Written by Jennifer Bass, Environmental Education Coordinator
This year, Larch Corrections Center introduced the Foundations in Gardening curriculum to High School+ (HS+) students in partnership with the Sustainability in Prisons Project and Clark College. This is the first time SPP’s education materials are being used for HS+ students! HS+ is a flexible alternative to the GED for students where students can use life experience and prior learning to earn their high school diploma. LCC’s class is led by Clark College Instructor Lauren Zavrel and 2 peer-facilitators.
LCC students taking notes for their gardening class. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
The gardening class includes both a hands-on component in the garden as well as regular classroom seminars and assignments. In the late fall, the gardeners at LCC developed a planting plan and sowed leek, Brussel sprouts, red clover, and onion seeds.
LCC’s garden area has been sowed with tons of vegetables. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Combined, the LCC gardeners will spend more than one hundred hours studying course material, working in the garden, completing assignments, and participating in seminars! The class and work wouldn’t be possible without the peer-facilitators, facility liaison, and partners at Clark College.
Gardeners work at LCC to prepare the beds for planting. Photo by Lauren Zavrel.
To help the SPP continue providing education in Washington prisons, click here.
By Erica Benoit, SPP Special Projects Manager and Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director
We at SPP are all deeply aware of how difficult this past year has been. It has been especially hard for the people living and working in prisons. We acknowledge the loss and suffering experienced by incarcerated people, their families, and corrections staff. Our thoughts are with our fellow humans everywhere—may we all have better days ahead.
Like many organizations, SPP has also faced a slew of competing challenges. Over the past year we have shifted to working remotely, navigated major staffing changes resulting in a smaller team size, and supported multiple team members through health issues. We are continually processing the overall health and safety impacts of COVID-19 and loss of in-person interaction with students, partners, and our small team at Evergreen. Despite these challenges, we are hopeful for better horizons. We are reaching out to share how SPP is making the best use of these challenging times; we are simultaneously practicing patience and resilience every day.
Human health and safety are our top priority over program operation. As a result, the vast majority of SPP programs have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still supporting operation of a few programs, but only where interactions with SPP staff can be masked, socially distant, primarily outside, and with access to proper resources for hand washing and cleaning high touch surfaces. Programs which have continued under these circumstances and in accordance with approved COVID plans include the prairie conservation nursery at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW), the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly program at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW), and a few peer-led education programs at various facilities.
Keegan Curry from SPP safely helps out with the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly program at MCCCW. Photo by Marisa Pushee.
Despite major program suspensions, SPP staff have still been hard at work on projects in three main focus areas: remote education, proposal development, and policy/guidance work. We hope that the behind-the-scenes work done in these areas will have lasting benefits when programs are able to safely restart. Brief details on some specific projects (most still in progress) are provided below.
Remote Education
Beekeeping
Curation and delivery of monthly educational packets to all facilities
Development of higher-level beekeeping certification (in progress)
Working with Washington Department of Corrections and education organizations to develop policy and guidelines for successful peer-led programs in prison (in progress)
Working with The Evergreen State College to draft new policy to that will support granting college credit to currently incarcerated program participants successfully completing SPP certificated internship programs
Research to address barriers limiting access to fresh produce in prison and considering development of food handling education to improve ability for prison kitchens to utilize fresh produce from facility gardens (longer-term project)
Lastly, we are actively drafting our latest Annual Report, which is expected to be published sometime in spring. Be on the lookout for this report for full updates regarding SPP programs and initiatives from July 2019 through December 2020.
