SPP recently had the honor of collaborating with Evergreen Native American and Indigenous Studies Faculty Kendra Aguilar to offer the first of many cultural workshops at Washington Corrections Center. The workshop was hosted by the Tribal Sons, a group of Indigenous incarcerated individuals at WCC. Tribal Sons was created to “promote the wellness and rehabilitation of [Indigenous] people through healing with Indigenous ceremonies and traditions.” We were joined by cultural leader Carolyn Hartness, Evergreen Tribal Relations Liaison Lyn Dennis, and DOC Director for Person Centered Services Megan Pirie.
After introductions and a welcome led by Carolyn Hartness, Kendra Aguilar facilitated the plant teachings workshop. Students were able to touch and hold different native plant cuttings as Aguilar spoke about the social-emotional skills that can be learned from each plant. In recognizing the strengths that different plants possess and what they contribute to their environment, students were encouraged to apply those skills to their own lives as well. During a break, visitors got to hold some baby chicks from the Sustainable Practices Lab (SPL) too!
The workshop concluded with a song and a tour led by Tribal Sons. SPP looks forward to expanding opportunities for cultural workshops in the future!
Carolyn Hartness, Indigenous cultural leader and artist. Photo by Emily Passarelli. Cultural objects made by Tribal Sons members. Photo by Emily Passarelli. SPP Coordinator Anneke Wilder and DOC Director for Person Centered Services Megan Pirie look at lichen during the plant teaching workshop. Photo by Emily Passarelli. A workshop student holds a rosebud. Photo by Emily Passarelli. Lyn Dennis and Carolyn Hartness learn from a Douglas fir clipping. Photo by Emily Passarelli. Workshop leader Kendra Aguilar holds two baby chicks that are being raised in the Sustainable Practices Lab (SPL) at WCC. Photo by Emily Passarelli.Workshop student and SPL member Juan Hernandez shows SPL’s vermiculture system to Kendra Aguilar and Lyn Dennis. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
SPP Workshops are starting back up in facilities after a hiatus, and we couldn’t be more excited! Recently SPP kicked off this initiative by hosting its first workshop since pre-pandemic at Washington Corrections Center for Women.
The Introduction to Nature Drawing Workshop was a huge hit! Drawing from her background in scientific illustration, SPP Coordinator and artist Anneke Wilder led the workshop. Students learned about the history of nature drawing and illustration as well as some drawing tips and tricks. The second half of the workshop the students spent some time sketching from books or specimen that were brought in. Some SPP staff even joined in on the fun!
We’re looking forward to bringing in more experts and educators that offer unique learning experiences to incarcerated students.
Kelli Buggs Jones draws a few different specimen. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
A student sketches a cedar frond. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Tatiana Baker shows off her drawing of a flower. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
SPP Coordinator and workshop host Anneke Wilder gives Michelle Gabel some tips on shading. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Students got to choose from a variety of specimen for drawing subjects. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Student Michelle Nichols and SPP Coordinator Laureen Dulo use images from books as references. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Meet Sarah Larson, the new SPP Education Development Manager!
Sarah grew up in the South Puget Sound and considers Tacoma her hometown. Growing up in Washington, she has always been interested in the natural world. A few years after moving to Olympia, she learned about the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program at The Evergreen State College. The program was a perfect fit, eventually bringing her to SPP in 2020 as the Program Operations Coordinator.
Sarah Larson and Carl Elliott load plants for the Conservation Nursery program at Washington Corrections Center for Women. Photo by Savannah Richard.
As the Program Operation Coordinator, Sarah assisted the SPP team with administrative tasks, reports, planning, and educational development. While she primarily worked at The Evergreen State College, she frequently supported other coordinators, helping with the butterfly, conservation nursery, and turtle programs, especially when the pandemic limited incarcerated technicians’ access to program areas. She helped ensure that endangered species like the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly and Western Pond Turtle received vital care when technicians could not reach the program area. She really enjoyed working with other coordinators and supporting their programs, but it wasn’t until the incarcerated technicians were out of quarantine and able to work alongside her in the program areas that the full depth of the programs and what they mean became apparent.
Sarah Larson and Kelli Bush learn about the Sustainable Practices Lab composting program from Chris McGill at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Photo by Carl Elliott.
During spring and summer of 2022, Sarah stepped in as the Sagebrush Program Coordinator. She worked with incarcerated technicians at Stafford Creek Corrections Center to grow native sagebrush for restoration projects in eastern Washington. She also delivered educational content, allowing technicians to earn academic credit from The Evergreen State College. She appreciated the opportunity to coordinate a program and work directly with incarcerated technicians.
