Incarcerated gardeners have been tending to their gardens since the season began this past spring. Despite delays in planting due to the unusually long and cool spring, the gardeners managed to planta variety of vegetables throughout the facility. Harvests occur each Monday morning with the bounty being donated to the Coastal Harvest food bank in Hoquiam. As of mid-September, they’ve grown and donated an amazing 6,000 lbs. of produce!
Gardens are placed throughout the facility wherever space is available. The incarcerated population has access to gardens in the main gardening hub and adjacent to individual living units. Photos by Sarah Larson.
The gardeners don’t just grow vegetables, they also incorporate wildflowers and perennials. While this helps beautify the grounds, it also does an incredibly important job of supporting the Stafford Creek honey bees. The bees forage for pollen and nectar, while also pollinating many of the vegetables.
A Stafford Creek honey bee visits a poppy flower in the pollinator garden.Photos by Sarah Larson.
Gardeners often experiment with new plant varieties, giving them the opportunity to learn more about the needs of different plants and how to solve issues with pests and diseases.Gardeners also collect and store seeds that are then sown the following year.
A wide variety of plants are grown in the hoop houses, which extend the growing season and protect plants from winter frosts. Maintenance crew gardeners, Robert Souza and Bob Covington, tend to the plants in one of the hoop houses (bottom left). Photos by Sarah Larson.
With sustainability in mind, the gardeners get very creative in repurposing old containers to grow plants in. Many items are repurposed, like recycling bins, water barrels, laundry tubs, as well as reusing black plastic nursery pots.
Clever and sustainable container solutions used throughout the gardens. Photos by Sarah Larson.A weekly garden harvest packaged in reusable crates and ready to be picked up by the food bank (bottom). Photo by Sarah Larson.
This season, the sustainability crew at The Washington Corrections Center (WCC) in Shelton, WA planted native prairie plants for seed harvesting. These plants, which include Plectritis congesta, Collinsia parviflora, and Collinsia grandiflora, are being used in prairie restoration for the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.
Despite work delays, the crew was able to sow the field and harvest the seeds-which are currently curing inside before they’re packaged and distributed. This process involved deconstructing old garden beds that previously housed violets, reshaping the soil, planting ground cover, sowing the seeds twice, and weeding the rows weekly.
Technicians weeded the rows weekly (top). SPP Conservation Manager Carl Elliot and a WCC crew member discuss seed ripeness and harvest dates (left). A technician shows Plectritis congesta seeds. Photos by Michelle Klim.
Technicians harvested Plectritis congesta by knocking the seeds off the plant and into a bin. Photo by Michelle Klim.
During the harvesting process, the crew noticed that there were seeds being left behind. They came up with an innovative solution- using a wireless shop-vac to collect them. They separated the seeds from the soil by shaking them through sieves but still had some small debris in the mix. After some trial and error, they came up with a solution- submerging the seeds in water and collecting the ones that float or bunch together.
Seeds that were dropped while harvesting were vacuumed up and sorted through. Shown is what is collected by the vacuum. Photo by Michelle Klim.
A WCC Technician collecting Collinisia seeds from a water bath. Photo by Michelle Klim.
A technician holds the seeds that have been separated out by water. The seeds will dry and cure before they are weighed and packaged. Photo by Michelle Klim.
The work was not easy, but the team was able to work together to come up with solutions and complete the harvest.
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 Emily Passarelli, SPP Program and Outreach Manager
Emily Passarelli, SPP Program and Outreach Manager. Photo by Aarudra Moudgalya.
Emily Passarelli is a native of Rantoul, a small rural village in East Central Illinois. Growing up in Rantoul, Emily was very active in her local community. She joined just about every community group or school club she could, but her main passion was acting in theatre. Emily participated in every one of her high school’s plays and musicals, and even arranged for an additional play to get an extra opportunity on stage her senior year.
After high school, Emily went on to pursue her interest in theatre at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, but life had other plans for her. To earn a required science credit, Emily took Environmental Studies 101 and quickly realized she was exactly where she needed to be. This led her to become interested in how environmental issues disproportionately and consistently affect underrepresented populations. Emily then decided to double major in both Theatre and Environmental Studies.
After graduating from Knox in 2015, Emily began to pursue her Master of Environmental Studies (MES) degree at The Evergreen State College. Before arriving in Olympia, Washington, Emily accepted a position as the Green Track Coordinator at The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). In this position, she coordinated the Roots of Success program and was the first coordinator to work on the Beekeeping program. One of her favorite moments was helping plan the first Beekeeping Summit at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in 2017. She also appreciated the opportunity to visit 11 of 12 Washington State prisons, as well as McNeil Island, and experience the distinctly different cultures of each facility. SPP helped Emily find her passion for developing and maintain partnerships with some of the most interesting and passionate people she’s ever met!
Emily Passarelli gazes at Oregon Spotted frogs before they are released back to the pond. Photo by SPP staff.
While in MES, Emily studied subjects such as Traditional Ecological Restoration and Environmental Education, and researched how a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest would affect different populations. Her time at SPP also inspired her to focus her graduate thesis on the lasting effects of environmental education on formerly incarcerated individuals. The results of this research showed even more evidence to support the transformative effect of environmental education in prisons.
Emily Passarelli and fellow MES Cohort members, Melanie Graeff and Liliana Caughman (also former SPP coordinator), at their graduation ceremony in 2017. Photo by Allison Diamond.
Once Emily completed her time at MES and SPP, she felt compelled to continue her work in corrections education however she could. Emily then took on the role of Education Program Coordinator at The Washington Corrections Center (WCC) through Centralia College. After two years working inside WCC in this role, Emily was promoted to Program Manager. She has loved the opportunity to work closely with DOC staff, custody, and leadership, support and expand all types of education for students, plan graduation events to celebrate student success, and work with the wonderful Education Department team at WCC.
