By Carly Rose, Curriculum Development Coordinator at SPP-Evergreen
What makes a garden in prison worth tending, and how does an incarcerated person know that gardening is a good fit for them? The history of agriculture in the U.S. has encompassed both incredible advances in supporting human health while also contributing to historical oppression. Especially given that history, whether or not to garden should be the decision of the gardener. Especially in prison, how does an incarcerated person know that gardening is a worthy part of their journey?
I have created a list of conditions that I believe signify that the person is right for the garden and the garden is right for them. These principles may be considered by any gardener, whether inside or outside of prison.
1. You want to grow plants.
2. You find joy
in growing plants. Gardening is an act of dedication, patience, and surrender,
and not everyone finds joy in such a commitment. When you are in the garden, if
you lose track of time, if you find yourself reveling in the small details of
the garden, if you find yourself a
student of the garden, then the garden is for you.
3. The act of
gardening reflects your inner self. You can see yourself in the cycles of the
garden.
4. Your body,
mind, heart, and spirit want you to tend the garden.
5. Gardening
connects you to your community. Whether you produce beautiful flowers and food
for people, animals, or insects, aquatic plants to oxygenate bodies of water,
shrubs, and trees to oxygenate the air, you will be able to sense the ways that
gardening connects you to your world.
6. Gardening
connects you to your culture. In almost every culture of the world, people
cultivate plants to feed their community. If gardening connects you to your
culture, it is a gift to you and your loved ones.
Gardening is not everyone’s cup of chamomile tea – and it shouldn’t be. As a collective, we are made stronger through a diversity of interests and talents, and gardening is only one. For those of you who are willing, joyful, and overwhelmed with the beauty (ok…and work) at harvest time, I hope the seasons are kind to you this year.
Honeybees destined for the program at Washington Corrections Center for Women are settling in well to their temporary foster home. They are under the expert care of foster parent Sandra Fanara, program partner and president of the West Sound Beekeepers Association.
Due to COVID-19, Sandy and the bees have been unable to come into the facility. The incarcerated beekeepers and I are excited for when we can start caring for these new hives. In the meantime, Sandy is adding to our shared story by sending us photos and updates frequently.
The image of the workers forming a chain between the frames makes me think of how we are all working together around a common goal to preserve life. Despite everything, the bees are an iconic view of resilience. Have an inspired week!
Photos by Jenn Bullard, Washington Corrections Center Text by Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP-Evergreen, Laurie Pyne, Centralia College, and Jenn Bullard
Joslyn Rose Trivett: Last week, Washington Corrections Center (WCC) welcomed bees back to the program. While it is still tough for volunteers and contract staff to give support in-person, this bee program is blessed with experienced beekeepers and supportive corrections staff. April 18th was the day to receive and install the new honeybees; here are a few photos and thoughts from partners.
Jenn Bullard: What a great afternoon! The sun was wonderful, the air was fresh, and the bees were absolutely amazing! They were calm and collected, which was great. ☺
The 4 incarcerated beekeepers did a great job installing the hives–each one got to empty the box into the hive, and they all did a fantastic job!
Laurie Pyne: It’s a very jazzy thing to install a package of 10,000 bees into a hive on your own…and a real confidence builder.
Thank you, Jenn and Andy [Williams], for all you did on the ground there to make today happen. I so appreciate you both and the ongoing support for the beekeeping programming at WCC.
By Erica Benoit, Kelli Bush, Carl Elliott, and Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP-Evergreen
As is true for so many folks, recent
weeks have been demanding. Responding to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak
(COVID-19) in Washington State has presented challenges. Every SPP program is a
partnership, but maintaining these partnerships and programs is more difficult from
a distance. Despite this, we continue to find innovative ways to maintain our
commitment to SPP programs and maintain our partnerships with staff and
incarcerated individuals.
To provide some insight on how SPP
is adapting during this time, we share a letter sent to corrections partners. This
general letter was also adapted for different partners and programs to provide next
steps for each programs. As has been the case generally, our plans will likely continue
to evolve as the situation changes. If you have specific questions related to
SPP programs at this time, please contact spp@evergreen.edu.
Dear SPP technicians, students, educators, and corrections staff,
We want you to know that we are thinking of all of you during this challenging time. Your safety and well-being are our highest priorities. To reduce the risk of spreading infection to you and in alignment with Governor Inslee’s executive order to “stay home,” SPP staff program visits with incarcerated people have been suspended. We will resume our in-prison interactions when it becomes clear that we can do so safely, and based on advisement from Centers for Disease Control and WA Corrections Administration.
Over the years and in partnership with many of you, we have found ways to offer innovative science and sustainability education programs in prisons. We care deeply about our shared efforts and your role in this partnership. We don’t want to lose what we’ve created together. These challenging times call for further innovation, compassion, and resilience.
To make the best of the current situation, we are turning our attention to developing more education and training materials. We are working to identify safe ways to continue education and program operation as we can. For most programs, we plan to follow up with ideas for projects you can be involved with, as you are in good health and available to participate.
