Tag Archives: Education

The Honey Bees are a Buzzin’ at Larch Corrections Center

Posted October 15, 2016

in Conservation Programs Education Nature inside Partners Reentry

Written by SPP Liaison and Classification Counselor Shawn Piliponis.

On September 8, 2016, Larch Corrections Center (LCC) reached another historical milestone as it kick-started a new apiary (beehive) program by hosting a class to educate participants about bees and beekeeping.

Larch Staff and students enjoying the Bee Thinking lecture. Photo by Emily Passarelli.

Inmates and staff who participated were genuinely interested in learning about bees and beekeeping, but were understandably concerned about the potential of being stung by bees. Rebekah Golden and Gabriel Quitslund from Bee Thinking in Portland, Oregon, taught how bee colonies work, which alleviated a lot of the initial fear, and those who participated walked away feeling more educated and comfortable about LCC’s new beekeeping program.

Bee Thinking’s Rebekah Golden teaches a class of staff and incarcerated students about beekeeping. Photo by Emily Passarelli.

“I want to help the offender population think outside the box by showing a variety of employment opportunities available to the offenders upon release,” said Classification Counselor Shawn Piliponis, LCC’s sustainability liaison. “My primary goal for this program is to coordinate with other organizations like SPP and Bee Thinking to provide official Beekeeper Apprentice and Master Beekeeper certifications to the offender population before they release.”

It was a voluntary class, and an instant hit among all who attended. A total of 11 inmates and 11 staff, volunteers, and contractors participated, and already there is demand for more classes from both staff and inmates.

Staff get a closer look at honey comb. Photo by Emily Passarelli.

Shawn Piliponis coordinated with the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP)-Evergreen staff Kelli Bush, Emily Passarelli, and Sadie Gilliom to arrange and sponsor the beekeeping class for LCC inmates and staff. The class was taught by Rebekah Golden and Gabriel Quitslund from Bee Thinking in Portland, Oregon. Rebekah has worked with bees for eight years in university research labs, her own apiary, Bee Thinking’s apiaries, and other community organizations. Gabriel is a sales manager for Bee Thinking who has a vast knowledge of bees and issues related to beehives such as disease, colony collapse, and pests.

Bee Thinking’s Rebekah Golden and Gabe Quitslund help CC2 Shawn Piliponis set up Larch’s new beehive. Photo by Emily Passarelli.

The new beekeeping program at LCC will start with a beehive donated from the beekeeping program at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC).

Creative Illustrations for Monarch Butterfly Conservation

Posted October 11, 2016

by Emily Passarelli

in Conservation Programs Education Nature inside Partners Science

By Graduate Research Assistant, Jeanne Dodds

Photos by Ricky Osborne

Drawing and art making are powerful tools to increase the ability to focus, relax, and develop creative problem solving in areas far beyond visual art. As an artist, illustrator and teacher, my experience working with students has illuminated the understanding that drawing teaches people to see. When we look closely in the way that illustration demands, we observe and comprehend the subtle details that make our subject significant and unique.

Teaching the art of the butterfly

We learn so much by looking closely, understanding, and representing. These were ideas I hoped to convey when planning a natural science illustration class as part of an internship with SPP for students at Airway Heights Correctional Center.

The illustration workshop was developed around the essential relationship between milkweed and Monarch butterflies and —most importantly—how creating artwork about this relationship can inspire understanding of core issues facing the imperiled Monarch butterfly and actions we can take to preserve and restore this species.

Studying the butterfly specimens

This internship project, pursued with support from SPP staff, the Endangered Species Coalition, Airway Heights, and other partners, centers on the proposal to develop a milkweed propagation site at the prison. The idea is to grow a species of milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, which is native to Washington State. Milkweed seed from plants grown in the prison would be collected by technicians for habitat restoration at designated sites near Spokane. The project goal would be to increase habitat for the Western population of the Monarch butterfly. Milkweed is the obligate host plant for Monarchs; eggs are laid on the plant and emergent caterpillars consume the leaves of the plants, developing toxicity which makes them undesirable to predators such as birds. Habitat where milkweed has historically grown has been destroyed due to pesticide use, changes in land use patterns, and other factors. Without milkweed, the only host plant for key lifecycle stages, the survival of Monarch butterflies is imperiled.

