Introducing Just Sustainability

by Joslyn Rose Trivett, SPP Education & Outreach Manager, and Liliana Caughman, SPP Lecture Series Coordinator

This issue is dedicated to Just Sustainability—sustainability redefined to include the needs andinputs of all populations and demographics.
Historically, the environmental movement has focused on the needs and views of a relatively
small segment of Americans. This approach has often overlooked the sustainability needs andinterests of people beyond the environmental mainstream. People of color, people withoutcollege degrees, people from the working class or living in poverty are rarely afforded thebenefits of the environmental movement, such as sustainability education and easy access tonature. These populations
also bear the brunt of mostenvironmental hazards inthe country. Just
Sustainability sees cultural
diversity as essential to theenvironmental movement,
and resolving long-ignored
environmental injustices as
the primary focus.
Even less attention has
been paid to how cultural
diversity would benefit the
Dwayne Sanders talks about growing starts for the prison gardens and houseplants.
environmental movement
His program is in Washington State Penitentiary's Sustainable Practice Lab, whichitself. To take on the scale
hosted nearly 300 program tours in a year. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
and complexity ofenvironmental challenges, the environmental movement needs more diverse buy-in and input.
Extending ownership opens up myriad new ways for taking on environmental problems andcreating solutions.
Affluent, highly educatedpeople cannot achieve
national or global
sustainability without
help. “Sustainability will beachieved, if at all, not byengineers, agronomists,
economists andbiotechnicians but by
citizens.” (Prugh, Costanza
and Daly 2000) Inclusive
sustainability, Just
Butterfly technicians pose in front of educational poster set up for visiting Girl Scouts
Sustainability, is a path ofBehind Bars. Photo by Seth Dorman.
mutual transformation.
What does inclusiveness look like? It means inviting input and investment from all citizens andpromoting sustainability programs in all communities and institutions.
In Washington Stateprisons, we have foundwilling, inventive
champions ofsustainability. They havetransformed prison culture
and operations. Because of
their work, we are better
prepared to transform theworld at large. SPP
staff asked a few
incarcerated SPP
partners—most of
Paula Andrew, a member of DOC staff and a champion of SPP programs, and Greenthem Roots ofTrack program coordinator Emily Passarelli enjoy the chickens at Washington
Success instructors—if
Corrections Center for Women. Photo by Ricky Osborne.
they would write what Just
Sustainability means to them. This newsletter shares five responses, and we will publish several
more on our blog in the coming months.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 2

Sustainability & Justiceby Jonathan Bolden, Roots of Success Instructor, Coyote Ridge Corrections Center
Photos by DOC staff

Too often we assume that the concept of sustainability is
exclusive to the realm of environmental justice. That somehow
the idea of conserving natural resources, protecting
endangered species and habitats, or reducing our energy
consumption will automatically result in a healed earth.
This assumption overlooks the most important factor in
actually employing sustainability approaches and practices tomeet the growing demands of environmental justice—thehuman being.
Transforming our earth requires the transformation ofpeople, more specifically, the transformation of people’s
Jonathan Bolden was certified as a
Roots of Success instructor in May,
2015. Since then, he has co-taught theenvironmental curriculum six times.

attitudes and behavior, as it relates to the environment. The
greatest potential and need for this change to occur exists
within prisons.

Society has condemned and confined prisoners to prison because of their unsustainable(criminal) behavior. Their behavior has wreaked havoc and devastation within communities
similar to the unsustainable human behavior that has led to the environmental crises wecurrently face. In this sense, the sustainability concept not only applies to radically improving
our relationship with the earth andenvironment but also in our effort toredeem, reform, and rehab[ilitate]prisoners.

Roots instructors Julian Reyes, Jonathan Bolden, and Master
Trainer Eugene Youngblood pose at a graduation event.