Emily Passarelli GED Testing at the Washington Corrections Center in 2020. Photo by Aundrea Lund.
After 3 years at WCC, Emily has now returned to the SPP team as the new Program and Outreach Manager. She’s still pinching herself to make sure she’s not dreaming! Emily is so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to see what the future holds. In her free time, Emily loves spending time with her husband and sweet, shivery chihuahua.
Emily and her chihuahua Penny. Photo by Aarudra Moudgalya.
Text by Marisa Pushee, Joslyn Rose Trivett, and Kelli Bush Photos by Marisa Pushee
In these unprecedented times, we are adapting to meet the new needs of the community we serve. This has meant suspending the majority of in-person programs in favor of remote education.
Early in the pandemic, following the general pattern, the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Program partners suspended the program. But then, partners asked Could it be possible to restart? Everyone agreed that human health and safety had to be the top priority. Also, we heard from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Mission Creek Corrections Center staff, and incarcerated technicians that the program was very important to them. They asked that we problem-solve together, to collaborate on figuring out if there was any combination of rules and protocols that would allow for a re-start.
Technician Erin Hart works in one of the greenhouses, following best practices by wearing a face mask, social distancing, and implementing extensive cleaning protocols.
Following all COVID-19 safety protocols, we met several times and discussed a potential restart. Prison staff demonstrated that they were eager to prioritize the health and safety of the incarcerated technicians, willing to adapt program practices, and could support increased remote communication as SPP-Evergreen limited our prison visits. Technicians requested the program be restarted and expressed that, in the program space, they felt a reduced risk of contracting the disease. The lead wildlife biologist agreed that operations must be contingent on new protocols to reduce human health risks.
An adult Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly rests in an oviposition pot where she will lay her eggs.
Ultimately, all partners agreed that the program could re-start with new safety protocols in place. A key element of the re-start plan was to continuously reevaluate program safety, to ask each other regularly and often what could be done to make it safer and, most importantly, was it really safe enough.
The butterflies came back to Mission Creek. Social distancing, masking, and disinfection protocols were meticulously followed. Commitment to safety and open communications were fulfilled. The rearing season was successful for the butterflies and for the people involved.
Butterfly program coordinator Keegan Curry holds a rearing enclosure called an oviposition pot (a Plantago plant with a net over it) near the back door of a greenhouse.
Professor Winterbottom first came to WCCW early in 2016, along with Dr. Barb Toews of UW-Tacoma. Both academics saw potential for building restorative landscapes at the prison, for the benefit of both incarcerated individuals and prison staff. They also found willing partners among WCCW’s leadership, particularly Associate Superintendent Felice Davis, Facilities Manager Rod Coberly, and Superintendent Jo Wofford. Even so, it took three years of persistence before Professor Winterbottom had the go-ahead to make the prison the topic of his Therapeutic Master Plan Studio class.
Last month, he and his students presented their recommendations to WCCW’s leadership, which were met with further support and enthusiasm. The next step was to get feedback from the incarcerated individuals, the folks who might be most affected by the potential project. Luckily, there was an opening in the workshop series calendar, creating the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together!
The student groups, with architecture models and posters in hand, presented projects focused on designing a nurturing and healing environment as an exercise of rethinking the landscape of incarceration.
They proposed creating places that stimulate the senses, and that offer both respite and engagement through the garden. Each proposal offered different approaches and methods, but all were intended to create a more humane place for both residents and staff.
Workshop students were especially respectful of the time and effort the UW students put into their projects, and their comments and questions reflected that appreciation.
Overall, workshop students were engaged and excited to hear about the potential to transform their built living environment.
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.
Text and photos by Erica Benoit, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator
Over the last two months, representatives from Wolf Haven International, a frequent partner in the SPP Workshop Series, led workshops about wolves of Washington at both the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor and Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) in Aberdeen. Both workshops were well attended at both facilities, and students were fully engaged, thanks to the great presentation skills of Wolf Haven staff members Chris Montero and Cindy Irwin.
Their presentations touched on the ecological importance of wolves, behavior of wolves and their packs, historical and current conflict between humans and wolves, as well as recovery efforts to reestablish wolf populations in Washington. Chris and Cindy showcased compelling videos of the wolves residing at Wolf Haven’s sanctuary, life-size cutouts of a wolf and a coyote, skull replicas, and plenty of brochures and bookmarks for the students to take with them!
Wolves are commonly confused with coyotes, which are much less afraid of humans and are responsible for most of humans’ fear of wolves! These life-size cutouts were used to explain the difference coyotes and wolves.
Chris Montero, Outreach Coordinator at Wolf Haven, enthusiastically presented to students at WCCW on October 2nd, 2018. From his ability to connect with the students, you can tell he’s done this before!
Cindy Irwin, Wolf Haven’s Director of Education and Volunteer Services, joined Chris at the workshop at SCCC on November 15th, 2018.
Chris was especially knowledgeable about wolf behavior. One student at SCCC noted: “Very informative. I’m amazed by the behavioral similarities that wolves and humans share.”
Students at SCCC were excited to hear about the opportunity for public tours at the Wolf Haven sanctuary in Tenino, Washington.
Students at WCCW asked so many wonderful questions, and related what they were learning to their lives! One student shared in writing”: “Loved this lecture! I am from Rainier, which is right by Tenino, and have been by Wolf Haven many times. I am looking forward to actually visiting it – so fascinating!”
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.
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.