Inspiring message from an incarcerated artist: lifecycle of the Monarch

Sharing knowledge about this symbiotic relationship between butterfly and plant by creating illustrations with students and corrections staff at Airway Heights was inspiring. The workshop participants asked insightful questions, expressing concerns about how the loss of important pollinators such as Monarchs will impact other species, including humans. They saw the intricate detail of Monarch wing scales and milkweed leaves in specimens borrowed from the University of Washington. These observations were captured in detailed, creative colored pencil and graphite illustrations.

We talked about how drawing is a practice that takes patience and that mistakes made provide opportunities to reinforce skills. At the end, we viewed all of the work in a classroom gallery walk and shared what we noticed; a key observation was how everyone approached the project in their own way, some realistically, others adding words, some representing their ideas about how to protect these species. One of the most profound observations was how drawing and educational workshops like this allow students to feel reconnected to the community and themselves. It’s my hope that this connection will extend outward toward the development of a milkweed planting project and restoration of habitat for Monarchs, a species that so eloquently represents cycles of growth, transformation, and renewal.

Jeanne Dodds is a Teaching Artist, illustrator, and photographer who explores themes of connection and discord in the relationship between humans and the natural world. She is an incoming student with the fall 2016 MES cohort, and interned with SPP to research milkweed and Monarchs during summer quarter.

Sustainability & Justice

Posted August 31, 2016

by trivettj

in Conservation Programs Education Environmental Justice Inmate Voices Nature inside Sustainable Operations

by Jonathan Bolden, Roots of Success Instructor, Coyote Ridge Corrections Center
Photos by DOC staff

Jonathan Bolden was certified as a Roots of Success instructor in May, 2015. Since then, he has co-taught the environmental curriculum six times.

Too often we assume that the concept of sustainability is exclusive to the realm of environmental justice. That somehow the idea of conserving natural resources, protecting endangered species and habitats, or reducing our energy consumption will automatically result in a healed earth.

This assumption overlooks the most important factor in actually employing sustainability approaches and practices to meet the growing demands of environmental justice—the human being.

Transforming our earth requires the transformation of people, more specifically, the transformation of people’s attitudes and behavior, as it relates to the environment. The greatest potential and need for this change to occur exists within prisons.

Society has condemned and confined prisoners to prison because of their unsustainable (criminal) behavior. Their behavior has wreaked havoc and devastation within communities similar to the unsustainable human behavior that has led to the environmental crises we currently face. In this sense, the sustainability concept not only applies to radically improving our relationship with the earth and environment but also in our effort to redeem, reform, and rehab[ilitate] prisoners.

Einstein once said that the current dilemmas we face could not be solved at the same intellectual level in which they were created. We are going to have to revolutionize our thinking in how we establish responsible environmental and criminal justice practices. What better way to achieve this goal than to incorporate the solution of one with the other.

The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) and Roots of Success program (Roots) puts this wisdom of Einstein into practice. These types of programs provide prisoners with the necessary skills and experience to successfully reintegrate into society and find employment in the green economy.

Roots instructors Julian Reyes, Jonathan Bolden, and Eugene Youngblood pose at a graduation event.

At Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (CRCC), SPP creates programs and opportunities for prisoners to engage in sustainability activities. For instance, the sagebrush project allows prisoners to acquire experience with the native plants of Washington State. The sagebrush plays an essential role in the eastern Washington landscape, as it provides numerous species with food and shelter. If the sagebrush were to become threatened or even extinct, this would have serious implications for the Washington State wildlife.

A technician in the sagebrush program at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center checks the health of a plant plug. Photo by Jeff Clark, Bureau of Land Management.

In addition, the Roots course empowers prisoners with its environmental literacy curriculum. While it builds environmental understanding, it also focuses on building the individual student. This means students are challenged to assess their attitude and behavior toward the environment and by extension their attitude and behavior toward society. By introducing the green economy and green jobs to students, Roots highlights the opportunity for students to become gainfully employed and be a veritable solution to our environmental problems.

Ultimately, what we do today determines our tomorrow. SPP and Roots are planting seeds that are sure to bear the fruit of sustainability and justice. So let us take a cue from these programs and dig our hands into the dirt to cultivate a better future.