Einstein once said that the current dilemmas
we face could not be solved at the same
intellectual level in which they were created.
We are going to have to revolutionize ourthinking in how we establish responsible
environmental and criminal justice practices.
What better way to achieve this goal than toincorporate the solution of one with theother.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 3

The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) and Roots of Success program (Roots) puts this
wisdom of Einstein into practice. These types of programs provide prisoners with the necessary
skills and experience to successfully reintegrate into society and find employment in the green
economy.
At Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (CRCC), SPP creates programs and opportunities for
prisoners to engage in sustainability activities. For instance, the sagebrush project allows
prisoners to acquire experience with the native plants of Washington State. The sagebrushplays an essential role in the eastern Washington landscape, as it provides numerous species
with food and shelter. If the sagebrush were to become threatened or even extinct, this would
have serious implications for the
Washington State wildlife.
In addition, the Roots course
empowers prisoners with its
environmental literacy
curriculum. While it builds
environmental understanding, italso focuses on building theindividual student. This means
students are challenged toassess their attitude andbehavior toward theenvironment and by extension
their attitude and behavior
A technician in the sagebrush program at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center
toward society. By introducing
checks the health of a plant plug. Photo by Jeff Clark, Bureau of Land
Management.
the green economy and green
jobs to students, Roots
highlights the opportunity for students to become gainfully employed and be a veritable
solution to our environmental problems.
Ultimately, what we do today determines our tomorrow. SPP and Roots are planting seeds
that are sure to bear the fruit of sustainability and justice. So let us take a cue from these
programs and dig our hands into the dirt to cultivate a better future.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 4

Reaching the Unreachable

by Cyril Delanto Walrond, Roots of Success Master Trainer/Instructor, Stafford Creek Corrections Center.

Just Sustainability must be
about all of us and not justsome of us. It must be lessabout policies andprocedures and more
about the people. It mustbe less about corporations
and capital and more about
the community. To havetrue just sustainability wemust be willing to reachthose deemed
unreachable, those whohave been marginalized
Cyril Waldron teaches a class of soon-to-be Instructors how to teach the Roots ofSuccess curriculum. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
and incapacitated byinstitutions that have been capitalizing on their ignorance and celebrating profit margins.
True just sustainability is sustainability that is no respecter of persons’ status; it is equal
opportunity. A sustainability that is non-discriminatory and is accessible to all regardless of
one’s race, ethnicity, social class, political affiliation, or even geographical location. However,
we face a problem to this end that is much greater than the corporation or the market. In fact, I
don’t believe the corporation and market are the problem at all as they both can betremendous levers for great change. The problem lies in the institutionalized racism, sexism,
and even classism that is embedded with bigotry running through its veins.
We can point to cases of environmental racism as a perfect example, where groups of people
are targeted because of their race, ethnicity, lack of political power and representation, andcapital. Or, what about where zoning laws perpetuate an environmental gerrymandering bydrawing lines in the proverbial sands to protect the rich while victimizing the poor anddisenfranchised.
This does not have to be the case, should we as a collective decide to stop lying down andallowing decisions to be made about us without us. Then we can change the narrative of how
we see sustainability by changing the way that we see people.
Ironically, it is the people who are typically left out of the equation of sustainability. Trees areseen as sustainable while human life is not and has become more and more obsolete. We
have gotten to the point where we have cut the thread that interconnects our natural
Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 5

environment to our humanity, forgetting the fact that human life is also a part of the naturalenvironment. It is sad when we value the life of plants and animals more than that ofhumans.
If we see people as having value, we will value them. If we see people as valued resources, wewill begin the work to protect them. Many don’t value life because many feel their lives have novalue. One gorilla gets killed in a zoo and immediately policies are being changed. How many
unarmed people were killed by law enforcement this year? ...and counting! Cecil the lion getskilled and there is a public outcry. How many people have died this year alone as a result of gun
violence in Chicago? How many people have lost their lives due to opioid overdoses? Or, howmany lives have been aborted since Roe v. Wade? This is unsustainable! All Life matters! Black
lives, white lives, blue lives, brown lives, plant lives!
To sociologists, economists, ecologists, and conservationists coming up with a uniform
definition of sustainability seems elusive, like chasing the wind. All of these groups see theissue of sustainability uniquely from the perspective of their discipline, which is myopic while
in fact addressing that sustainability is much bigger than one discipline. For us to have justsustainability these groups of esteemed intellectuals cannot work individually but rather
collaboratively with each other, with the people and the environment.
We are caught in a conundrum of sustainability as we face the same hard questions we havebeen asking for decades. One such question being, “What is just sustainability?” While we seek
ways to be more just in our sustainability practices, we must ask ourselves: What does it meanfor something to be just? And, what do we mean by sustainability?
These terms are relatively subjective. Depending on how many people you ask, “What is justsustainability?” will be the determining factor how many answers you will get. Why is this?
Because just for you may not be just for another. Sustainability for you may not besustainability for anyone else.
The word ‘just’ denotes fairness and equality. It suggests that something is to be righteous or
morally right. However, what qualifies one to be the author of morality or righteousness,equality or fairness? As a human race, we are fallible and tend to see life through our lenses
and from our vantage points, which produce our perceptions of life.