Sagebrush growing in a hoop house at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. Photo by Sarah Larson.
In MES, Sarah studied a wide variety of topics. She earned her undergraduate degree in geology at WWU and focused on a variety of topics during the MES program, including flood mitigation in the Chehalis River basin and red alder nitrogen inputs to Puget Sound. Sarah points to some of the amazing people with ecology and botany backgrounds she met in her cohort that inspired her to complete a thesis on plants. Her thesis focused on herb Robert, a common invasive plant in the region, and worked to identify what mechanisms it may use to outcompete native species and establish itself in relatively intact habitats.
Sarah is now taking on a new role at SPP as the Educational Development Manager! She is excited to help design fun and engaging educational materials for incarcerated students and unconventional settings. She recognizes that SPP does not exist in a vacuum and is grateful to continue collaborating with and learning from the many SPP partners and other education providers. Most of all, she looks forward to learning more about prison education and how best to serve the population.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys being outdoors and anything involving plants or rocks! She also teaches environmental science and geology classes for Centralia College at Green Hill School and Cedar Creek Corrections Center. She loves traveling, hiking, and camping with her two children (especially if there are opportunities to see new plants)
As the cold and rainy months appear, the SPP beekeepers are preparing to tuck the bees in for the winter.
After a long season of sunshine and collecting pollen, the bees are starting to return to the hives for the colder months. While bees do not necessarily hibernate in the winter, they do retreat to their hives and stick closely together when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit to stay warm. Winter can be a difficult time for bees and their beekeepers. An article written by NPR, stated that in 2019, about 40% of hives did not survive the winter. The SPP beekeepers at various facilities are hard at work to protect the bees from mites, harsh temperatures, and heavy rain.
Stafford Creek Corrections Center
Beekeepers at Stafford Creek Corrections Center are testing an insulated hive this winter. The bee club introduced the hive in September, carefully transferring bees from a wooden hive frame to a plastic insulated hive.
The new insulated hive at SCCC by the old wooden hive. Photo by Shohei Morita.
While transferring the hive, the bee club was surprised to find that one hive was missing a Queen! The bee club conducted a detailed search of every panel and used the situation to teach new beekeepers about the signs of a missing queen and overall bee health.
SCCC Bee Club members comb through the wooden frames looking for a Queen. Photo by Shohei Morita.
After combining two hives in the insulated hive, SCCC bee club and bees are prepared for the winter! The bees adjusted well to the new hive and are beginning to return, store honey, and cluster together for the winter.
Cedar CreekCorrections Center
The Cedar Creek beekeepers are also busy preparing the bees for winter. The bees at McNeil Island are still bringing some colorful pollen into the hive as well as propolis from tree resins to fill any cracks in the hive before winter.
Bees at the small entrance that Cedar Creek beekeepers will modify before winter. The bees have propolized the edge of the wood to completely seal the hive. Photo by Laurie Pyne at McNeil Island.
The Cedar Creek beekeepers provided additional feed and are providing ample amounts of liquid syrup to help prepare for the cooler months. As the temperature begins to get colder, the beekeepers are prepared to add a sugar brick for emergencies and to apply quilt boxes with more shavings.
Washington Corrections Center for Women
Beekeepers at Washington Corrections Center for Women are preparing for winter by building quilt boxes and making sugar cakes. The WCCW beekeepers have four healthy hives heading into the cooler months and are currently going through twenty cups of sugar a week!
Beehive at WCCW. Photo by SPP Staff.
The beekeepers use cedar ships to fill the quilt boxes and are actively monitoring to prevent hornet invasion. In the coming months, the beekeepers are excited to host educational group classes while the bees cluster for the winter.
While the bees are heading in for the winter, SPP beekeepers are headed to the hives to prepare dry, warm, and cozy environments for the coming months.
Text by Erica Benoit, SPP Special Projects Manager
In my final weeks working with the Sustainability in Prisons Project, I was lucky enough to interview Susan Christopher, another amazing former SPP Butterfly Technician who actually worked alongside Nichole Alexander during her time at the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW). Susan and I spoke about her experience in the SPP program, the impact she has had on other women struggling with incarceration and/or addiction, and her considerable community involvement.
Susan Christopher (right) assists another crew member in the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly program. Photo by Keegan Curry.