In Service to the Earth

Posted August 31, 2016

by Emily Passarelli

in Ecological Restoration Environmental Justice Inmate Voices Nature inside

Mike Brown, a student in Mr. Scott Knapp’s horticulture class at Cedar Creek Corrections Center shared his poem with Mr. Knapp, who then shared it with us. With Mr. Brown’s permission, we now share it with all of you:

In Service to the Earth

To those who heal and protect the earth

In all ways and large.

To those who throw a protective shield ‘gainst

Industries toxic barge.

Endangered Checkerspot Butterfly from Mission Creek Corrections Center. Photo by SPP Staff.

Valued be the composters; gardeners;

Breeders of worms; frogs; bees and soil renewers.

To those who train dogs for the military vet;

Much appreciation, though we’ve never met.

To those who choose to purify the air.

Makers of clean water…all share,

From rivers, lakes, creeks and sea’s.

To those who plant trees.

Rearing Endangered Frogs. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.

Valued are those who heal the prairies,

Grasslands, and renew the seeds.

Those who fight pollution by recycling and restore

The lore of fisheries

Herbs of plants (their healing salve),

Wildflowers that feed the gopher, butterfly,

And larks in the sky.

Valued are those who ask questions, “Why?”

Amending the Soil. Photo by SPP Staff.

Valued are those who heal cities.

Healing to them for whom the flock flows slowly.

To those with excitement and creativity.

Those who promote prison sustainability.

Beekeeping at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Photo by SPP Staff.

Valued are those who’s wounded and bled,

Who risk themselves in service to the earth.

To all who give, nature will sing:

“Thank you for life,” courtesy of everything!”

-Mike Brown

Going Above and Beyond for Sustainability

Posted August 23, 2016

by Emily Passarelli

in Ecological Restoration Nature inside Partners Prison Life

by SPP Program Coordinator, Sadie Gilliom

DOC Classifications Counselor, Gina Sibley was the SPP liaison for Cedar Creek Corrections Center for almost two years. We want to thank her for her partnership and support and congratulate her on her recent promotion. She will be missed!

Gina Sibley always went above and beyond while supervising the technicians in the bee, turtle and frog programs at Cedar Creek. Supervising was not all she did.

Ms. Sibley Teaching About Bees. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.

She joined in the experience by participating in seminars on science journal articles, facilitating the creation of a turtle emergency response team, staying late to participate in and supervise the bee keeping certification classes, assisting in capturing honey bee swarms, coordinating clearances for tours of the program and the list goes on!

Ms. Sibley Helping Mr. Boysen Measure Shank Length

Ms. Sibley helping turtle technician Mr. Boysen measure an endangered Oregon spotted frog. Photo by Sadie Gilliom

Thank you so much, Gina. You have made your mark on SPP and we know you will continue spreading the word of science and sustainability wherever you go.

Ms. Sibley with a tomato grown in the aquaponics greenhouse. Photo by SPP staff

Princess Remington and Pele: Royalty in a prison classroom

Posted June 30, 2016

by trivettj

in Community Organizations Conservation Programs Education Nature inside Partners Prison Life Science

Text and photos by Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Network Manager

June’s lecture at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) welcomed royalty from West Sound Wildlife Shelter. I had met Pele, Fire Goddess and falcon (a kestrel), once before, and she was as impressive as ever. However, never before had I met a turkey vulture, and I was immediately smitten with Princess Remington.

Princess Remington was named for the gun that disabled her left wing during a flight over Shelton. Now she graces classrooms throughout the Puget Sound so that students can discover the magnificence of turkey vultures.

The Princess’ handler is Fawn Harris, our coordinator for the conservation nursery at Washington Corrections Center. She also is staff at West Sound Wildlife Shelter, and she answered nearly an hour of questions on turkey vultures. We learned that turkey vultures are social birds. They travel in groups and are monogamous. Fawn says that if she offers Princess Remington food she does not like, the vulture will still remember and express her dissatisfaction with Fawn a week later.

Fawn told us that Princess Remington was unusually at-ease in this classroom. She bowed to the assembled students!

Fawn Harris clearly loves her work, and she shared a wealth of information about turkey vultures. Never again will I see them the same way.