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For many, when the term
just is being used, it
warrants a response of “I
just don’t care!” ‘Just’ wasoften indicative of one’ssocial class or economic
status. ‘Just’ice could bebought for ‘just’ the rightprice—a concept that has
never truly sounded ‘just’.
How can we as a nation
justify injustice when we
Roots of Success students work in small groups to discuss strategies and solutions tohave a moral obligation to
an environmental problem. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.
the next generation? We
speak about ‘just sustainability’ but no sustainability can be just or sustainable if it is inherently
unjust and unsustainable. Encrypted in much of the corporate greenwashed rhetoric andfalsified promises of justice are capitalistic practices of injustice, where the power to decide andthe power to define fall into the hands of a few, versus being of the people, for the people andby the people. Yet we have the audacity to preach sustainability to the world but practiceinstability and unsustainability at home.
On the other hand, sustainability is a concept that we loosely throw around by the masses. A
term typically associated with economic and community development as well as how thisdevelopment seeks to meet the needs of the immediate or present generation withoutcompromise the ability for needs being met for generations to come.
It is time we guard the treasures that have been entrusted to us. For far too long we have lived
comfortably in the confines of our unsustainable lifestyles, selfishly retreating to our plethoraof possessions while ignoring the plight of those suffering in silence.
As my colleagues and I prepare to teach another Roots of Success class, we are not only
bringing a new world to our students but are introducing them to the world, a world they
never knew existed, by exposing them to concepts that were previously foreign to the vast
majority of them. It is not that they do not have the aptitude or attitude to learn, but havebeen denied the opportunities.
These previously unreachable students can no longer use that as an excuse because they
have been touched by the gospel of sustainability. So one thing that we can say with all the

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work we have been doing and the success that our program has had, is that this is no longer
about just sustainability but rather ‘just sustainability’.

Healing People and the Environment

by Susan Christopher, Butterfly Technician at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women

In the past, our environment has suffered from many injustices inflicted by society. Overdevelopment, air and water pollution, toxic waste production and irresponsible use of natural
resources have negatively affected our environment in ways it may take generations to
overcome.
Incarcerated individuals also feel the affliction of societal injustices. While most of us assume
responsibility for our actions that led us to prison, the underlying reasons for those actions
many times stem from injustices we have suffered at the hands of others. Unlike environmental
injustices, broken homes, neglect, abuse, and abandonment are issue most of us can relate to.
This is where thesustainability in Prisons
Project (SPP) steps in. SPP
offers the amazing
opportunity tosimultaneously heal boththe environment andincarcerated individuals bybringing science and nature
together, inside prison
walls.
As a butterfly rearing and
Susan Christopher holds a butterfly larvae so PBS Newshour's Cat Wise can take abreeding technician at
photo. Photo by Kelli Bush.
Mission Creek Correction
Center for Women (MCCCW), I can personally speak for the tremendous impact thisopportunity has made on my life. This awe-inspiring collaboration of partners includes
scientists, biologists, students, administrators, inmates, and other, from several state andfederal agencies, zoos, colleges, and prisons. It is astounding to be involved with such a large
partnership that works so well together.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 8

