Sustainability in Prisons Project
Newsletter

Fall 2012, Issue 2

We bring
science, nature,and sustainable
practices intoprisonsFirst Meeting of the SPP National Network
By Joslyn Rose Trivett, Conference Coordinator
The Washington state segment of the first SPP National Network conference was a resounding success. Professionals representing six states, three counties, and several national organizations brought their expertise in corrections, education, and sustainability to the Evergreen State College for the two-day conference. A National Science Foundation grant for nationalizing
the SPP approach provided funding for the event. Forty SPP-WA staff and partners supported and contributed to the conference, hosting tours at three prisons and presenting SPP history and tips for success. Everyone benefitted from the diversity ofexperience and knowledge. All took away new connections with partners and allies, and a bolsteredsense of how to implement or improve SPP-style programs. From conference attendee David Sepulveda:
I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed the conference and that [we] broughtback some really good ideas we can work onout here in California. I attended the California State Sheriff’s Conference this week for
jails and no one has sustainability on theirradar. So I brought it up. Maybe LA andSanta Clara can be the leaders out here…
we’ll give it a try.
Central to the conference was exploring approaches
for creating a national network as a means for sharing
resources, strategies, and successes. The conversation
continues post-conference, and will develop further when some of us meet again for the Utah segment in March, 2013.

Inside this Issue
2. Featured partner: Charlie Washburn

4. Director’s corner: Dan Pacholke

2. Vermiculture at Monroe CorrectionalComplex

5. Oregon SPP

3-4. Composting & the Prison Experience

6. SPP Media Blitz!

Sustainability in Prisons Project

Fall 2012, Issue 2

Featured Partner

Charlie Washburn
Corrections Program Manager
Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC)

Using Worms to Reduce Food Waste
at Monroe Correctional Complex!

Charlie became involved with the SPP
several years ago as the supervisor of thegardening and composting programs atCedar Creek. He says, “When I came toCCCC, Dan Pacholke was the Superintendent and seeing how fired up he wasabout sustainability really got me going—both here at work and at home. I
have learned a lot about sustainabilitysince I have worked here and it has impacted me in many ways.”

By Donna Simpson, Sustainability Coordinator

In writing about the impact the SPP has
had on inmates, Charlie says: “I haveseen many offenders leave this facility,
after being involved with the SPP program, leave as different people.” Hiscommitment to helping inmates “turntheir lives around” shone at the conference panel discussion when his comments drew enthusiastic applause: “Forme that’s what this program is all about,that is a big part of what this program is
all about…I’m a people guy, and I want
to see them make it. I want to see themmake it. That’s why I’m into this stuff.”
SPP-WA is incredibly lucky to have sucha committed partner. When asked about
his goals for SPP in the future his answer
was simple: “It is my goal to promote
SPP in any way that I can.”2offenders. Seventeen of the bins areThe Monroe Correctional Complex(MCC) is using worms to reduce food “flow-through” style. The flowwaste disposal costs while also provid- through bins are primarily built fromre-purposed materials by offenders,ing meaningful science and sustainability education and work for offend- whereas they would typically retail at
more than $5,000 each.
ers.
Currently at 5 million worms, the vermiculture program can process 10,000
pounds of food scraps per month, resulting in a cost reduction of morethan 25%. This translates into big savings for the prison, which previously
spent $60,000 a year on food waste
disposal before sustainability initiatives began.

This program provides other benefits,
including the worms’ by-products—
castings are a valuable, high-quality
organic fertilizer sought after in theorganic gardening market. The
Wormery also produces 400 gallons ofworm tea per week. The worm castings and worm tea fertilize the several
acres of gardens at MCC.

In January of 2010, staff and offenders Offenders in horticultural programs
develop important vocational and life
developed the vermiculture program
skills. The worm technicians at MCC
by collecting just 200 red wiggler
wrote an operations manual that isworms (Eisenia fetida) for three small
breeding bins built by offenders. Very now available to assist other institulittle funding has been invested in the tions starting new vermiculture programs. They have also developed anprogram. As the worm population
extensive breeding program capable ofgrew, new and improved models ofexporting worms to other Washington
worm bins were built by converting
institutions, agencies, or schools.
discarded barrels, old laundry carts,
food carts, and recycled mattress ma- Thus far, Washington State Penitenterials. This indoor commercial-sized tiary and Stafford Creek Corrections“Wormery” currently has more than Center have received worms as a re170 worm bins designed and built by sult of this program.