Susan’s time in the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly program represents an exceptional case in which an incarcerated person remained employed in a program for more than 3 years. This opportunity to work with the species for four total breeding seasons meant she gained extensive experience and skills that have contributed to the program’s long-term success. In particular, she and other technicians at the time developed tracking mechanisms that impressed program partners like the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Some of her other accomplishments in the program include giving a presentation to 40 biologists, taking a field trip to see the butterflies in the wild at the Glacial Heritage Preserve, and being interviewed by PBS News Hour about the program.
Susan explains the data tracking systems used in the butterfly program in front of the camera for the PBS News Hour Special. Photo by Kelli Bush.
Susan emphasized the positive impact that being in the SPP butterfly program had on her. She said, “It’s such an amazing program…what it does for our self-esteem, giving us a chance to prove ourselves again, to be trusted and appreciated. To me, it was the most important job in the institution.”
Susan Christopher shows off a Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly to SPP Staff, Emily Passarelli. Photo by SPP Staff.
It was clear from our interview that Susan also tends to have a big impact on the communities around her, whether that is in prison or her outside community. For instance, she served as a peer mentor in prison for women while they were experiencing crisis. She also volunteered in MCCCW’s clothing closet program, which provides professional clothes to women preparing to take their next steps into society. While incarcerated, she taught yoga to other incarcerated women as a therapeutic outlet. Since her release from prison, she has continued this practice with individuals who are in treatment for issues related to addiction. She also shares her story of overcoming her own addiction problems to women’s groups and church groups as a way to own her truth and give people hope.
In addition to these meaningful contributions, Susan has also dedicated her time to providing fun outlets for her community of Bremerton, Washington. While the pandemic has put a damper on many social activities, Susan wanted to find safe ways to connect with her community. With the support of city officials, she has organized numerous family friendly cruise nights and car shows around the area. You can learn more about those events by visiting the Cruisin Bremerton Facebook group.
A still of Susan Christopher welcoming visitors to a car show on September 4, 2020. Video by Canalside Photography and Stan Young.
All in all, Susan told me that over time, she realized her purpose and reason for being in prison was to make a difference in others’ lives. In total, Susan had 57 different roommates while incarcerated. For these women and hundreds of others, she has served as part of their support network both during and after incarceration. Many of them still reach out to her today to tell her how her journey has been an inspiration to them.
Susan Christopher behind the camera photographing cars at a car show. Photography has always been a passion of hers and with some encouragement from others, she has started to sell some of her work. Photo by Everett Allison.
Speaking of her journey since incarceration, Susan feels her successes are on the quiet side, but that is how she likes it. She appreciates getting messages and hugs from those who she has impacted. She said she now feels like, “I am worthy, and I do have a place in this world…It may not be standing up and winning awards, but I have a certain satisfaction now that I’ve never had before. People are watching me, looking up to me, and they appreciate me.” We at SPP see you and so appreciate you, Susan.
Text by Bethany Shepler, SPP Green Track Program Coordinator
Note: please be aware that individuals featured in this story and in these images have victims who are concerned about re-victimization; any sharing or promoting should keep that risk in mind.
I presented this copy of my thesis to the advisor team at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, represented here by Kelly Peterson and David Duhaime. Photo by Erica Benoit.
This past June Dr. Tyrus Smith signed my thesis. He was my thesis advisor and his signature validated all of my hard work over the last year-and-a-half. Suffice it to say, I was ecstatic! My thesis process was more difficult than I imagined it would be, took longer than I expected, and I am truly proud of the end product.
Following completion of my thesis, I returned to SCCC to present on the process and findings. Photo by Erica Benoit.
Before we move on, I could not have gotten to that moment of completion without the support of Evergreen Master of Environmental Studies faculty (Dr. Tyrus Smith, Dr. Kevin Francis, and Dr. Shawn Hazboun), my friends and family, my classmates, the people who participated in my study, the loggers that answered all of my questions, and the constant support from incarcerated and staff advisors at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC). Thank you all!!
Thank you to everyone who supported me and made this research possible! That’s me presenting my thesis to the community at The Evergreen State College. Photo credit: Joslyn Rose Trivett.
Thesis advisors in prison
From the very beginning of my thesis process, I knew I wanted to work with incarcerated individuals and SPP supported me in making this possible. So, I invited environmental studies experts housed at SCCC to work with me as advisors. I worked with the Roots of Success instructors and the Roots liaison at the facility, Kelly Peterson. A photo of me and the advisors is shown below.
