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By SPP Co-Director Kelli BushFollowing six years of dedicated leadership from Dr. Carri LeRoy, Evergreen’s team for the
Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) enters a new era. We are so pleased that Carri will continue tosupport and influence SPP as our Senior Science Advisor. SPP is also now a Public Service Center forThe Evergreen State College, playing a greater role in Evergreen’s campus community and receiving
increased recognition and support. Together we are continually improving and growing SPP, and weknow there’s still so much more to do!
SPP partners from Evergreen and Washington State Department of Corrections have completed
updates to SPP’s mission and vision statements. The new text represents greater emphases on
education and change, acknowledgement of current environmental and justice system challenges,
values shared by SPP partners, and a more succinct, stand-alone mission statement.
Mission Statement:
We empower sustainable change by bringing nature, science, and environmental education intoprisons.
Vision:In response to the dual crises of ecological degradation and mass incarceration, we aim to reduce
recidivism while improving human well-being and ecosystem health. SPP brings together incarcerated
individuals, scientists, corrections staff, students, and program partners to promote education,conserve biodiversity, practice sustainability, and help build healthy communities. Together, we reduce
the environmental, economic, and human costs of prisons.
Going forward, our top priority is identifying mechanisms to award college credit to incarcerated
participants in SPP certificate programs. Education is the most effective way to reduce recidivism.
These certificate programs serve as high quality apprenticeships where participants receive extensive
training, education, and experience addressing complex conservation issues, delivering environmental
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education, or participating in our workshop series.
Recently, Dr. Carri LeRoy provided valuable review
that informed significant improvements to SPP
certifications. We are so grateful she plans to continue
providing certification oversight to ensure program
quality and consistency. SPP’s certificate recipients areclearly worthy of academic recognition; they
demonstrate advanced environmental knowledge andapplication on a daily basis.
Our programs are unconventional, and retrofitting
accreditation to existing practices is a challenge, but
this long-time effort seems to be gaining momentum.
Acknowledging SPP certificate completion with college
credit could serve to complement post-secondary education with allied prison education programs
and/or inspire continued education post-release.
Butterfly technician Kristina Faires receives a certificate for heracademic and technical accomplishments in the program
program coordinator Seth Dorman poses with her to recognize
her achievements. Photo by Keegan Curry.

As always, thanks for your partnership and support of SPP. We’re so pleased to be offering these
programs with you!

Text by Jessica Brown, SPP Turtle Program Coordinator, Philip Fischer, U.S. Forest Service volunteer
and Adam Mlady, Biological Science Technician.
Photos by Jessica Brown
Cedar Creek Corrections Center (Cedar Creek) was hometo the very first endangered animal program in a prison:
they raised and released hundreds of Oregon spotted
frogs from 2009-2015. In 2018, ecological conservation
at Cedar Creek is thriving and evolving to encompass asmall array of conservation and sustainability
programs. Offering an array of programs allows us topartner with a larger group of incarcerated technicians;
there are five at this time, and we plan to add a few
more. All participants will have a new position title of
Biological Science Technicians, and will receive
education and training in the turtle, beekeeping andwoodpecker programs, and—later on—a newaquaponics program.

Turtles

Biological Science Technician Adam Mlady holding twoof the Western Pond Turtles currently housed at Cedar
Creek Correctional Center.

Cedar Creek hosts endangered pond turtles that needdaily attention; from Technician Adam Mlady's writing
last month, "currently we have two females, one male, and are expecting seven more to be dropped
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off later today...Taking care of them is very rewarding. I get a sense of unity and accomplishment inensuring they are clean and fed, and working them back to health. It’s even a sustainable project tofeed them! They eat a mix of goodies, but one of the days the pond turtles get mealworms, which wegrow and harvest ourselves. Eggs to larva to pupae to beetle, we are hands-on (gloved of course!) thewhole way through."

Woodpeckers
In November, the Woodpecker
Nest Monitoring Project waslaunched with a two-day
training for all five turtle
technicians, four greenhouse
workers, and two otherinterested individuals. The
purpose of the Woodpecker
Nest Monitoring Video Review isto support a multi-year research
project through the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS) focused onidentification of nest predators.
USFS trainers, SPP coordinator, and participants of the Woodpecker Nest Monitoring
program training pose with bird specimens.

Biological Science Technician Modesto Silva reviewing video footage of a Northern Flicker
cavity nest. This video station sits atop the mealworm rearing bins for the western pond
turtle program.

Woodpeckers are a keystone
species that provide cavities not
only for their own nesting use,
but also for a broad spectrum of
secondary cavity users including
small mammals and other birds.
Video footage comes fromcameras operating 24/7 at cavity
nests. This is the only sure way
to document nest depredation,
however, reviewing theenormous amount of video
footage requires an equallyenormous amount of reviewer
time. In order to accurately
monitor video footage, correctly
identify species, and describe
animal behaviors, reviewers
need considerable training.

