Their bee program is only in its
second year, but it has blossomed thanks to the unending support from staff at
MCC-TRU and the enthusiastic participation from incarcerated students. We can’t
wait to see all the great things this program in the future.
Text by Bethany Shepler, Green Track Program Coordinator Photos by Jonathan Fischer, Beekeeping Liaison and Classification Counselor at Washington State Penitentiary
Ryder Chronic, a Journeyman beekeeper, inspects a frame.
The Washington State
Penitentiary (WSP) hosts one of the oldest
and best-established beekeeping programs in Washington State Department of
Corrections. They have built a professional-size apiary, certified 44
incarcerated men as beekeepers, participated in a National Honey
Bee Pest Survey by the USDA, hosted a professional beekeeper
(Mona Chambers, founder of See the Bees), and—in
general— have established themselves as a leader
in prison beekeeping.
They are about to finish a Journeyman Beekeeper
course, putting them on the path to classes led by incarcerated beekeepers!
Below are some photos from the last
day of a recent Beginner class, when students and staff sponsors left the
classroom to inspect some of the many hives that WSP keeps.
A beekeeper is inspecting this hive frame to see what the bees are doing – are they making honey, storing pollen, or caring for baby bees? Can you tell? A beekeeper holds a frame full of bees. A healthy hive at the peak of the season can have 60,000 – 80,000 bees in it! Hives are inspected a few times a month to make sure that the queen and hive are healthy. During this inspection, beekeepers added honey supers to catch honey the bees produce.
Jonathan Fischer, the beekeeping liaison, had this to say about the program “we had a stellar year, with 8 honey supers ready for harvest. These 8 boxes will produce about 270-300 pounds of honey.”
Main text by Douglas Gallagher, Incarcerated Dog Trainer at Clallam Bay Corrections Center Introduction by Bethany J. Shepler, Green Track Program Coordinator
Incarcerated dog handlers reunite with a dog they trained at the second annual reunion on October 17, 2017. Photo by Brian Harmon, taken from http://www.wagsequimwa.com/PrisonProgram.html
At the Sustainability Fair at Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC), I had the chance to learn about the Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG) dog program. WAG works with incarcerated dog handlers at CBCC to train dogs who have been labeled as “unadoptable.” Since the program’s inception in 2012, incarcerated dog handlers have trained over 200 adult dogs and puppies. This training often includes teaching the dogs to trust people, interact with other dogs, and perform for common commands. 99% of the dogs that have gone through training at CBCC has been adopted into a forever home! Each one went through WAG’s rigorous adoption process including applications, interviews, and inspecting the potential house. Check out WAG’s Facebook page and their website for more information about the work they do (and for beautiful dog portraits).
Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG) at Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC). Photo by Bethany Shepler.
The dog program sponsor at CBCC,
Tanja Cain, worked with WAG to establish a “Reunion Day.” Dogs return to the
prison for a day along with their adoptive parents. Incarcerated dog handlers
get to see dogs they helped train and meet the people who adopted them. And the
dogs get to see the people who gave them a second chance at life. When the dogs
arrive, they know exactly where they are and rush to their former handlers with
wagging tails and lots of kisses.
Mr. Gallagher is a certified trainer
working at CBCC and he gave a speech at the Sustainability Fair about the WAG
program and what it means to him.
The WAG program and what it means to me
My name Douglas Gallagher and I have been in the dog program here at Clallam Bay since March of 2014. In the last five years, I have had the pleasure of training 26 dogs. I have also become a Certified Behavior Adjustment Trainer Instructor otherwise known as a “CBATI” something I am very proud of.
Mr. Gallagher was one of the incarcerated handlers who helped to train Andy. Even though Andy is a little shy, he agreed to pose for this photo. Photo by Bethany Shepler.
When I first got into the program, I
knew nothing about training dogs, and in fact, felt a little overwhelmed by it
all. I was lucky to move in with someone who had trained a few dogs, and he
assured me that if I read all of the books and paid attention, I would learn
fast and become confident in my abilities. As nervous as I was about my
newfound responsibility, I took to it as a fish takes to water. I read all of
the books that were provided to us, watched the videos and worked with the
other handlers who had more experience than I did. And I learned how to work as
part of a team. It was a challenge, and coming from a background where I only
cared about myself, it took some time for me to adjust to it all and I love it.