These advisors helped me formulate the roots from which my thesis grew and greatly contributed to the process, too. From left to right: Cyril Walrond, Steven Allgoewer, David Duhaime (top), Anthony Powers, Kelly Peterson, and myself. Photo credit: SPP Staff.
Over the past two years, we met on multiple occasions. To develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter, the incarcerated advisors studied the articles and references I provided; they read peer-reviewed academic articles, research planning guides, newspaper articles, and other publications. They offered feedback and ideas on several aspects of the research including topic selection, philosophical framework, research design, study population, survey design, and presentation of the topic.
Seminar
This past February, Kelly Peterson helped me set up a seminar with a larger group, and included Dr. Smith. We asked all participants to read four pieces beforehand, to prepare for the discussion. Two were data-heavy, very dense, dry academic articles describing the theoretical framework I used for my thesis. Another was a piece President Roosevelt wrote after visiting the Pacific Northwest, in which he proposed a forest plan. And the last was an academic article about common predictors of environmental attitudes.
Here’s a group photo of the people who participated in the thesis seminar. Photo by Bethany Shepler.
I remember being nervous that no one would want to talk and I could not have been more wrong! They had all clearly done deep dives into the reading and made interesting connections I had missed in my own review of the literature. Everyone had thoughtful input and suggestions for things to explore and add to my thesis. The seminar was lively and thoughtful and there was never a quiet moment.
What is my thesis about?
My completed thesis is titled: A critique of the New Ecological Paradigm: Stewardship and a case study of the Pacific Northwest logging industry. It explores the concept of stewardship and how it fits into the New Ecological Paradigm. The study population was people actively working in the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest.
This research project was an exploratory study designed to document the ecological attitudes of loggers in the Pacific Northwest. As an exploratory study, I sought to contribute to a gap in the empirical literature: how loggers view the environment. I gathered their responses to the New Ecological Paradigm questionnaire, a measure of their ecological attitudes. Also, I collected information about each participant’s experiences in nature and their socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.
Hanging out with loggers
Over the summer Pulley Corporation, an FSC®-Certified logging company agreed to let me shadow them for a day. This was an incredible opportunity for me and I am so grateful to everyone for answering all of my questions. Being able to speak with loggers who work in the field expanded my background knowledge on logging in the Pacific Northwest, and helped inform the survey I used to gather data. From these interactions, and many others, I noticed two attributes shared by all: a stewardship mindset and pro-ecological attitudes.
Regardless of their obvious pro-ecological attitudes, the sample population scored lower on the New Environmental Paradigm than most Washington State residents. This suggested to me that the New Environmental Paradigm measures attitudes using a socially-exclusionary lens.
When I shadowed the crew for the day, Pulley Corporation was working at Mt. St. Helens repairing and restoring an elk migration path for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Photo by Bethany Shepler.
So, what’s in a thesis? Well, in my case, a thesis is a collaboration of very diverse groups of people, all environmentally inspired and dedicated, and all willing to support me as a graduate student. I am lucky to have all their brilliance and input in those pages.
By Marisa Pushee, SPP Conservation Program Coordinator
Note: please be aware that individuals featured in this story and in these images have victims who are concerned about re-victimization; any sharing or promoting should keep that risk in mind.
This week, students and conservationists gathered in the greenhouse at Cedar Creek where Anna Duron led a workshop for the aquaponics program. Anna serves as the SPP Coordinator for the Emergent Vegetated Mat (EVM) program at Stafford Creek and drew from her background in utilizing aquaponics for conservation initiatives. The workshop focused on best practices when working with aquaponics and the chemistry behind maintaining a stable system.
SPP Coordinator Anna Duron and SPP Biological Science Technician Will Rathgeber show workshop participants how to test pH, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia for the water in the Cedar Creek aquaponics system. Anna describes her work with the EVM aquaponics system at Stafford Creek, detailing the differences between varying approaches to aquaponics.
SPP Biological Science Technicians as well as students and TAs from Centralia College‘s horticulture program joined for the hands-on learning opportunity. They tested the pH, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia levels of the water in the aquaponics system, discussing why certain results were more desirable and how the plants respond if any of the readings are too high or too low.
Many of the workshop participants were current TAs or students in the Centralia College horticulture program at Cedar Creek. Workshop participant watches the fish enjoy their breakfast.
Since many of the workshop participants were horticulture enthusiasts, they compared successes and challenges, finding commonality in obstacles like plant nutrition and integrated pest management. We look forward to continued collaboration with such an engaged group of students!
Note: please be aware that at least one individual featured in this story and images has victims who are concerned about re-victimization; any sharing or promoting of images should keep that risk in mind.