Participants at Cedar Creek received six hours of education and training from Teresa Lorenz, USFS
biologist and Phil Fischer, USFS volunteer, covering woodpecker, raptor, song bird, and small mammal
identification; background information relating to the project, including project protocol and species
behavior descriptions; and monitoring and data recording techniques. In the past, video monitoring
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has made it possible to also bring this type of education and experience into prison.

And coming soon...
Cedar Creek has long had a
productive greenhouse,
including a small aquaponics
system. The old aquaponics
will be replaced with a moreproductive system designed bySymbiotic Cycles LLC, an
Olympia-based company
dedicated to the application ofregenerative food production
through aquaponics. The new
design will support productionof fresh greens year round foruse in the kitchen.
Partners in endangered species conservation for Cedar Creek Corrections Center, from left toright: Technician, John Fitzpatrick, Superintendent Douglas Cole, Loretta Adams (SPPLiaison), Philip Fischer (U.S. Forest Service), Kelli Bush (SPP Co-Director, Teresa Lorenz (U.S.
Forest Service), Technician William Anglemyer)

Technician Mlady has said, "I’mreally excited about theupcoming aquaponics pond wewill be building. It is huge, andtucked away safely up in our camp’s greenhouse. Once we get the plumbing correctly set up, the koi
fish will be able to fertilize our selected plants and vegetables. Brilliant system." Aquaponics training
will start sometime this March, and the system should be up and running soon after.

Text by Erin Lynam, SPP Workshop Series Coordinator

On October 18th at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, we held the first ever Climate Change Symposium in a prison. The five hour
event brought together 91 environmental students, eight SPP-Evergreen staff members, five guest speakers, and five DOC staff.

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Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) presented on region-wide planning and action for climate change resilience.
Then they asked participants to break into small groups to play their board game, Resilience Road. Each groupcollectively selected and prioritized responses to a climate change challenge for a hypothetical community. This small
group included SPP Co-Director Kelli Bush. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

TRPC graciously donated a copy of Resilience Road to Stafford Creek Corrections Center so that students can continue to playand inform their work as environmental stewards. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

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Incarcerated environmentalist and longtime SPP participant Toby Erhart shared what climate change means to him and what
actions he’s taking to address it. After staff, guests, and students had a lively discussion over a shared lunch, Johnny Mao,
Johnny Fikru, and James Williams (pictured) of Got Green described social and environmental justice work in low income andcommunities of color. Photos by Ricky Osborne.

During Got Green’s presentation, James Williams stated that even though the students may be apart from theircommunity, they were not forgotten and he considered them part of his community. This acknowledgement of onenessis an incredibly rare moment in the prison environment and was moving to witness. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

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To wrap up the symposium and reflect on everything they learned, SPP invited the students to share what they found mostimportant and what steps to take next. Spending the day learning alongside individuals who are emphatically committed tokeeping our planet healthy was inspiring. Photo by Ricky Osborne.

By Bethany Shepler, SPP Green Track Coordinator
Roots of Success (Roots) is anenvironmental education program that
promotes personal, local, regional, andglobal awareness of environmental
problems and solutions. Roots is offered by
the Sustainability in Prisons Project in tenof Washington State’s prisons. The
program is championed by incarcerated
instructors and students, with more than
1,200 participants graduating from theprogram since its inception in 2013.

A Roots of Success graduate at CRCC shows his appreciation for the program.
Photo by DOC staff

SPP Winter Newsletter 2018

Roots’ unsung heroes are the DOC staff
members who serve as program sponsors,or “Roots Liaisons”. The program would
not be possible if not for the incredible
corrections staff who it. Even though IPage 7

can't highlight all of them, I want to recognize a few extraordinary people who make Roots of Successpossible: Chris McGill at WSP, Gena Brock and CRCC, and Kelly Peterson at SCCC.
The Roots Liaisons are in charge of finding andscheduling the classroom, ensuring secure andfunctional multimedia equipment, responding toneeds of instructors and students, and program
reporting. This program would not be possible
without the Liaisons’ determination and hard work.
Chris McGill (top photo) is the Roots Liaison atWashington State Penitentiary (WSP). He manages
the amazing Sustainable Practices Lab, where
Roots serves as a prerequisite for jobs in the lab’s
shops. Chris first got involved with sustainable
programming when he and small team of inmates
decided to transform an empty space at the prison
into a garden.
Gena Brock is Roots Liaison for Coyote Ridge
Corrections Center (CRCC); in the photo to the left,
she poses with Roots of Success Instructors at theprison. As the Roots Liaison, she has provided
steadfast program support and is always thinkingof ways to improve the program at CRCC.
Kelly Peterson (bottom photo) at Stafford Creek
Corrections Center (SCCC) is a relative newcomerto the Roots program. Kelly recently took on therole of sustainability liaison at SCCC, and is thepoint of contact for everything from beekeeping togardening to the aquaponic “EVM” nursery. SCCC’s
Roots program has been going strong since 2013,and we fully trust her to continue that success. Sheis dedicated, productive, and positive—prettymuch everything you would want in a partner!