While vultures are classified as raptors, they don’t have the typical talons or hooked beak. In fact, they are not capable of killing and they are rarely aggressive. Turkey vultures only eat animals that are already dead, finding them with an exceptional sense of smell. The acid in their stomach’s is comparable to battery acid, and diseases cannot pass through. By scavenging, they effectively remove maladies such as rabies, botulism, and cholera from the environment – without vultures, we would see far more of these nasty diseases.

Deb Wilbur of West Sound Wildlife Shelter describes the habits of kestrels.

Deb Wilbur told us about Pele. She is an American kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon. Deb fed Pele a baby mouse, and she tore it apart as the presentation went on. The crunching was audible to at least the first couple rows – gross and amazing! A special thanks to Deb who has volunteered her time at two or three other SPP lectures.

Deb took Pele for a tour of the classroom.

The lecture series students offered excellent questions to the presentation, and were fully attentive to the visiting royalty. At the lecture’s conclusion, one of them remarked to me “Another great lecture!” Holy cats, if they are all that good, I have got to start attending more of SPP lectures!

A Tribute to Tammy

Posted June 28, 2016

by Emily Passarelli

in Ecological Restoration Education Nature inside Partners Science

By Sadie Gilliom, SPP Western Pond Turtle Program Coordinator;
All photos by Sadie Gilliom unless otherwise noted

Congratulations to Tammy Schmidt, our partner with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, on her new position! We are happy for you, Tammy, but sad to see you go.

Tammy Schmidt has dedicated much of her time in the past 3 years to the Western Pond Turtle Program at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. As an expert in the endangered western pond turtles, this Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist shared her knowledge and passion for wildlife conservation and turtle care with me and eager technicians and correctional staff.

Tammy shaking hands with a technician. (Note: We are respecting Tammy’s wish for privacy by not showing her face in photos.)

She brought her patience and great sense of humor to the program. She always took the time to explain and answer the many questions we had — and repeat answers as new coordinators and technicians came into the program.

She came out to Cedar Creek once a month to check-up on the turtles’ wounds from their shell disease. She trained the technicians and myself in how to monitor the wounds in the shells to make sure they were healing well. In case of any turtle emergency, she was the one we called.

Tammy examining a turtles shell.

She took the technicians out to the release site, showed them how they track the turtles, and how they protected their nests with a wire protector.

Tammy showing the technicians around the release site. Photo by Fiona Edwards.

I want to say a personal thanks to Tammy for her support during any health emergencies with the turtles, for sharing her knowledge, and for allowing me to assist with the annual exam of the turtles at the release site.

Me (Sadie) assisting Tammy with data collection

I (Sadie) assist Tammy with data collection.

Thank you, Tammy, for your huge role in making this program a possibility and for all of your support! Best wishes on your new adventure!

Honeybee love

Posted February 5, 2016

by trivettj

in Community Organizations Conservation Programs Education Nature inside Partners Prison Life

by Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Network Manager

I am dangerously allergic to yellowjacket stings. I have been stung by yellowjackets many times, and I fear and avoid them.

As a good ecologist, I know that honeybees are very different than yellowjackets, but I still wanted to stay away from them. Even the thought of bees, wasps, and hornets has been enough to scare me. I tolerated SPP’s honeybee programs because I supported them in principle, but never wanted too get too close.

A few weeks ago, I suddenly realized that I’ve changed: I have learned to love honeybees. It happened by accident—I didn’t set out to change my mind, but changed it is!

I love this photo of bees in flight; on some of them, you can clearly see their "baskets" full of pollen on their rear legs. Image from organizedchaos.com.

I love this photo of bees in flight; on the central bee, you can clearly see one of her “baskets” full of pollen. Image from organizedchaos.com.

I think the shift started last summer, working on King 5’s story on beekeeping. Mr. Anglemeyer, Mr. Boyson, and Officer Epling’s enthusiasm and praise for the program must have been infectious. It was also the first time I met Laurie Pyne of the Olympia Beekeepers Association, and she radiates excitement about honeybees. Last fall, her guest lecture on honeybees had my rapt attention, and I memorized parts of her presentation without even trying.

Also during recent months, we have heard more and more beekeeping interest from prison staff and inmates. Cedar Creek has graduated their second class of Apprentice Beekeepers. Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center for Women, and the Penitentiary also have hives. For the prisons that don’t have honeybees yet, we keep hearing that they want them: Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Airway Heights, Coyote Ridge, and Washington Corrections Center all want honeybees too…time for me to get with the program! Luckily, seems I already have.

