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Banner images ©Phil Thomas and ©Lawrence Jenkins.

By Kelli Bush, SPP Acting Director for Evergreen, and Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education andOutreach Manager
Our summer newsletter highlights a selection of environmental programs in corrections. Mostof these programs have been replicated across the country, and we have included a few
international examples. Beyond these examples, environmental and sustainability programs areoperating in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities nationwide and around the world. Many extend
the SPP-style model of ensuring benefits for everyone involved—these are not just cost saving
measures.
In these articles, we share
perspectives from inmates,
corrections staff, and outsideprison partners, demonstrating
the collaborative nature of thework. Connections with allied
environmental programs havestrengthened a growing
movement to offer
environmental education,access to nature, andsustainable living skills to
incarcerated people. We get tocontinually learn from eachother to improve and expand
programs, collaborate on new
In an Oregon prison, butterfly technicians pose with their larvae, growing in cups
under energy-efficient LED bulbs. From left to right: Marisol, Carolyn, Mary, Sarah. initiatives and evaluate impacts.
Photo by Tom Kaye or Chad Naugle.

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Dog handlers of Freedom Tails at Stafford Creek Corrections Center pose for
Atsuko Otsuka, freelance journalist and author, consultant for the Guide Dog
Puppy-Raising Program and the Horse Program at Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation
Program Center in Japan.

Together we are inviting people
who are incarcerated torecognize the significance andrelevance of their skills, talents,
and contributions to theenvironmental movement.
Honoring their creativity,
experience, and resilience andadding the power of education
creates potential for positive
shifts in self-perceptions andagency. At the same time, we
are working to add diverse andtalented stewards to theenvironmental movement.

As a result of this growing
movement, beekeeping isthriving in multiple states. Environmental education in correctional facilities is no longer so
uncommon. Countless prisons are creating new standards for reclaiming and revaluing
resources the rest of us are too likely to throw away. In Washington, we can barely keep up
with the excitement and demands for sustainability programs in prisons. It is wonderful to bepart of something big-hearted, socially inclusive, and life affirming!

Text and photos by Atsuko Otsuka, freelance journalist and author, consultant for the Guide
Dog Puppy-Raising Program and the Horse Program at Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation Program
Center in Japan

Technicians at the Sustainable Practice Lab at Monroe Correctional
Complex proudly point to the “Thank you” poster from therecipients. Photo by Atsuko Otsuka.

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

I've been working with the Prison Pet
Partnership at Washington Corrections
Center for Women (WCCW) for years, andI've become fascinated with the
Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). I've
written several books about the benefits ofanimal programs in correctional facilities,
and I've successfully worked with theJapanese Ministry of Justice to establish
the first dog programs in Japanesecorrectional facilities. My goal is to findways to create more programs in Japan
similar to those of SPP. I strongly believe

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that they offer a way to improve our society, the lives of our incarcerated populations, and theplanet.
Over the past few
years, I've had theprivilege ofvisiting many
correctional
facilities in
Washington
where SPP is an
important part oftheirprogramming andculture. My
journey beganwith WCCW,
Cedar Creek andLarch Corrections
Centers. This year,
I added visits toStudents stop at the garden after attending a Seeds to Supper class at Stafford Creek Corrections
Mission Creek,
Center. Photo by Atsuko Otsuka.
Stafford Creek,
Airway Heights and Monroe Correctional Complex. During these visits, I saw many wonderfulprograms that are expanding the worlds of the people incarcerated there, by giving them both
environmental education and the opportunity to become better stewards of the earth. I wasparticularly impressed that all of the SPP programs I saw were designed to help their
participants gain self-esteem and redemption by creating a way for them to give back tosociety. The passion and pride expressed by the program participants that I met was not onlyinspiring, but infectious.
Learn more about Atsuko and the programs at Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation Program Center.