Here’s Andy’s portrait picture from WAG’s Facebook page. Photo credit: Dog Light Photography.
You see, like most of the dogs that
we get from WAG, I too was broken. When I came back to prison with my third
strike, I was at my wit’s end. Drug addiction had broken me, and I had a long
road of recovery before me. Over the last several years in the program, I have
become a new person.
I could identify with the dogs that
WAG brings us because like most of them, I knew what it was like to be cast
off. The program has taught me more than I ever thought it would – how to be
responsible, how to be patient, to have empathy, how to work with others, and
most of all, how to love. When I get a fearful dog who won’t even take treats,
and nurse it back to health and watch it transform into a new dog, it brings me
great joy. There are just no words to describe it. Each dog has its issues,
just like us. Each dog is unique in its own way, just like us. Each day I look
forward to learning something new. When I first joined the program I knew that
it was going to be a challenge, and take a lot of dedication, yet I had no idea
just how fulfilling it would be. There is no greater feeling than watching a
broken dog become whole and go to its forever home.
I want to thank WAG and Ms. Cain for allowing
all of us handlers to participate in this life-changing endeavor. Now I will
share some quotes from some of the other handlers.
“The dog program gives me a sense of purpose and allows me to make a positive impact on the lives of dogs as well as myself. All while giving me skills that I can use to help me to be successful out in the community and prevent me from re-offending.” Mr. Thompson
“What the dog program means to me is: love, passion for life, teaching, and learning!” Mr. Parren
“This dog program has helped me grow as a person. It showed me how to be responsible and not be a selfish person. Now I have someone that depends on me for everything and I love it. This program gives me a sense of self-worth.” Mr. De Le Cruz
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!
Three instructors went through the training at WCC taught be Grady Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell is one of 5 Master Trainers in Washington State. Master Trainers are certified by the director and creator of Roots, Dr. Pinderhughes, to be able to train new instructors.
Five new instructors were trained at the SCCC Roots training led by Master Trainers Cyril Walrond and David Duhaime. The Roots liaison at SCCC, Kelly Peterson, added interviews to their instructor candidate selection process because they had close to 20 Roots graduates applying to be new instructors. I sat in on some of the interviews and candidates repeatedly cited the Roots community and the interactive and inclusive teaching styles of other instructors as their reasoning for wanting to become instructors.
Four instructor candidates went through the training at CRCC led by Master Trainer Keith Parkins. They engaged in conversations about facilitating the course in a way that was accessible to students of every background and how to engage students in complex conversations like environmental issues and social equity.
Thank you to DOC for making these trainings possible and thank you to Roots of Success for entrusting the training of new instructors in WA to our Master Trainers. And to all of the new Roots instructors, welcome!
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
Awfully good to hear from you! And wow, you want me to just keep it down to a few sentences??!! Tell you what. I’ll just give you my thoughts and you can pick and choose what you want to include in your report.
Expert Beekeeper Marc Von Huene (left) works with incarcerated beekeeping students in the field. Photo by Nancy DeWitt.
As I had never worked with inmates before I had to overcome a lot of my preconceived ideas. It’s a sad fact that many of us (my previous self included) envision inmates as those guys we see on Law and Order doing really bad things. It leads many of us to believe that they deserve to be in prison, the longer the better. But that’s so far from the truth that I’m ashamed to admit it. These are people that lost their way for any number of reasons – bad influences, bad home life, questionable friends……. And rehabilitation is absolutely the best option. I’m glad I could play my small part. I think giving these guys something to nurture and be proud of is a great way to bring out the caring people that are in each one of them.
As an audience, they were fantastic. I’ve never made presentations where the focus was as intense. And I feel my short time with these guys is totally inadequate to turn them into good beekeepers. The barriers are many – no direct communication, no internet access, limited equipment and supplies, limited time together. But they try, and even though we’ve had some pretty big failures, we still learn together.