The Roots of Success (Roots) program recently gained three new instructors at Washington Corrections Center (WCC). Led by Master Trainer Grady Mitchell, two candidates from WCC and one from Larch Corrections Center (LCC) came together for this instructor training. Through collaboration and hands-on work, they learned about how to effectively teach environmental issues using real life examples. Mr. Mitchell also focused on strategies for improving students’ problem solving skills.
As a certified Roots instructors, these three can go on to teach the Roots curriculum to other students. Roots not only covers important environmental topics, but also emphasizes employment and career readiness – great skills for anyone to have! These new instructors were excited to have a positive impact on their future students, as well as other people in their community, regardless of where they are.
Thank you to WCC, Roots of Success, and everyone else involved to make this possible. Welcome new Roots instructors!
The ability to use technology is an important skill for a Roots instructor. Instructor candidate Matthew Edens learned how to use PowerPoint from Master Trainer Mitchell. Photo by Bethany Shepler.Instructor candidate John Morimoto tries out ways to engage his students as he practices teaching the Roots curriculum. Photo by Bethany Shepler.Instructor candidates John Morimoto, Matthew Edens, and Jayson Smith listening to Master Trainer Mitchell. Photo by Bethany Shepler.Instructor candidate Jayson Smith practices illustrating concepts with real-life examples, explaining how plastic bottles and cardboard are types of solid waste. Photo by Bethany Shepler.Master Trainer Grady Mitchell and the new Roots instructors Jayson Smith, Matthew Edens, and John Morimoto hold their instructor certificates. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
By William Angelmyer, former SPP Turtle Technician and current student at The Evergreen State College. Photos by SPP staff unless otherwise noted.
Bill worked as a Turtle Technician for SPP from 2015-2018 and is now completing his undergraduate degree at The Evergreen State College. Note that some of the turtle care protocols referenced in this blog have changed since Bill left the program.
Bill Anglemyer holds at western pond turtle.
“Any job that offers an opportunity to change perceptions is more than
just a job; it’s a learning experience.”
Summer is coming to an end. This is an exciting time for the SPP Turtle Technicians at Cedar Creek. The end of summer means that soon the technicians will be receiving new turtles. Speaking from personal experience, I know that summer is a good time to do a lot of reading and research—basically, doing book work. Without turtles to manage, we technicians spend the summer studying and catching up on other projects.
Raising mealworms for the next round of turtles and entering data for a woodpecker monitoring project keep us busy every day, but the real valuable time is the time spent learning about biology and animal behavior. Of course this takes some self-motivation to launch because you are responsible for your own choice of study. No one makes you read text books. For those of us that use education as a coping mechanism to deal with incarceration, we can’t be stopped from studying. After an entire summer of reading, though, it is a refreshing change to receive new western pond turtles and start practicing animal care and shell disease management. Although this hands-on work carries with it a new level of stress and anxiety, it also provides valuable moments fraught with emotional ups and downs. Caring for the turtles brings home some of the studying from a theoretical context into a concrete reality. All of the turtles we receive after summer have gone through a recent debriding process. Debriding is a procedure where portions of their shells have been cut away in order to stop the disease from spreading.
Mealworms production at Cedar Creek. All part of a balanced turtle diet.Anglemyer reveals the healed plastron of a turtle about to be released into the wild.
Unfortunately, this procedure—removing damaged portions of the shell—also leaves the turtles with wounds that have to be taken care of diligently in order to ensure that they heal efficiently and without infection. This is where the emotional rollercoaster part of the job comes to bear. Not all the turtles heal at the same rates. Some turtles heal slowly. Sometimes, they heal very slowly. Sometimes turtles will stop eating for days or weeks. Cataloging their progress and behavior can be worrying at times.
Turtle Technician Bill Anglymeyer and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Emily Butler evaluating turtles before releasing them back into their habitat.
However, these new worries are accompanied by a refreshing hands-on learning experience. Many of the technicians have never worked closely with reptiles. Many people have preconceived notions about reptiles having a deficiency of personality. Moreover, reptiles are stereotyped as being only focused on needs and lacking social interactions. After working closely with turtles, though, it is easy to recognize the personalities of each individual. Like many mammals, some are social and playful, some are fearful and isolate, and some are fixated completely on food.
Western pond turtle, a state listed endangered species and one of only two native turtles in Washington State.