Sustainability in Prisons Project

Fall 2012, Issue 2

Composting & the Prison Experience
By inmate Steve Mahoneyhindsight that I realize my healing began the process begins.
at the very place I thought my life might
Wheelbarrows loaded one after the otherend.
as the decomposing waste is transferred
The organic pile has been building for a from the stall to the next stage of themonth. The temperature has reachedprocess. The temperature is still aroundnearly one hundred sixty degrees. Close one hundred and sixty degrees. Evidenceto two thousand pounds of rotting mate- that the material is breaking down canrial have been combined to make a
be seen throughout. Cabbage is now aI started my prison experience in themound that is ready to be moved. The
wet, mushy substance that is putrefying
suicide section of the county jail nearlyprocess continues.
moment by moment. The smell seems
ten years ago. I was placed in this unit
more powerful than when the pile was inwith delirium tremens and severe suiciI spent nearly two years with recurrent
the safe confines of the stall. Much work
dal ideations. I was charged with First
thoughts of suicide and other plans foris yet to be done.
Degree Assault which resulted in a one
my own demise. I hadn’t seen my chilhundred eighty-four month prison senThe visit with mytence. I had absolutely nochildren was bitterhope. I was at the bottom.
sweet. Children
I cared not for life anddeserve to havedeath would have been
their father homemost welcome.
with them. Children need their
The yellow bucket is full.
parents not only
Waste from breakfast,present but actively
lunch and dinner cominvolved in theirbined to make a soup ofgrowth. How couldorganic material that
I provide my kids
seems fit only for maganything from thegots, flies, and vermin ofplace I found mythat particular ilk. The
self in? Long Disbucket is weighed andtance Dads was thethrown into the dank stall
first program ofwith waste from former
dren the entire time I had been incarcer- fered that I partook of. I was out of themeals. The odor is unbearable to thestall, I was still extremely hot and my life
uninitiated. Bark chips are added to cre- ated. One day while contemplating myvery bleak future I was given a reprieve. was odiferous to say the least, yet I wasate heat; the process begins.
I was called into the counselor’s officechanging.
After trial I was sent to a maximum seand informed that my three youngest
Twice a week for the next six to twelve
curity prison in Forks, Washington tochildren would be coming to see me.
weeks the decomposing pile of organic
begin my sentence. Stench of wasted
Hope! Dare I? My mother would bringwaste is turned inside out. The center oflives and human failure personified asthem in about a week. I couldn’t let
the pile becomes the outer and this issaulted me in my every waking moment.
these innocents see the mess I had berepeated over and over again until theThe walking dead were mixed with thecome. My children certainly deserved
temperature starts to drop. While thehopeless to create an environment that
better than what I was serving myself on
temperature of the pile remains in thewas volatile on good days. It is only ina regular basis. I had to do something;Cont’d next page…
I should preface this piece by saying that
not all prison experience results in positive outcomes. Unfortunately the statistics regarding recidivism bear that outagain and again. I can only relate mypersonal experiences and the healing
process I have been through.

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Sustainability in Prisons Project

Fall 2012, Issue 2Cont’d from page 3

shovelful the compost is put on ametal grate andhand-sifted. The
finished productwill be used in thevery garden that
produced the vegetables that produced
the waste in theyellow bucket solong ago.

120-150-degree range,change is becomingmore visible. The pile
no longer looks likefood waste. The material is breaking
down and begins toresemble bark mixedwith dirt. The odor
remains strong.
Over the next severalyears I began working
a program of healing
and transformation. I
attended an anonymous meeting where I was given tools withwhich to conduct my life in a more harmonious union withmyself and others. I worked with mental health for over four
years on anger and violence issues. I spent three years with asubstance abuse counselor learning a way to live my life sans
alcohol. Still a little warm on the inside but there was certainly a change my family recognized long before I did.
The pile of compost is dark brown, almost black, and has thesmell of rich, luxuriant topsoil. The temperature is almost
down to the ambient temperature. If the outside temperature
is seventy degrees then the pile will be the same. The last stageof the process is to sift the larger bark chips out. Shovelful by

Director’s Corner

I am not out ofprison as of thiswriting; however,my thought processes resemble little the mess that lay on thesuicide floor ten years ago. I could say anything about who I
have become yet I will let the actions I take each day speak forthemselves. I have had much healing and restoration that I
can only credit to a mind that has been transformed in muchthe same way as the composting process. I am actively involved in my own recovery. I freely share the precious gems
of mental health and stability that have been given to me.
My hope is that when I am released I will be like the compost
and be used by society to produce a harvest that will benefitothers. ~Steve Mahoney has worked with several SPP programs
during his incarceration. Photos Shauna Bittle.