SPP’s vision of creating an
intellectually stimulating
environment in which wehave key roles inconservation,
sustainability, and theadvancement of scientificknowledge has, without adoubt, been the mostpositive endeavor I’ve everbeen associated with.
The successes of ourprogram have proven theworth of everyone’s
A technician shares a close up of an adult butterfly in the lab during the 2016 breeding efforts. It is so personallyseason. Photo by Seth Dorman.
rewarding to be asked formy opinions and insights on such a complex subject matter, especially when I see some of thoseideas are incorporated into program protocols.
The amount of healing I’ve received through my involvement with SPP has been
immeasurable. There is also an overwhelming satisfaction in knowing that we arecontributing to our environment’s recovery.
Thank you SPP for righting some of the past’s wrongs. I really do believe justice is being served
through your hard work.
See Susan Christopher in the PBS Newshour interview here:

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 9

Accountability: Brainstorming article

By Julian Reyes, Roots of Success Instructor, Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

The planet is what provides us with food, cycles our water, filters our air, and shields us fromharmful atmospheric gases. The planet is where we thrive. How can something so intricate to
the survival of human life becomes the bearer of such disregard and disdain.
People must learn the practice of sustainability. The ability to keep up a practice or habit that isbeneficial for many is something important for everyone. Being in prison allows people theopportunity to take a moment to examine the world and its practices. Prison is a closed
environment where one small thing can affect everyone, and only a handful of corporate
entities provide the prison system with the necessities for survival.
Corporate sponsorship has slowly taken over the global
market place. No longer can society rely on the family
run organizations or businesses. Once ownershipbecomes nameless and faceless, ownership becomes
emotionless. The motivation for profit becomesabsolute.
Corporations employ practices that cause harm to what
they come into contact with because of cost cutting
measures that cut too many corners which areenvironmentally friendly. All of the damage causes
harm to the earth, deterioration to the ozone, while
also polluting the water table.
Heavily toxic chemicals are in use in a variety ofoccupations, and many of these chemicals are rarely
Julian Reyes speaks at a Roots of Successgraduation event. Photo by DOC staff.
disposed of properly. The places Corporations
establish, like mines and factories, soon become
danger zones and areas of contamination. People must quickly realize that they only areharming themselves.
Creating a sustainable lifestyle culture is paramount, and Roots of Success is teaching people a
new way to think. Being aware of the environmental injustice is the first step to finding asolution. The second step is continuing to hold people accountable for their actions.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 10

Allowing corporate interest to shape societies
attitude of more, more, more must stop.
Consumerism, instant gratification, and newer isbetter are the ideals being professed by these
corporate entities.

Roots of Success Instructor Julian Reyes and Master
Instructor Eugene Youngblood. Photo by DOC staff.

Bigger is not always better. New is not always
the answer. American society has become athrow away and waste it culture, and we must
continue to try to open the eyes of the people.

Just Sustainability and Restorative Justice

By David Duhaime, Roots of Success Master Instructor, Stafford Creek Corrections CenterDavid Duhaime teaches the first module of Roots of Success at Stafford Creek
Corrections Center. Photo by Joslyn Rose Trivett.

When I consider what's
sustainable I realize that I don’t
believe anything is. I am new toenvironmental issues; teaching
Roots of Success is what
sparked my interest. Over the
past three years my thought hasdeveloped into a belief that all
systems will continue to evolve,
sustaining only the dynamic
process. Society continues tochange as does the justicesystem. All things change,
people, the planet, all systems
considered byenvironmentalists. If change
ends, wouldn’t that mean theend of existence?

There can be no Just Sustainability without a complete education, meaning that everyone has
to understand all issues. This would be more than a political education. We would have torevamp how we raise our children to include cultivating their understanding of how they