Seeing this new perspective is one of the most valuable experiences I gained as a Turtle Technician. Any job that offers an opportunity to change perceptions is more than just a job; it’s a learning experience. My work with SPP was also greatly valuable to me because seasonal changes offer such a wide variety of experiences. Summer means book work and the fall means implementing that study into practical experience—along with the experience of caring for real animal lives. I miss my times at the CCCC Turtle Area. That may seem a little insane, considering I was incarcerated at the time. But the time I spent learning and caring for creatures, which I had had very little understanding of before, was a magical time during which I rarely realized that I was incarcerated.
Bill on Evergreen’s organic farm. Photo by Tierra Petersen.
By Carly Rose, SPP Curriculum Development Coordinator and Emerico, Gardening Curriculum Author
Gardeners tend to the soil in the gardens at Monroe Correctional Complex – Washington State Reformatory Unit. Incarcerated authors at MCC-WSRU are working with SPP to author chapters on Vermicomposting, Bokashi Composting, and Soil Science. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
For the past six months, gardeners at Stafford Creek Corrections Center and Monroe Correctional Complex – Washington State Reformatory Unit have been helping to build the new Gardening Curriculum. To develop course chapters, authors are combining expertise gained through personal experience with knowledge from scholarly research. Authors are working on a voluntary basis: they elect to share based on their desire to explore and describe a particular topic; some of the chapters currently in development include Vermicomposting & Bokashi Composting, Soil Science, the Soil Food Web, Planting and Harvesting Vegetables in Prison, Seed Saving, and Aquaponics.
Developing part of a curriculum while incarcerated requires some creativity. In order to submit materials, authors have provided handwritten work that is then typed and formatted by myself. One author types his work into JPay (social email) and mails it to a family member who mails it back, which gives him a pre-typed manuscript to submit. Most authors also provide their own illustrations and diagrams to be included in the chapter. Authors use a mixture of narrative from personal experience, tips on gardening that are specific to a prison environment, and college-level scholarly research to produce their work. They provide instruction that is created by and intended for incarcerated gardeners across the country. Authors and I send materials back and forth so they may provide feedback and edits on separate drafts of their work. One of the authors, Emerico, offered a personal narrative on his motivation to learn and write about his topic, Aquaponics.
Introduction to Aquaponics by Emerico
I first became interested in aquaponics after reading a few articles and watching some educational television programs. I was working on the gardening crew at Stafford Creek and when the gardening classes started, I was thrilled to be included. Over time, I have learned every person—incarcerated or not—has a purpose in life. My purpose was building an aquaponics system with no budget. I had to lose my freedoms before I could find my purpose in life. This is where aquaponics all began for me. I had an idea, so I put it to paper and talked to the garden supervisor about the idea.
One of my first jobs on the garden crew was working with the hydroponics system. I found out that this type of system, which requires chemicals to grow plants and vegetables, is expensive and I believe far less healthy. My goal was to get away from using chemicals and go to more of a natural resource system. I thought about a way to build a small-scale aquaponics system that uses fish to feed the vegetables. After many attempts to get it approved, and with the help of the garden crew, we built a recycled materials aquaponics system. The first part of the vision of my idea came to life.
This is part of the aquaponics system built by Emerico, who is authoring a chapter on Aquaponics. He explained that he wants the chapter to be accessible to both incarcerated gardeners and low-income families outside of prison. Photo by Jacob Meyers.
There is a sense of satisfaction when growing your own vegetables whether for self/family or others. I believe also that gardening can relieve stress. This country is blessed; there should not be anyone going hungry. We see too much senseless hunger in our country and throughout the world. There must be a solution to this problem. How can we do this? By making people aware and teaching them that aquaponics is not only a healthier way to grow produce, but is also cheaper. Aquaponics saves money in the long run for people and their families, and is a fun way to bring families together in the garden.
As for me, it is all about giving back and helping those in the community and throughout society that are less fortunate. The purpose is to get a finer perception of aquaponics through research. Anyone can pretty much build a small-scale aquaponics system with a limited budget and few resources. I hope this brief overview has helped you. Above all else, have fun.
From his lab notebook, Emerico shows a diagram of the aquaponics system. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
Next Steps
The course is projected to pilot in winter of this year. The two teams of authors plan to be part of that process as well; they will be among the first to try out the new program. Their feedback during and after the trial run will help us further refine the course, and then be ready to share it statewide and beyond.
All of the authors have personal experience gardening in prison, working on projects such as this garden at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. This garden is tended by individuals serving a life sentence, and is known as the “lifer’s garden.” Photo by Ricky Osborne.