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Photos and text by Amanda Mintz, SPP EVM Program Coordinator

Prior to delivery, we rolled up the mats and let them drain for 24 hours. Even with
reduced water, each mat weighs about 60 pounds when it is delivered—healthyroots and shoots are heavy!

In mid-October, SPP delivered ourthird batch of Emergent preVegetated Mats (EVM) to wetlands at
West Rocky Prairie, Joint Base Lewis
McChord (JBLM) and Mima Creek
Preserve. At these sites, the Centerfor Natural Lands Management(CNLM) is conducting an experimentusing the mats as part of a reedcanarygrass suppression strategy.
Replacing the reed canarygrass withwetland plants will help restore
habitat for the threatened Oregon
spotted frog. This project is supportedwith funding and resources by theWashington Department of Fish andWildlife, United States Fish andWildlife Service, CNLM, and JBLM.
Each mat contains a combination ofnative wetland plants: spreading rush
(Juncus supiniformis), tall mannagrass(Glyceria elata), and creeping spikerush (Eleocharis palustris). The matswere produced in Stafford Creek
Corrections Center’s aquaponics
greenhouse by a team of corrections
staff, incarcerated technicians, andSPP-Evergreen staff.

At each site, the mats are arranged insquares, three meters on each side.
Staff and volunteers from JBLM andCNLM prepared the sites using avariety of combinations of herbicide,mowing, and solarization to remove
Staff and volunteers from CNLM and JBLM lay three, 1-meter by 3-meter mats sideby side and anchor them with biodegradable stakes
the reed canarygrass; on the day ofmat installation, they removed deadgrass and root material with weed cutters making it easier for the plants in the mats to make contact

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with soil and establish themselves
quickly. Teams will revisit each square
to determine which of the various
reed canarygrass treatments best
allowed the native wetland species totake hold.
Will the coconut coir mats prevent
reed canarygrass from growing back?
Will the native plants grow quickly
enough to establish healthy
populations, competing for space withthe reed canarygrass? Stay tuned tofind out!
Three, 3-meter square mats in each replicate (experimental copy), three replicatesper site, and three sites!

by Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director
Sustainability in Prisons Project’s (SPP) Conservation Nursery
Manager Carl Elliott has been awarded the Society for Ecological
Restoration Northwest Chapter's (SERNW) Restorationist of theYear Award for 2017.
The award is given “in recognition of individual efforts to promoteecosystem health, integrity and sustainability through ecologicalrestoration.” Carl brings more than two decades of professional
experience to SPP, including appearances as the “Radio Gardener”
on a Seattle radio program, ecological restoration work with theNature Conservancy, experience teaching organic gardening classes
and serving as a founding board member of Seattle Youth GardenWorks. During his graduate work in The Evergreen State College,
Master of Environmental Studies program, Carl started SPP’s firstConservation Nursery program in a Washington Department ofCorrections facility in 2009.
Carl shows off his Restorationist of the Year2017 award. Photo by Keegan CurrySERNW presented this award in recognition of Carl’s “innovativeapplication of horticulture to the restoration field in developing aconservation nursery program that additionally improves outcomes and conditions for incarcerated
people in WA State's correctional system.” With this award they “recognize the unique challenges andcreativity needed” to develop a conservation nursery program in a prison while also providing
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education andtraining forincarcerated
partners. They
also state thatCarl’s work has“greatly expanded
capacity for native
seed productionneeded for glacial
outwash prairie
restoration.”With partner
support, Carl has
helped grow theSPP Conservation
Nursery Programfrom one prison
Carl talks with incarcerated partners during a prairie nursery tour. Photo by Ricky Osborneto three prisons,producing over 2 million native plants of about 60 different species. In 2016, Carl and the SPP staff heoversees, delivered more than 130 educational workshops and seminars for incarcerated program
participants. More than 130 incarcerated people have participated in these programs since 2010. We
are so grateful for all of Carl’s contributions to SPP and pleased that he has been recognized for his
excellent work!

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) empowers
sustainable change by bringing nature, science,and environmental education into prisons.
To contact us email: spp@evergreen.edu
Much more information available on ourwebsite and social media:

Photo by Ricky Osborne

SPP Winter Newsletter 2018sustainabilityinprisons.org
www.facebook.com/sustainabilityinprisons/twitter.com/SPP_WA

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