Text by Ronda Naseth, Oregon Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Program Coordinator, Oregon Zoo
Photos by Tom Kaye, Institute for Applied Ecology, and Chad Naugle, Oregon Department ofCorrections
The excitement generated by the new Butterfly Conservation Lab at Coffee Creek Correctional
Facility is both palpable and contagious to anyone who visits. The buzz began this spring.
Oregon Zoo staff began training program technicians to receive egg clusters and to raise larvae.
At the same time, staff and inmates – skilled in trades from plumbing to quilting – worked totransform an empty room into a fully functioning, bright, and beautiful lab. The work being
done here is groundbreaking: it expands recovery efforts for the endangered Taylor’s
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Checkerspot
Butterfly from
Washington to
Oregon, and brings
butterfly
conservation work
into a medium
facility housing unit
for the first time.
The technicians’
dedication to thework is reflected insuccesses so far thisseason. Theirattentivenessallowed them tocapture video of the
The butterfly crew stands under a quilt created for the lab by Oregon Corrections Enterprises
first larvae hatching
quilters. From left to right: Marisol, Ronda, Mary, Sarah, Carolyn.
from their eggs. They
enthusiasticallywelcomed 150 “ninjas” that were overlooked as egg clusters but suddenly appeared as larvae
on our host plants. Recently, they accepted the responsibility for care of a single Oregon Zoobutterfly which elected to skip diapause (a period of dormancy, somewhat similar tohibernation), and head straight into pupation and adulthood several months ahead of schedule.
Ultimately, the technicians’ care has resulted in a
95% survival rate, measuring from the time thelarvae were first big enough to count to entering
diapause. Our program goals include having 500
larvae survive diapause in order to be released to
the field next spring; with 935 healthy larvae
currently ready to head into the overwintering
stage, we are optimistic we will meet this goal!

Sarah shows how larvae have begun webbing in
preparation for diapause.

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

Staff and technicians alike are deservedly proud of
their work and of the lab itself. They actively seek
opportunities to share their space and their new
knowledge. They host tours, speak about the
program at Toastmasters gatherings, and participate
in special activities such as CCCF’s annual Through A
Child’s Eyes event and a recent science lecture andmedia visit. Technicians share larval developmentwith other women on their unit by displaying photos
and information on the lab windows. In thetechnicians’ words:
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“When I go to our butterfly lab, I feel asense of peace in a world of chaos. I
have a rare opportunity to sustain thelife of an endangered species, which
gives me a unique reward of being able
to give peace back into the world.”~ Sarah“This program gives me an opportunity
to give back to the Earth and not takethings for granted.” ~ Marisol“The Butterfly Program has been very
beneficial to me, as I know I’m doing
something good for the environment. I
also love the opportunity to work witha wonderful team!” ~ Mary

Marisol shows a lab visitor how larvae climb to the lids of their cups tobask in the light.

“To be involved in this program means I am given the opportunity to be involved in mycommunity here at Coffee Creek as well as an extension to the outside community throughour partnership with the Oregon Zoo, ultimately helping to change Oregon’s environment
one butterfly at a time.” ~ Carolyn

By Stacy Moore, Institute for Applied Ecology Program Director, Ecological Education, and
Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education & OutreachManager"For the first time in my life I'm actually doing
something right and I'm making a difference. Most
importantly, I believe in what we do more thananything else in my life." ~ Lawrence Jenkins,
Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla,
Washington"Yes, I’ve made mistakes, we all have, but the one I
don’t want to make is missing the chance to give backto the world that has taken care of me. Given the
chance, you will see the goodness in us all." ~ Toby
Jones, Warner Creek Correctional Facility, Lakeview,
Oregon (longer quote here)

The sage-grouse in the project's new logo was drawn
by a sagebrush program technician, Lawrence Jenkins.

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These women work with and learn about sagebrush in the program at Montana Women’s Prison (MWP). Photo by IAE staff.

The Sagebrush in Prisons Project is a multi-state restoration program including corrections
center nurseries located in six western states. The effort is led by the Institute for Applied
Ecology (IAE), a founding partner of SPP-Oregon, with funding from the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
The programs grow sagebrush for restorationof greater sage-grouse habitat and to provide
restoration ecology education and training toincarcerated men and women. Inmate crews,
staff, and educators assist BLM in planting
sagebrush each fall/early winter. We estimatethat these programs will plant 445,000
sagebrush plants this fall.
The Sagebrush in Prisons Project completes thefull circle of a native plant's life: from seedcollection to sowing, daily care, and thenplanting mature plants in the fall. The programis a win-win-win for the inmates, community
and the environment. Inmates giving back to
the community gain a new perspective on how
we treat our natural heritage and each other.
The community and local habitats benefit
through healthier ecosystems and more
wildlife.
Captain McCorkhill at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility helps
loads plugs ready for fall planting. Photo by IAE staff.

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The program generates balance within our environment and within the everyday lives ofincarcerated individuals. It gives them some access to work valued by communities inside andoutside the fence, and also may be a source of meaning and pride.

The planting crew from Snake River Correctional Institution take a moment to pose with their sagebrush plugs. Photo by
Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) staff.

