A beekeeping student removes the wax caps from a frame of honey. Photo by Shohei Morita.

Larch Corrections Center is the only prison in Washington -- and one of very few in the country -- that allows incarcerated individuals to keep house plants in their rooms. It's a small change, but one that residents of other prisons often wish for. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

Cat handlers at LCC receive education and training every two weeks on how to care for and socialize difficult-to-adopt cats. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

LCC has hosted a western pond turtle care program since 2015. Turtle Technicians Mr. Hill and Mr. Goff joined a few a western pond turtle releases, including this one in March, 2016. They pose with Shawn Piliponis, the program's staff sponsor at the time. Photo by Sadie Gilliom.

Larch Corrections Center (LCC)

Program	Program Partners (partner with DOC, Evergreen, or both)	Recent highlights – updated August 2019
Roots of Success, environmental course	Roots of Success	Graduated 12 classes, 53 students so far; coordinating with SCCC to train new instructors before transfer to LCC
Western pond turtles care	Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Oregon Zoo	Cared for 32 turtles so far, from Columbia Gorge population
Beekeeping	Clark County Beekeeping Association, Washington State Beekeepers Association	3 classes, 24 Beginner beekeepers so far; 4 hives.
Plantain, food source for Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies	Oregon Zoo	Technicians maintain 11 garden beds and harvest leaves to feed butterfly larvae raised at the OR zoo.
House plants		Only prison where incarcerated individuals may have houseplants in their rooms: nearly 300 for 480 residents!
Bird feeders		Feeders throughout the facility
Wood craft donations		Created and donated 75 picture frames, 16 jewelry boxes, 4 signs, 1 display cabinet, 1 plaque.
Larch Dog Adoption Program	Humane Society for Southwest WA	Weekly classes and one-on-one training with handlers; 42 dogs and puppies in the program in past year.
Larch Cat Adoption Program	West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, Humane Society for Southwest WA	Education and training every 2nd week; 42 kittens and cats adopted in past year.
Waste reduction		Education posters throughout the facility, and recycle bins everywhere; limited the use of plastic trash can liners
Waste sorting & recycling	Waste Connections, Paper People, Calbag Metals	Waste sorted at every living unit; sent 1.9 tons of steel to Cal Bag Metals and 13.84 tons of cardboard to Paper People
Large-scale composting		First WA prison to have large-scale composting; diverted 60 tons of food waste; yielding approximately 16 tons of compost.
Waste Water Treatment	DOE	Incarcerated technicians can acheive Dept of Ecology certifications; protion of treated water reclaimed (non-potable), ~1,000,000 gal/month
Forestry	DNR (and others?)	Off-site crews trained in and practice re-forestation, wood-cutting, land clearing, and forest firefighting and fire prevention; 120 crew members have been certified as Firefighter 2
Community work	mutliple government entities	Typical services are farming, reforestation, wood-cutting, brush and debris clearing, general landscaping, processing vegetables at food pantry, salmon habitat restoration, watershed improvement, development of parks and recreational areas, and other work to conserve natural resources

Articles about LCC

2018

Turtle Season is Here!

2017

New Turtles and New Technicians!

2016

New Turtles Arrived!

The Honey Bees are a Buzzin’ at Larch Corrections Center

Larch Corrections Center – An Upcoming Beekeeper’s Paradise

Larch Corrections Center – Ricky Osborne Photo Gallery

Larch’s First Turtle Release: A Technician’s Response

Turtles and Plantain at Larch Corrections Center

Roots of Success Graduation Speech – Larch Corrections Center

2014

House plants: A new way to bring nature inside at Larch Corrections Center