lmost all facilities have flower gardens that beautify the area and bring contact with nature inside. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Restorative Nature & Sustainable Living
The composting program housed by the Washington Corrections Center (WCC) is like none other. The program was originally founded at the Washington State Reformatory Unit (WRSU) at Monroe Correctional Complex in 2010 by two men incarcerated in the unit. Fifteen years later, the program has moved, but has continued to grow and partner with multiple non-profits and schools. The program is internationally recognized as a model and is still led and operated by incarcerated technicians and teaching assistants.
A gardener checks on the koi fish pond at Stafford Creek. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Restorative Nature & Sustainable Living Highlights
Even small interactions with nature can have positive effects on our well-being. Photo by Emily Passarel
Restorative Nature & Sustainable Living
SPP aims to bring nature inside prisons for the numerous benefits it can provide for people living and working in prisons. Benefits can include stress relief and the enhanced well-being of human and non-human organisms. Research demonstrates that incorporating nature into institutional and urban environments positively impacts mental and emotional health. Specifically, Nalini Nadkarni’s Nature Imagery in Prisons Project revealed that even indirect exposure to nature through videos has a therapeutic effect on incarcerated people and staff. Both incarcerated and staff partners consistently recognize SPP’s programs for their therapeutic values, ability to support well-being, and connections to nature within the prison environment.
While all SPP programs are intended to offer positive contact with nature, the initiatives detailed here include enjoying nature and/or providing wildlife habitat as their primary functions. The following table aims to represent the status of various initiatives reported to us by WA Corrections.
Composting with Bugs
Centralia College staff receive a tour in WCC’s SPL area. Photo by Emily Passarelli
The Washington Way
The Washington Way (WA Way) is a partnership between the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and Amend at the University of California, San Francisco. It introduces a health-centered approach to transforming correctional culture within Washington’s prison facilities and Reentry Centers. The Washington Way focuses on sustaining and expanding culture change efforts in partnership with frontline staff and incarcerated people to improve overall health and well-being. Achieving sustainable, widespread cultural transformation requires multiple interventions. The Washington Way offers staff-centered models, such as Resource/Activity Teams, Contact Officers, and Change Agents, to equip staff with the tools and resources needed to drive meaningful change. These models can often lead to ideas for projects that align with the SPP mission.
A key example of this alignment is grounded in the principle of normality, the idea that life inside prison should resemble life outside as much as possible to reduce the harms of institutionalization on both staff and incarcerated people. Research consistently shows that workplaces and living environments that incorporate nature are better equipped to support the well-being and health of those within them.
WA Way works to bring normalization, which include contact with nature, into all Washington prisons. Photo by DOC Staff.
A gardener takes a bite of a radish she grew. Photo by DOC Staff.
Garden to kitchen
Through the Garden to Kitchen Project, SPP collaborates with incarcerated gardeners, community partners, and facility staff to identify and expand opportunities for gardening with the purpose of growing produce. This not only increases access to fresh produce for incarcerated people but fills a food deficit for families in need within their communities. Many facilities, like CCCC and WCCW, have made prison grown produce available to incarcerated people through the kitchen for many years. Prisons such as AHCC, CRCC, and WSP even share produce between facilities, while other facilities are considering options for increasing access to fresh produce. This project happens simultaneously with programs focused on donating produce to local food banks and community organizations.
Nature & Health
Prisons are typically nature-deprived, stressful, and isolating environments for incarcerated people and corrections staff. The U.S. leads the world in incarceration rates, with about two million people housed in jails or prisons. In Washington state, approximately 13,000 people live in prisons, and 8,000 people work for the Washington Department of Corrections, with many working daily in one of the state’s 10 prisons. Numerous studies note that people living and working in prisons suffer adverse health impacts, some of which can lead to a lower life expectancy.
Humans have an innate connection to nature. We experience a multitude of benefits through real, and even virtual, contact with the natural world. Reduced stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and aggression, and increased well-being have been repeatedly proven through studies across a wide range of human populations and settings. Several peer-reviewed articles document the positive results of nature and science education in prisons, including increased science knowledge, improved connection to nature, fewer violent infractions, and feeling calmer and less anxious. Conversely, hundreds of studies highlight the perils of reduced nature contact with far-reaching repercussions that create major physical, mental, and social health issues and weaken relationships with environmental stewardship.
Access to nature is a critical matter of public health. All people can benefit from nature contact and education. SPP is steadily increasing opportunities for nature connection and science education in prisons. We plan to expand upon this need.
A student takes a moment to smell the flowers. Photo by Emily Passarelli.
Restorative Nature & Sustainable Living Highlights
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew & used around 2,500 lbs. of produce in the facility kitchen. Received and used additional produce from WSP.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew and used 4,123 lbs. of produce in the facility kitchen, family/religious events, or Heritage events.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Although this produce was not grown on site, CBCC restarted their farmers’ market in 2025. This program allows incarcerated individuals to purchase fresh produce similar to a farmers’ market outside prison.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew and used 3,572 lbs. of produce. MCC-TRU focused on growing produce the kitchen would most readily accept and use.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
C and D Units donate produce grown in their gardens to the kitchen.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew 207 lbs. of produce that were used in the facility kitchens.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew and used 4,367.2 lbs. of produce that were used in mainline meals.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Grew and used 4,250 lbs. of produce. The facility kitchen used fresh produce and herbs to make salsa to be offered with meals. The kitchen also uses produce to make stir fries, salads, and oven baked mixed vegetables. As part of WA Way, J- unit now has garden beds for residents to grow and consume their own food.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
Around 9,000 lbs. of the 21,890 lbs. of produce from SPL’s Green Zone were used on site. The Institutional Garden grew, used, and shared cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, and squash with CRCC and AHCC.
Kitchen Facility
Program Highlights:
MSC garden provides fresh vegetables to the kitchen for incarcerated people. Received and used additional produce from WSP.
Once a year, SPP reports on all things sustainable happening in Washington State Prisons.