idea Basket” made its way around the room, and participants scribbled their hopes and dreams for SPP on index cards, folding them and placing them in the basket.Several times throughout the evening, three cards were drawn from the basket and the ideas were read aloud, with applause determining the winner.Here are a few of the crazy ideas (reworded for clarity and context):
·By 2020, there should be a prioritized and complete list of endangered species that can be raised in captivity by inmates. The top 5 to 10 of these should be priority conservation projects within corrections facilities.
·By 2020, prisons should be creating sustainability kits for schools, homes, jails, government offices, college campuses, homes and more!
·The next move of the SPP should be to provide an overview books to inmates, asking for their thoughts on sustainability programs. The inmates should have a say in what should happen next.
With the help of some SPP staff who moonlight as thespians, we took a page from theater improv and played the “Yes, and” game.Ideas generated through this positivity-only activity ranged from SPP expanding into youth rehabilitation centers, inmates finding the cure for colony collapse disorder, and SPP becoming its own degree-granting institution.
SPP co-director Carri LeRoy toasted graduating student Andrea Martin; interim Program Manager Joslyn Trivett toasted graduating student Dennis Aubrey; Program Manager Kelli Bush toasted graduating student Brittany Gallagher, and co-director Dan Pacholke toasted retiring staff member Vicki Briggs.
The final party game allowed folks to pick their own creative skills – theater, drawing, or writing – and join with others with similar talents to create an SPP-themed work of art within about 10 minutes.The writing group wrote a limerick that went a little like this:
There once was an inmate in prison
Who taught his frogs how to listen
He sucked at compliance
But then he found science
And now he’s no risk for recidivism
The drawing group made a plan of a prison where economic, social, and environmental sustainability could be seen in every element. One of the coolest parts of the plan was that inmates and their families could live together at a prison facility. A school was on the grounds for children, and this also allowed for meaningful activities like gardening to be completed with children and partners.
The group of actors created a skit about the prisons of the future where inmates are partners in groundbreaking scientific research. One of the major accomplishments of prisons was to bring back long extinct species, like dinosaurs.
While at times quite silly, it was a challenging exercise to think really big about the Project. Thinking creatively about how much potential inmates and correctional institutions have to make big changes to the environment and society was empowering and fun. Some of those ideas may seem crazy, but inmates raising frogs and butterflies definitely seemed crazy just five years ago. We can’t wait to see how SPP grows and expands in the next five years!
SPP thespians act out how prisons can contribute to amazing scientific achievements.
By Graduate Research Assistants Dennis Aubrey, Fiona Edwards, and Jaal Mann
Last week 48 adult Taylor’s checkerspots were released at a restoration site within the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area. The release was attended by three graduate research assistants from SPP, two restoration ecologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and 18 attorneys from the Washington Attorney General’s office. It was a rare treat for everyone involved.
An attorney from the Attorney General’s office frees an adult Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly at Scatter Creek Wildlife Area. All photos by Jaal Mann.
Another attorney enjoys a moment with a butterfly before it takes flight
The attorneys, who are responsible for representing WDFW in court, appeared especially enthusiastic and moved by the experience—there were many beautiful smiles as the butterflies left their hands. Dennis Aubrey, the SPP coordinator of the Taylor’s checkerspot program at MCCCW, provided instruction on proper release techniques, and then everyone had a chance to set a butterfly free: coaxing them out of their cups, placing them on flowers, or simply letting them fly away across the prairie.
This marks the winding down of the second season of butterfly rearing at MCCCW. Adult butterflies are released after breeding activities are concluded, to allow them to finish out their days in the sunshine, feeling the wind and tasting the flowers. These butterflies and their siblings are responsible for laying over 3,000 eggs at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) this season, which have hatched and are cared for by the inmates until release next March. To date, the MCCCW endangered butterfly rearing program has successfully reared and released over 7,000 Taylor’s checkerspot caterpillars onto prairie restoration sites in the south Puget lowlands.
Carefully releasing a Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly
The butterfly takes flight at Scatter Creek Wildlife Area
Lomatium provides a welcome landing site for a newly released butterfly
Recently three of SPP’s graduate research assistants completed their Master of Environmental Studies theses and presented their findings to an audience of faculty, peers, and SPP partners. Congratulations to Dennis Aubrey, Brittany Gallagher, and Andrea Martin!
Andrea conducted a study on conservation corps to investigate the long-term influence of these programs on youth participants.
Dennis and Brittany explored topics directly related to their work at SPP.