plant. We did it by catching rain water (there is lots of it
here in Washington) and using it to flush toilets. That may
Dan Pacholke
have seemed like a small success, but it enabled the DOC to
SPP Co-Director
meet a capacity need without spending those hard-to-findDirector of Prisons,dollars. Our efforts grew from there: we were using less,
Washington DOC
recycling everything we could, and sustaining our population with goods we grew ourselves. But when I became
Prison Director in 2011, I wanted to take the programs even
In 2004 when we started the Sustainability in Prisons Project, it wasn’t even really a project. I set out to contain costs further, to turn prisons into helpful neighbors and a valued
and develop partnerships within the community. I also had resource.
a problem to solve—I needed to expand capacity at a miniThrough partnerships, we started raising endangered species
mum security work camp that wouldn’t let me do so withwith great success. I can’t help but think that partly our sucout a $1.4 million dollar expansion of the water treatment
cess is because of offenders’ special pride in their work. Thisplant.
work gives them a way to give back to the community andto participate in something that is bigger than themselves.
By reducing waste at that prison, I was able to expand capacity without the costly expansion of the water treatment
4Fall 2012, Issue 2

Sustainability in Prisons Project

A Full Circle of Healing – SPP Oregon is Growing
By Tamara Mullen, Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE)grams, there is a general consensus thatSPP’s impact on inmates is carried far
beyond the prison walls. One former
inmate is now starting his own horticulture business. Another gave a presentation at another conference about
what SPP had done for his life: “Icame in a convict and I came out ascientist.”
The SPP project in Oregon needs yourcontinued support. IAE’s goal is toestablish a workshop series programwith our current partners—the Oregon
Department of Corrections, Oregon
Youth Authority and Multnomah Education Service District. We also plan toTom Kaye & Stacy Moore at the conference. Photo Shauna Bittle.
increase our current efforts in plant
propagation of rare species such as
The goal to grow IAE’s Sustainability in to heal the wounds that lead to prison,
Kincaid’s lupine, as well as emulate
Prisons Project-Oregon launched earlier and restore a sense of value, of contribuWashington’s award-winning wildlife
tion within prison and the greater comthis year and was infused with everrearing programs. We have alreadygreater possibilities this September when munity.”
received generous donations from theIAE Executive Director Dr. Tom Kaye
At one defining moment during a recent Native Plant Society of Oregon Cheahand Ecological Education Program Divisit to an Oregon prison, Dr. Kaye stood mill and Portland Chapters for soil andrector Stacy Moore attended the SPP
pots. Please consider a donation towith an inmate in the middle of a big
national conference. “The feeling at thehelp us keep the Oregon Sustainability
farm field. “It was a calm summer day
conference was just electric; all of theand we were in this open field set against in Prisons Project going!
participants were talking about the potenfences and a tower with armed guards.
tial for programs they could bring back to
But it was very quiet and calm there,
their own state,” said Moore.
amidst the reality of prison life. And one
The feeling inside the prisons turned out of the inmates said, ‘Ahhh, this is so niceout here.’ It was the way he said it—ifto be perhaps even more profound. Dr.
you read between the lines, the meaning
Kaye described the experience: “It feels
right and important. What we are doing and impact was really broad. These projects are such a healing alternative towith the SPP is making a real contribution to humanity from the perspective of what is happening elsewhere in thehealing, both personal healing and heal- prison system.”ing of the world. We are seeing first-hand
Although there is not a lot of hard data
Growing the endangered Kincaid’s Lupine at thethe positive impact of ‘restorative justice’on what happens when the inmates leave Oregon Correctional Institution—the idea of giving inmates the chance
prison after participating in these pro-5

Sustainability in Prisons Project

Fall 2012, Issue 2Media Blitz on SPP!

By Joslyn Rose Trivett, Conference Coordinator
The Sustainability in Prisons Project received fabulous media coverage this summer. Discover magazine, The Salt Lake Tribune, Corrections One, and blogs from TED
and Nature all featured SPP. The Associated Press created a piece during the network conference that ran in over 75 papers nationally. We were especially excitedabout our story in The New York Times which highlighted our frog program atCCCC http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/raising-frogs-for-freedom-prison-project-opens-doors.html?_r=0. On November 18th, SPP was featured in CNN’s
The Next List. We’ve also received international attention, including a French filmcrew working on an exhibit for the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Please visit our website’s press room for the complete list and links. We are loving
all the attention!

The Sustainability in Prisons Project
The Evergreen State College
Environmental Studies, Lab II
2700 Evergreen Parkway NW
Olympia, Washington 98505
bushk@evergreen.edu
www.sustainableprisons.org

Sustainability in Prison Projects Vision
The mission of the Sustainability in Prisons Project is to bring science and nature into prisons. We conduct ecological research and conserve biodiversity by forging collaborations with scientists, inmates, prison staff, students, and community
partners. Equally important, we help reduce the environmental, economic, and human costs of prisons by inspiring andinforming sustainable practices.
This union of ideas and activities—and people inside and outside prison walls—creates a collaborative, intellectuallystimulating environment in which incarcerated men and women play key roles in conservation and advancing scientificknowledge. We encourage teamwork, mutual respect, and a stewardship ethic among individuals who typically have littleor no access to nature or opportunities in science and sustainability.
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