It is gratifying, and impressive, to see a complex conservation program replicated andmaintaining integrity in a variety of corrections systems—speaks to the strength of the model!
Just as gratifying is to hear what the incarcerated technicians think of the program, and what it
has meant in their lives. Here are more quotes from the project, these from Idaho State
Correctional Center's program, said by crew members as they boxed up sagebrush plugs forplanting last October:“In 19 years this is the first time I’ve been able to give back to the community.”“It is a sanctuary out here. This is a huge blessing.”“This brings inmates together when we can work on a project like this. It breaks the walls
down where it doesn’t feel like prison so much.”
We are grateful to the inmates, corrections staff, educators, and partners who make Sagebrushin Prisons Project possible and successful. It's a dream come true.

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

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By Dr Phil Thomas PhD. FRSA. FIIEG. MCIEEM, Ecology Lead for the UK Ministry of Justice
Estates Cluster
I often ask myself the question: will the habitats and amazing
native species still be here, and will they be here when mychildren’s children are grown up? Will they be reflecting on
what could have been?
Where does the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Her Majesty’s
Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) fit into nature andwildlife, and how does it reflect in its aim of serving the publicby keeping in custody those committed by the courts? Our
duty is to look after inmates with humanity, to help them leadlaw-abiding and useful lives whilst in custody and following
release. I’m glad to say that MoJ and HMPPS take these
responsibilities seriously.
HMPPS estate is one of the largest within the MoJ portfolio,
and the MoJ Estates Cluster is one of the largest built and nonPrisoners survey for bats at HMP
built rural estates in UK Government. Thus, we face quite aDartmoor. Photo ©Phil Thomas
challenge in protecting the property’s native flora and fauna.
MoJ and HMPPs takes this responsibility seriously as well, somuch so it implemented one of the first UK Government Department Biodiversity Action Plans(BAPs). This goes some way to supporting the UK’s commitment to halting species’ decline, as
well as fulfilling MoJ’s and HMPPS obligations to a sustainable and compliant Government
estate.
A wealth and diversity ofwildlife lives and thrives
around individual prisonsites; with over 147
prisons across the
HMPPS estate inEngland and Wales, thediversity of wildlife isquintessentially veryrich. There are nineprison sites which are
Prison staff on a biodiversity course within the woodland management module. Photonationally important©Phil Thomas
Sites of Special ScientificInterest (SSSIs), including two European designated sites and two sites which are internationally

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

Page 8designated for their wetlands and wading birds. With another 39+ sites of county and local
biodiversity significance, the MoJ and its MoJ Ecology network are significantly challenged.

Social and Community Impacts
The MoJ Ecology network and
HMPPS recognises that the actions
and targets it has set forbiodiversity can only be achieved
through active support fromcorrections’ staff, and prisoners andlocal partners. By encouraging staff
and prisoner involvement in all
aspects of biodiversity within its
estate, and through local
community projects, HMPPS andthe MoJ Ecology network can
broaden its sustainable operations’and social impacts agenda.
HMPPS and the MoJ Ecology
network believe it’s important that
all members of staff and prisoners
should have access to green space
and the natural world, for
Prisoners on a biodiversity course within the woodland management
enjoyment, education andmodule. Photo © Phil Thomas.
wellbeing. Nature’s biologicaldiversity remains a source ofconstant enjoyment in people’s lives. Both the MoJ Ecology network and HMPPS aims to build
upon its past successes in this field, to help form and bond closer links with prisoners and thosethat work in the local community promoting and protecting wildlife. Forming new partnerships
and locally driven initiatives will aid in delivering BAPs, protecting important and declining
wildlife, and in addressing other important social, health and wellbeing issues for inmates andstaff.
The MoJ Ecology network and HMPPS consider that active management of its designated andwildlife significant sites and natural green spaces can improve the wellbeing of individuals,
encourage Restorative Justice, and address offending behaviour programmes for prisoners. As
the MoJ Ecology network and HMPPS works alongside such partners as Natural England, theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, County Wildlife Trusts
and other nationally recognised wildlife groups and various academics, it demonstrates how
wildlife and life’s rich tapestry can have widespread benefits. This includes communities beyond
the prison environments—prisoners can do meaningful work that benefits local communities,
and obtain transferable learning and skills that will help them secure stable employment on
release.