This next year I’ll get out earlier and work to spend more time with the new batch of inmates. Hopefully the old hands will pass down their knowledge to the newcomers.
There was a lot of interest in my SRCI activities from officers in the Treasure Valley Bee Club, and the president of the Western Apicultural Society invited me to share my experience at their annual conference this last August. The presentation went well, and was definitely a break from all the professors and specialists giving the majority of the presentations. For most of them the presentation was a lot of data interspersed with stories. For me, the presentation was a story interspersed with data. It was the story about what I learned from working with the inmates and hopefully, what they learned from me. The title of my presentation was “Beekeeping Behind Bars”, and I know I opened the eyes of a lot of participants. Afterwards I had a lot of people come up to me and compliment me for the presentation and the work I was doing. Several volunteered to come out with me the next time. Yeah, it was good.
In closing I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really wish I was closer to the facility, but we’ll make it work. The effort is definitely appreciated by the inmates and they deserve no less.
Hope this is enough for you. Stay in touch and let me know if you need anything else.
by Joslyn Trivett, SPP Education and Outreach Manager
Airway Heights Corrections Center (AHCC) is a fair trip from the Evergreen team’s offices in Olympia—a six hour drive, or a flight to Spokane and renting a car. Even so, each of us who has been before looks for excuses to go again. AHCC positivity and enthusiasm are infectious, and it is great fun to join them whenever we can.
A likely source of the positivity is the staff culture; it is easy to feel the influence of AHCC leadership and staff wellness and productivity throughout the facility. They take on new projects expecting to succeed, and work hard. At the same time, they don’t take themselves too seriously. They laugh a lot! They talk openly about their own faults, and poke friendly fun at others.
AHCC staff make fun during a sustainability meeting. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
AHCC’s waste sorting program is so effective that the incarcerated porter didn’t understand what the corrections staff meant when asking about “garbage.” That word starting to lose its meaning was so delightful that we all started to laugh.
Before a nature illustration class, Associate Heinrich talks with an incarcerated student. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
Just as important, they also listen intently to others’ ideas and questions. They believe in each other, and do a grand job of celebrating everyone’s successes. The work environment is pervaded by a can-do attitude. As Kraig Witt, Recreation Specialist 4, has said, “This is our giant coloring book. Let’s play…there’s no can’t. We can do anything.”
Their optimism finds many willing partners. AHCC hosts extraordinarily productive sustainability programs. To name a few: a thriving in-prison beekeeping club; Pawsitive dog training supported by two humane societies; more than 500 cords of firewood processed for donation to low income families each year; new quilting and vermicomposting programs. Most of the prison grounds are devoted to gardens, and when regional water contamination meant they needed to suspend growing vegetables, they planted flowers instead; they know how to make lemonade from lemons!
Correctional Program Manager Mike Klemke describes the Computers 4 Kids program. In the last year, incarcerated technicians refurbished 4,321 computers.
At the heart of these efforts is investing in AHCC staff. Associate Superintendent Kay Heinrich has said, “It really engages the staff to care about the environment of where they work. People care about where they’re working; it increases their morale.” A previously incarcerated SPP technician and current Evergreen student advised us that taking care of staff makes the prison experience better for everyone. We look to follow AHCC’s example on what that can look like.
South Puget Sound Wildlife Area in Lakewood, WA. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
It’s turtle trapping season for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). When we arrived onsite at the South Puget Sound Wildlife Area, Wildlife Biologist Emily Butler was already hard at work and chest-deep in one of the three ponds at the wildlife area that western pond turtles (WPT) call home. Emily and two dedicated volunteers were diligently placing traps in turtle habitat.
Emily Butler, Assistant District Biologist, Wildlife Program with one of the traps she uses for western pond turtles. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
Along with trapping, WDFW also identifies turtle nests in the area. They establish a barrier to protect the site from predators. The barrier pictured below protects an active nest that currently houses WPT eggs. While the eggs will hatch in the fall, the turtles will not emerge until next spring, and it is crucial to protect them from predators until then.