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 11

interact with the whole, what impacts they will have and what right to equal access we all haveto everything, plus stewardship and responsibility for the inheritance we will pass to future
generations. Most people in prison often miss any part of that. We generally don’t know about
stewardship and responsibility and those charged with keeping us don’t set that type of
example. Perhaps we were all brought up with similar ideals.
Before Roots I worked as a literacy tutor and within self-development groups. In both I came tothe idea of interest. If one has no interest, fairness is forfeit. My literacy students could not
make significant progress until their interest peaked. They had to want to learn. Only then had
the learning become interesting. Getting someone else interested seems to me analogous to
Stephen Covey’s “Circle of Influence”: How do I get another interested in learning about whatto them is peripheral or non-existent? I need to find the way to expand my influence. One of
the first techniques I learned was the “Life Experience” method where the tutor listens to thestudent’s personal story, writing it down verbatim, and then has the student read their own
words back.
Environmental Justice, I believe, requires active involvement, which is predicated on interest.
Roots, environmental issues, and one’s stock in the world around them are often outside
students’ experience or interest. “Scotoma” is a word I once learned that refers to a blind spotin our psyche or attention, something we ignore unconsciously. If we want to have genuine
environmental justice, we must find a way to get all parties interested, which means getting
past our automatic process of ignoring, which has developed through nature, a process which
may eventually lead to our extinction.
Everyone has scotoma. Leaders in politics, leaders in industry, educators, and prisoners all
have interests and areas of personal blindness. If we can find a way to get a student involvedin their own education, perhaps we can find the way to make sustaining the environment a
way of life for people. We can find a way to believe in their ability to make a difference andhave a fair share of bounty and security without taking from others. To help people make theleap to a sustaining life style we have to ask what they need and how their interest can be
developed.
How do we get people in prison involved? Here, the facility has started some agricultural andrecycling practices, as a result of the SPP lecture series and a realization that it can reduce
expenses. Prisoners who could see a value to themselves have embraced similar practices andlooked for ways to learn more.
I am interested in those that still do not have the ability to see the value of learning how they
are affected and in turn are part of the cause leading to the affect. Some believe that theyshould do anything to cost DOC more money, that imprisoning humans should not be cheap,
Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) Summer 2016 Newsletter - Page 12not making the connection to their taxpaying families. Others have no idea about how theyaffect the world by their actions.
There are as many variations as people, staff and prisoners. Lectures and Roots are steps toinclude more people, but have also, for me, highlighted the blind spot. We need to findsomething to make it personal, not about saving DOC money or getting a certificate to get somegood-time back. How is taking care of the environment related to me and my life, the lives of
my loved ones and the world I will live in when I leave this place? Though we focus on personal
benefits in Roots, students often have already put on the blinders putting in only the minimum
effort and thought. Part of that is due to personal habit and discipline. We may know
something is right to do, but have been doing it this way for so long that we don’t have themotivation or discipline to change. Bad examples are drug, alcohol and tobacco use. We knowwhat is harmful about them but we keep using them anyway. Can we learn methods
to cure these issues while making it a broad enough cure to use in all aspects of our lives andbehavior?
We talk about grassroots
methods of making
something happen.
However, in prison, I see
that prisoners emulate
authority. Prisons behave
so similar to prison staff
that I often tell people
that if you switchedclothes, and roles,
nothing would change.
But take that thought
further. Think of clothes
as the Habit or uniform
we wear to fit in. How we behave is also the habit we wear to fit in to our lives. If the people inauthority were also encouraged and educated and involved in EJ issues and how to model(mentor) the behavior we are looking for, learning stewardship and treating everyone fairly,
could we then make progress in developing habits that may lead us closer to the fantasy of Just
Sustainability, and a realistic Justice System.
David Duhaime sits with his teaching team and graduating students at a graduation
ceremony. Photo by Emily Passarelli.

At SCCC I ran into groups with staff as sponsors and had to work with them, a new experience
for me; making me uncomfortable, threatening my comfort zone. I worked through it andfound value and personal growth in the experience. People everywhere experience something
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similar with anything that challenges us to think and act in ways not habitual to or supportive of
our lifestyle. An idea that may terrify proponents of the status quo and us against them is toinclude DOC staff, prisoners, law makers, law enforcers, citizens, students, and educators ina popular education dialog about moving forward with environmental justice and how to
evolve our communities so we are the dynamic force for change and sustainability. Some mightcall that a Restorative Justice approach.
Can we perceive our own blind spots and see beyond them?!

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) brings science and nature
into prisons. We conduct ecological research and conserve
biodiversity by forging collaborations with scientists, inmates,
prison staff, students, and community partners. Equallyimportant, we help reduce the environmental, economic, andhuman costs of prisons by inspiring and informing sustainable
practices. To learn more, contact us at spp@evergreen.edu andvisit our social media:

Wild daisies bloom at Olympic
Corrections Center. Photo by Ricky
Osborne.

sustainabilityinprisons.org
facebook.com/sustainableprisons
twitter.com/SPP_WA

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