If I stood right next to a hive, I might still feel like screaming.

Jamar Glenn and Fiona Edwards stand among honeybees flying to and from their hives. Photo by SPP staff.

But it seems more likely that I would feel like this:

A beekeeper at Washington State Penitentiary shows his love for a honeybee swarm. Photo by DOC staff.

Thanks for being patient with me, honeybees. I’m your new biggest fan.

Nothing like an octopus in prison!

Posted January 14, 2016

by trivettj

in Education Nature inside Partners Prison Life Science

Photos by SPP Science & Sustainability Lecture Series Coordinator, Liliana Caughman

Lecture series student Ismael Lee and guest lecturer Rus Higley of the Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center at Highline College observe a red octopus.

Jillian Mayer, an AmeriCorps volunteer who works at MaST, walks the octopus among the aisles at the Science and Sustainability lecture.

During the lecture on octopus intelligence we learned that octopuses have smarts not only in their brain, but in their tentacles and skin. (Check out those good looking smarts! ;>))

Students take a closer look at the visiting red octopus and get an immersive lesson in marine biology.

Rus Higley attempts to derive the meaning of “intelligence” to a full classroom at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC).

We at SPP would like to thank Rus for initiating the first ever live animal lecture at SCCC. With the inspiration of this fantastic creature, the students were more engaged and inquisitive than ever.

AHCC Roots of Success Graduation

Posted January 10, 2016

by trivettj

in Education Partners Prison Life Roots of Success Sustainable Operations

By Dawnel Southwick, Airway Heights Corrections Center
Originally published in DOC Digest, a weekly update for WA DOC staff

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Friday, December 18, 2015 at Airway Heights Correction Center, ten offenders successfully graduated from the Roots of Success program. This was the first class to be recognized at Airway Heights for the hard work and dedication for sustainable, environmental practices.

Roots graduates show their certificates alongside Superintendent Key and the staff sponsor for the program. Photo by DOC staff.

The Department of Corrections is committed to sustainable practices by implementing and promoting a culture of positive environmental awareness and conservancy. Areas in which prisons target sustainable practices are: Reducing environmental impacts; containing costs; offer employment, education, training, re-entry, and therapeutic opportunities for offenders; and to provide needed services to the community. Facilities establish their own Sustainability Action Plan to address efforts towards meeting objectives and goals outlined in the Department’s Sustainability Plan.

Roots of Success is an environmental literacy course created by Raquel Pinderhughes, PhD. Dr. Pinderhughes specifically designed this curriculum for offenders and it is taught in many prisons and juvenile detention centers across the Country, including Washington State. Currently, Roots of Success is being offered at Airway Heights, Clallam Bay, Coyote Ridge, Larch, Mission Creek Corrections for Women, Stafford Creek, Washington Corrections Center for Women, and Washington State Penitentiary.

The program is facilitated by offenders who have completed an instructor’s course, are committed to teaching, and are passionate about the material. Instructors encourage critical thinking and problem solving throughout the course, which creates an environment where inmates can brainstorm and thoroughly discuss the implementation of sustainable practices within correctional facilities. The information is presented in modules covering fundamentals of environmental literacy, water, waste, transportation, energy, building, health⁄food⁄agriculture, community organizing and leadership, financial literacy and social entrepreneurship, and application and practice.

While sustainable education and development are the obvious benefits of the course, it’s the focus on environmental justice and community advocacy that may have the most significant impact on these men and the neighborhoods they’ll eventually release to. Focusing on human rights and unity changes the student’s motivation from preserving non-renewable resources and reducing carbon footprints to considering the needs of those who are disproportionately affected by environment-related matters.

The byproducts are:

Strong sense of responsibility for one another and a profound increase in empathy for our communities
Meaningful and gainful employment once released
Environmental conscious living
A positive force for social change and environmental sustainability
Improve prison culture
Sense of purpose while incarcerated
Continuous sustainable efforts within the prison

Found within Roots of Success is a great potential to reduce negative prison culture, increase the sustainability of the facility, and motivate students to want to be a positive force for social change and help transform their community both in the institution and in society.