Western Pond Turtle Nest. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
As a recent addition to the SPP team, I was excited to see the Western pond turtle habitat firsthand. I am taking over Jessica Brown’s position as Conservation Coordinator with Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) and Larch Corrections Center (LCC), and working closely with WDFW to help western pond turtles fight off shell disease. Critically endangered in the state of Washington, WPT are a crucial native species that have recently fallen victim to shell disease, which deteriorates their shells and shortens the turtles’ lifespans.
In the next week WDFW will locate and identify any turtles that show signs of shell disease. The turtles that they trap will be evaluated at Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) where veterinarians will determine which individuals require treatment. Those turtles will then be transferred to Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) where SPP Biological Science Technicians will care for and monitor them through their recovery, then releasing the turtles next spring.
Left to right: SPP Liasion Tyler Kennedy, SPP Conservation Coordinator Marisa Pushee, Technician Daniel Silva, Technician Lorenzo Stewart, Technician George Gonzales, Technician Darin Armstrong, SPP Conservation Coordinator Jessica Brown. Photo by Amanda Mintz.
It was a pleasure to see the South Puget Sound Wildlife Area firsthand and gain insight from Emily. With two new Biological Science Technicians also joining our team, we all look forward to meeting our new patients soon and helping them along to a speedy recovery. Stay tuned for updates on our turtles in the fall!
By Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education and Outreach Manager & Erin Lynam, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator
This past December, the workshop series brought salmon to Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Long Live the Kings has been devoted to restoring wild salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest for more than three decades. Executive Director Jacques White shared his passion for wild salmon, and discussed ways to be part of bringing home a keystone species. For those who are unable to see the salmon first-hand, it’s all the more important to bring them to the classroom. For 90 minutes, all attending could immerse themselves in science and action for the sake of our region’s most beautiful and iconic fish.
Jacques shared excellent underwater footage of wild salmon. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
Jacques was an engaging, inspiring speaker, and shared many wonders and the mysteries of salmon. A huge mystery is why Chinook and coho salmon and steelhead populations in the Salish Sea have declined so drastically in recent years. A new partnership between Long Live the Kings and Canada’s Pacific Salmon Foundation will conduct research throughout the Salish Sea; the effort is called the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project and brings together an international team of scientists from dozens of organizations to assess factors such as temperature increases, loss of food and habitat, and disease. He said that fishing is not a big threat to salmon; the problem has to be bigger than that.
Most fun was learning about the fundraising campaign, Survive the Sound. Supporters adopt an individual fish (or two, or three…), assign it an avatar, and watch its real-time progress online. Jacques shared video clips from last year’s campaign: one fish was not able to get past the Hood Canal Bridge 🙁 ; a second was stalled by the Bridge, but eventually found successful passage 🙂
Similar to SPP’s aquaponics nursery that grow plants for Oregon spotted frog habitat, Long Live the Kings has talked about starting polyculture nurseries to rear multiple species together for food and to improve water quality and habitat. We might know some folks who could work there…!
As always, the students had lots of questions and ideas to share. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
From the Kings’ website, Jacques says: “They’re at the heart of our region’s culture, history, and economy. Alongside towering evergreens, snow-capped peaks, and vast expanses of open water, salmon make the northwest The Northwest. “
Rosalina Edmondson attends nearly every SPP workshop. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
Workshop students Samantha Morgan and Lisa Woolsey are also technicians in the SPP Prairie Conservation Nursery at WCCW. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
Five new instructors were trained at the SCCC Roots training led by Master Trainers Cyril Walrond and David Duhaime. The Roots liaison at SCCC, Kelly Peterson, added interviews to their instructor candidate selection process because they had close to 20 Roots graduates applying to be new instructors. I sat in on some of the interviews and candidates repeatedly cited the Roots community and the interactive and inclusive teaching styles of other instructors as their reasoning for wanting to become instructors. 
As an audience, they were fantastic. I’ve never made presentations where the focus was as intense. And I feel my short time with these guys is totally inadequate to turn them into good beekeepers. The barriers are many – no direct communication, no internet access, limited equipment and supplies, limited time together. But they try, and even though we’ve had some pretty big failures, we still learn together.