We welcome your ideas for safely maintaining programs, education, and partnerships. We’ll do our best to respond to letters and other communications from you as quickly as we can.
Thank you for your understanding and patience in this uncertain time. We are thinking of you and your well-being.
Sincerely,
Sustainability in Prisons Project Staff at Evergreen
By Joslyn Rose Trivett and Erica Benoit, SPP at Evergreen Photos by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
One of the best things that we have been a part of in 2020 was the launch of our workshop series at Mission Creek Corrections Center (MCCCW). Hard to believe it was only a month ago — life is so different today than it was then. Our main focus has to be responding and adapting to the COVID 19 crisis, and still it’s important to let ourselves focus on the good and the positive. For the sake of our partners in prison, we want to continue share some of the magic of nature and environmental education inside of prisons and the partners who make it possible. These programs are so valuable and important to us; we can’t wait to continue to support them inside prison as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Here are some of our favorite images from the first SPP Environmental Workshop at MCCCW, Octopus Intelligence. Rus Higley and Joanne Park of the Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center at Highline College facilitated an excellent session. Of course the real star of the show was the juvenile Pacific red octopus (the same species but a different individual than the one who visited a 2016 workshop at Stafford Creek…the MaST Center releases an octopus back to the wild when its behavior suggests that it is ready to go.)
The second workshop in the series took place only a week later and featured some local predator birds (an owl and a turkey vulture). Although the workshop series is currently on hold at all 3 facilities, we’re looking forward to continuing the series as soon as we can. Once it’s safe to do so, partners plan for the MCCCW series to reoccur on the first Friday of every month.
Hope all of our partners are staying well and safe. We are thinking of you more than ever.
Text and photos by Shohei Morita, SPP Bee Programs Coordinator
Last week, we celebrated 16 incarcerated and 5 staff students who just completed Washington State Beekeepers Association (WASBA)’s beginning beekeeper course. Program partners gathered to celebrate at Washington State Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Taught by expert beekeeper Sandra Fanara of West Sound Beekeepers Association, the students learned the basics of beekeeping. This prepares them for more advanced study and the hands-on field work involved in the apprentice level course. After completing the course, there was a celebration to recognize their accomplishment with bee themed cupcakes. Students will also receive an official certificate from WASBA.
This was the first time since 2017 that WCCW has hosted the WASBA course. We are excited that many of these students plan to immediately advance apprentice course, which will start as soon as the bees arrive in April. In prepare, students, staff, and expert beekeeper will clean all the equipment and prepare the new apiary. Then they will be ready to dive in and experience working with honeybees. We are so excited to see this program flourish and provide therapeutic and empowering experience to the students.
Thank you to our expert beekeeper Sandy Fanara, and to our DOC liaisons Carrie Hesch and Muriah Albin for their commitment and dedication to reviving this program. Most importantly, thank you and congratulations to the newly certified student beekeepers!
Text and photos by Graham Klag, SPP Prairie Conservation Nursery Coordinator
Stafford Creek Corrections Center has hosted a prairie conservation nursery since 2009 — that’s ten years. Considering how many partners are involved and the challenges of growing rare and endangered species, a decade of success is impressive, to say the least!
In 2019, the team grew 35 different species of plants to restore and enhance precious prairie ecosystems in Washington and Oregon. Here are some of the flowers of fall, blooming inside the prison nursery.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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 Anna Duron and Carl Elliott, Coordinator and Manager for the Emergent Vegetated Mat (EVM) program
This year, the Emergent Vegetated Mat (EVM) program grew fifty mats for the Samish Indian Nation. Each mats was 15-feet-long and embedded with native wetland species Carex exsiccata, Glyceria elata, and Juncus supiniformis. Program technicians were instrumental in improving germination protocols, resulting in early spring plant growth. These young plants were ready for transplanting into the coconut mats by early summer. Again thanks to improved cultivation techniques, the plants grew vigorously; by September, the lush growth covered 80% of the mats’ surface.
We rolled up the mats in October, put them in a 24-foot truck without good shocks, and drove them to the Samish Indian Nation–a bit of a loud and bouncy ride. Access to the planting site was by water, so we unloaded the mats into a warehouse and drove back south.
The restoration site is along the Samish River in an area recently confirmed as inhabited by the state-endangered Oregon spotted frog. Employees and volunteers from the Samish Indian Nation boated the mats to the site. They unrolled each mat and staked it in place. With the help of our prison-grown mats, they hope to improve the site’s native plant communities and create a better home for Oregon spotted frogs.
See Go Skagit’s news coverage of the project here.
From the day as a chick, I have always been free. From glacier cap mountains, To sea to coral sea.
Brother species who play and breed below, Across fields and up rivers Migrating they flow. For thousand years Mother Earth grows, For thousand years climate change is slow.
For today my chick hasn’t a tree, Clear-cuts and mudslides left only for me. Snow cap mountains glaciers retreat, Dead baron seas with dried up reefs.
Polar bears, salmon, star fish, little honey bees, Man-kind harvest only greed selfish to you and me. In one hundred years Mother Earth slowly dies, In one hundred years climate change super sizes.