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Broadening the opportunities for nature conservation and wildlife
protection by developing activities that are enjoyable andinclusive for both staff and inmates enables them to explore andimprove the sustainability of their everyday life choices and how
they impact wildlife and the outside community. These
opportunities are a key tool, in delivering such events andactivities as our national BioBlitzes, our national Biodiversity Day
and the annual HMPPS Wildlife Award.
The MoJ Ecology network and HMPPS considers that involving
inmates in the protection of wildlife, events such as the HMPPS
Wildlife Award, and managing priority habitats can give them asense of accomplishment, a sense of achievement and more
importantly, a sense of pride in themselves. Together thesefeelings and emotions can help prisoners not only get in touchwith themselves, but help them become positive and active
members of society and their local communities once more.
This is one of the two hundred barn
owl boxes erected on the prison
estate. Photo ©Phil Thomas

To learn more about these programs:
Prisoners build over 10,000 nest boxes for rare hazel dormice,People's Trust for Endangered Species, 2016
Ministry of Justice and its Biodiverse Estate, National Biodiversity Network, 2014
Birdwatching takes flight in Britain's prisons, BBC News, 2011
Jailbirds creating eco-havens in prison, The Observer, 2008
To sign up for our quarterly Ecology e-news, all you have to do is email: PLEASE SIGN ME UP.
to Beatrice.finch@justice.gsi.gov.uk

By Nalini Nadkarni, SPP Co-Founder, John Wasiutynski, Director of the Office of Sustainability
for Multnomah County, and Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education and Outreach Manager
The human race has been intimately connected with and dependent upon nature throughout
its history. Our species gains numerous physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental healthbenefits through contact with the natural world; this has been strongly demonstrated byresearch in a variety of settings (see library curated by the Children's Nature Network, andanother compiled by a member of the faculty at University of Washington's College of theEnvironment).
For some people, contact with nature and the outdoors is difficult or impossible. People
incarcerated in "segregation", maximum security areas, do not have access to the "yard" or any
outdoor areas inside or outside prison fences. In these cases, vicarious nature video
experiences may be the only possible contact with nonhuman nature. Nature videos cannot
provide full relief from of the many emotional, cognitive, and physical stresses associated withSPP Summer Newsletter 2017

Page 10segregation, butthey can reducestress,aggression, andother negative
emotions. Plus,
providing nature
imagery toinmates imposes
little additionalburden on
corrections staff.
Championed andsupported by aninspired team,Nature Imagery
Dr. Nalini Nadkarni querying inmate on which of a variety of nature images are most appealing priorin Prisons
to showing videos in solitary confinement cellblocks, Washington Corrections Center, Shelton,
Project (NIPP) is
Washington. Photo by Benj Drummond.
gaining traction
as a new standard for segregated housing and other areas of prisons. The NIPP team first
conducted a study at Snake River Correctional Institution in Oregon, which resulted in definitive
findings. Interviews of staff members revealed that although many were initially skeptical about
offering nature imagery to inmates, by the end of the year-long study the majority of staff
recognized the offering as potentially valuable. Staff respondents agreed that the inmates
became calmer after viewing the videos, and that these effects lasted for hours, with lessviolent behaviors
and fewer angry
outbursts byinmates.

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office improved Inverness Jail’s Treatment Readiness Dorm withnature imagery. It's a small change that creates a noticeable shift in the character of the room.
Inmates’ response to this pilot was unanimously positive; following this success, staff have added
nature imagery to nearly all the dorms in the two jails. Photo by Alene Davis.

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

Incarcerated
individuals in the
program reported
feelingsignificantly
calmer, lessirritable, and more
empathetic.
Analyses of prison
records revealed
that those inmates
who watchednature videos
committed 26%
fewer violent
Page 11infractions compared to those without videos. More detailed program results are available in
the January 2017 issue of Corrections Today and a research brief from Oregon Youth Authority.
Nature Imagery in Prisons Project has gained high-level media
attention from Time magazine, MSNBC, and the Oregonian, andwill be the cover story for Frontiers of Ecology and theEnvironment in September. As of August, 2017, there are active
and in-development programs in Alaska, Nebraska, Florida,
Oregon, Wisconsin, Utah, and Washington State. Oregon(Multnomah County and state corrections) and Washington State
have extended the concept beyond segregation, offering nature
imagery in computer labs, staff areas, day rooms, and mental
health/therapeutic-focused living units.
Results from the Snake River program and staff and inmate
testimonials suggest that exposure to nature imagery can be helpful. It is a low-cost, low impact
intervention that is helpful in reducing disciplinary referrals, violent behavior, physiologicalstates, and connections and reconnections to nature. More research is needed to understandspecific elements of the program, and inform application nationwide.
Acknowledgments: The research team for this project includes Tierney Thys, Patricia Hasbach,Emily Gaines, and Lance Schnacker. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation,
the University of Utah, and an anonymous donor.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) brings
environmental education, science, andnature into prisons. We work cooperatively
with diverse individuals and organizations
to create benefits inside and outside thefence. To learn more, contact
spp@evergreen.edu and visit social media:
sustainabilityinprisons.org
www.facebook.com/sustainabilityinprisons/twitter.com/SPP_WA
Photo: Ricky Osborne

SPP Summer Newsletter 2017

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