Dennis’ research showed that the Taylor’s checkerspot significantly preferred the native Indian paintbrushes (Castilleja hispida and Castillega levisecta) over the commonly-known non-native host species (Plantago lanceolata) for oviposition. His finding highlights the synergistic benefits of the SPP butterfly program and the SPP conservation nursery programs that rear the butterfly’s host plants. Dennis’ study will be submitted for publication with two inmate coauthors, who contributed to the research. Mary Linders, the Biologist specializing on the Taylor’s checkerspot at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, also collaborated on the study.
Brittany conducted a statewide evaluation of all SPP work-programs in Washington. Brittany measured effects of employment in SPP programs on inmate environmental attitudes. The literature in environmental and social psychology suggests that pro-environmental behavior is correlated with pro-social behavior, and the criminology literature suggests a correlation between pro-social attitudes and parole success. With Likert-scale and open-ended questions, 293 inmates filled out Brittany’s questionnaires. She found that inmates whose jobs involved more education and training, more work with living things, and more opportunities for community contribution (as SPP work programs do) expressed more pro-environmental attitudes. Simply stated: employment in SPP programs is correlated with more pro-environmental attitudes.
SPP has been so fortunate to work with these outstanding students. We can’t wait to see what great things Dennis, Brittany, and Andrea will do next.
A bumblebee visits large blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia grandiflora) and sea pink (Plectritus congesta). Photo by Jaal Mann.
Several Fridays ago, SPP hosted a Prairie Tour at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in order to share the rare landscape with WDOC and TESC partners. Jim Lynch, Field Biologist for the Fort Lewis Fish and Wildlife Program, led us to two different prairie sites where he explained the importance of maintaining these nearly nonexistent ecosystems.
Jim began the tour by explaining that JBLM has one of the largest last remaining prairies in Washington because it is constantly lit on fire both by military exercises and prescribed burns. Controlled burns are an important ecological function in prairie habitats and were used centuries ago by Native Americans for agricultural purposes. Without these fires, Douglas fir trees and other invasive species (such as Scotch broom) would take over the prairies. Jim stressed the importance of maintaining prairie ecosystems for its endemic species–species that are found nowhere else. The JBLM prairies are home to the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, Mazama pocket gopher, and Streaked horn lark, all of which will soon be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Jim showed us the recent outplantings from SPP conservation nursery production. The native plantings are crucial to maintaining prairie biodiversity. Furthermore, these plants are key to the Taylor’s checkerspot’s survival, as they rely on them for food and shelter.
The tour not only revealed the integral connection between the conservation nursery and the butterfly-rearing program, but between the partners that were present. The work that the conservation and butterfly-rearing crews accomplish in the prisons manifests on the prairies at JBLM. Members of SPP, WDOC, and Evergreen witnessed this complex process during the Prairie Tour, and we were all reminded of the invaluable collaboration required to achieve such a feat. I look forward to the next trip out to the JBLM prairies.
SPP’s Carl Elliott shows lomatium (Lomatium utriculatum) to Drissia Ras, Julie Vanneste, Eric Heinitz, and Fiona Edwards. Photo by Jaal Mann.
WDOC Videographer William C. Mader shoots in an oak woodland prairie. Photo by Jaal Mann.
Photo by Rosemarie Padovano titled “Nocturne.” (source: http://www.rosemariepadovano.com/portfolio/nocturne/)
Last week, New York visual artist and filmmaker Rosemarie Padovano visited Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW). She contacted the Sustainability in Prisons Project after finding our website, and we welcomed her interest in filming inmates at their work in SPP conservation programs.
The video sessions were very gratifying. Ms. Padovano brought high levels of curiosity, respect, and openness to her work. Unlike videographers whom we’ve worked with previously, her focus was on creating artwork. She worked to capture the visual impact and beauty of interactions between technician, plants, and butterflies. She was particularly interested in revealing the ”profound nature of transformation” as seen at SPP.
We are grateful for Ms. Padovano’s attention, and for the willingness of staff and inmates who worked with her. She may return in the summer for more days of filming, and we will certainly share the final product on our website when it is available.
Introduction by Carl Elliott, SPP Conservation and Restoration Coordinator
While working with the dedicated prairie crew from CCCC, the spring quickly blows by and work is often performed in hints of hot summer weather. The crew has ably taken on a wide range of tasks on the prairies, and at the conservation nursery and seed production farm. Staff from WDFW, WDNR, SPP and CNLM have been enjoying sharing information and skills. The work presents a steep learning curve in botany, ecology and nursery production. Not only has the crew been learning skills, also the work for conservation and service to ecological restoration has inspired one technician to create poems about service and restoration of Earth’s ecosystems:
