` GARDENING BEHIND BARS: Where Plants Have The Power To Transform When Ellen Baron goes to work each

day, she goes to prison. A Michigan state prison. Not as guard, but as a horticultural instructor. Her students have robbed convenience stores, bought and sold drugs, and gotten caught. Ellen Baron is one of my heroes... Women are the fastest-growing group of people going to prison. Some say the system is broken. Christina Rathbone, author of A World Apart: Women, Prison, and Life Behind Bars, says "The U.S. incarcerates more people each year than any place in the world other than China. The fastest-growing group within those incarcerated is women. Women who are mothers, primary care givers between the ages of 15 to 25, all there due to a non-violent offense, usually drug use." Rathbone spent five years conducting interviews and writing the book, which places the system under a microscope. "Women in general are affectionate people, and they take that away from you [in prison]," said Mrs. Smith (not her real name) who spent nine years at the Framingham penitentiary. "They choose to medicate most people rather than help." Many state legislators around the country have spent years trying to fix the system. Change comes slowly, but it does happen. As a horticulture instructor at Huron Valley Complex (a minimum security women's correctional facility, in Ypsilani, Michigan), Ellen Baron knows all too well that change comes slowly. Through classes and training, she prepares inmates for rehabilitation back into the community. The community that includes us. In the process of working with plants and caring for their own garden plots, Ellen has witnessed amazing transformations in the lives of incarcerated women. ~ Behind the 12 foot fences and razor wire at the Cook County Jail is a bounty of fresh food from the Sheriff's Garden Program. For a select group of inmates, imprisonment means punishment, but also opportunity. "I watched it grow. The same thing as I watch this grow-I watch myself also grow," says detainee obias Johnson. He's learning patience while serving 200 days for domestic battery. Four hours a day, working in the gardens under a blazing sun, changes a man. "I start to think more about my consequences what not to do nex time, and not get mad so easy." Johnson did so well, he'll leave the jail next month with a master gardener's certificate from the University of Illinois extension program, giving him a better chance of finding work.

Sheriff Tom Dart is proud of this program. "They'll freely tell you this is the first time they've ever started out to do something and completed it. And so for them there's this level of achievement that we take for granted that they've never had before that is really neat to see." Garden workers are non-violent, non-gang affiliated volunteers that show promise. They benefit by learning new skills, plus they get fresh air, exercise, and this perk; prison food they want to eat. Dave DeVane heard about a jail in San Francisco that had a garden program and thought, "We've got ground and we've got the ability to cultivate so I just said, let's get it started." That was 17 years ago. today the garden program includes a greenhouse which allows them to grow crops yearround and train even more men. 52 year old Raymond Czochara is serving time for selling cocaine. He says his wife left him, he became an addict, lost his job, then sold drugs to support his habit and pay the bills. The garden program is his second chance. "I like getting my hands dirty, brings something out of me besides sweat, changes my attitude." Sheriff Dart is talking about building a second greenhouse and adding more corps because the space at 31st and California gives them plenty of room to grow the program. "Our long term goal which is frankly months away is to make this a profitable operation that more than pays for itself." Most of the food goes to shelters and food banks. But now there's plenty of food for paying customers. It was the program founder Dave DeVane's job to find them. "There was a certain amount of cold calling that was involved, and we got a fair number of turn downs. But, we also found some restaurants who would be interested and they've been quite enthusiastic." Not just any restaurants... Chicago's top chefs like Charlie Trotter! "We give this the official Charlie Trotters good housekeeping seal of approval. And, if it's good enough for us to serve, it better be good enough for you to eat." The gardens and greenhouse are in full view of the maximum security prisoners next door. yet most of these men will never again set foot outside these walls. Not so for those involved with the Cook County garden program. It's working for Cook county... (Dave DeVane) "So anybody out there who has a restaurant please give us a call we'll be happy to work out agreeable terms." It's working for the chefs like Trotter: "I think people root for folks that might need a second chance in this life."

And it's working for detainees like Ray and Tobias. "I have talent and skills you know. I just have to get back on the right track." "Something I did...and I can look at some work I have done and completed in my life... and doing the right thing!" Alternative education programs like this are working. Less than 14% of the graduates of the garden program return to jail. And Charlie Trotter is hoping someday they can expand the program to include a field trip to his restaurant to see how the food is used and how much people appreciate their efforts. Book: Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons through Prison Horticulture; by James Jiler http://www.librarything.com/work/2532696 http://books.google.com/books?id=HcfjAiq_pxAC http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64897852 ~ JAIL GARDEN NOW SELLS VEGETABLES TO UPSCALE RESTAURANTS Chicago inmates cultivate produce for new, high-end customers: Charlie Trotter's and The Publican The basil has a perfume of its color and the season: a warm, summer's green, herbaceous and sweet. Its leaves cup outward like turtle shells, long and slinky, germinating from plastic black trays inside a steamy greenhouse. The greenhouse sits 30 yards from Division 9, a maximum-security ward housing murderers and rapists. Separated from them by fences topped with razor coil, the basil lies within a lush patch of life, in an unexpected garden on the grounds of the Cook County Jail. For inmates who are allowed to work here, the ones convicted of far less dangerous crimes, the garden is an oasis within barbedwired misery. Except oases are often mirages, a figment of the desperate. This is real. The sun peeks through, and life sprouts. Over six hours, the basil will pass through at least four sets of hands. The first belong to someone who made a terrible mistake. The second doesn't think that makes the first a bad person. The third cooks at one of Chicago's finest restaurants, who will serve the basil to the fourth, the diner, oblivious that the dish they order might right the road for those who've traveled the wrong path. THE INMATE

For 17 years, the Cook County sheriff's garden program has donated its wares to food banks and churches. While this continues today (1,700 pounds so far this summer), this year inmates classified as low-risk offenders began growing produce to sell to restaurants such as Charlie Trotter's and The Publican. They graduate from the 10-week course with Master Gardeners' certificates from the University of Illinois Extension . The summer session's graduation is Thursday. The inmates have never heard of the restaurants whose produce they supply. Some haven't touched fruits or vegetables in years. Tobias Johnson is 30. "I've never tasted a raw tomato until I came in here. Never," he says. "But I tried it with some salt, and man, it was sweet." He has tasted ketchup, but never a tomato. On the West and South sides where he grew up, his meals came in buckets and from drive-through windows. Now Johnson has tried fennel, endive and Swiss chard. He can tell marjoram from sage, Thai basil from regular basil. Tribune reporter Kevin Pang describes how he found Johnson, and this garden, online at Trib Nation It's not the first time Johnson's been incarcerated. This time, he struck his girlfriend in a fit of rage. That landed him 120 days here. But Johnson has never experienced calmness like in the garden. Many inmates say the same thing: the 14,000-square-foot space soothes them and provides time to reflect. "I was always ready to jump at things," Johnson says. "But this garden calms me. It's meditation. It helps me take a moment to think before I react." Inmates volunteer for the program, and not everyone is a right fit. Those accepted are considered low-risk offenders and are trusted with shears, pruners and knives. Through 17 years of the program and 450 participants, not one piece of garden equipment has gone missing. "I ain't really accomplished nothing in my life, but when I started accomplishing something right here, it felt good," says Johnson, one of 16 who graduate Thursday. "My people, they don't know about this. I'm gonna have a couple of my family members come out here for the graduation. This is gonna put a smile on their face." THE MAN IN CHARGE Michael Taff bags the basil and tosses it in a blue cooler. He is produce deliveryman and the garden program's Mr. Day-to-Day. He's boot-deep in a dirt patch with the inmates, telling them: "Look where your life has gone." He doesn't think Tobias Johnson's mistakes make him a bad person.

Seven years ago, Taff joined the sheriff's office to become its building coordinator. His boss asked if he was interested in running the garden. A garden? Taff, 58, a South Side native, a former outside linebacker in a semipro football league, a meat-and-potatoes guy who breaks his fried onion rings to remove the onion, was leery. Then he thought: "Rosey Grier, a Hall of Fame football player, knits. And if he can knit, I can garden." Taff had no horticulture background. He took the same classes as the inmates: botany, insects, how plants get nutrients from soil. Now the garden has changed him too. He'll opt for grapes and apples instead of Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners. The program is nearing self-sufficiency (profits $3,000 this summer are reinvested in the garden). Charlie Trotter's, the acclaimed four-star restaurant in Lincoln Park, was Customer No. 1. "I think it's incredibly courageous," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. "There are many other places these restaurants could go to get produce, but they've decided to make a statement and be very public about it." At a restaurant on the level of The Publican or Charlie Trotter's, quality can't be compromised by the good will of publicity. The produce is showcased front and center. ~ GREENHOUSE PROGRAM IN THE NEW YORK CITY JAIL FACILITY James Jiler heads up the Greenhouse Program. His background in Forestry and Social Ecology brings a new perspective to the Department of Correction's facility located on Riker's Island. There are really three different smaller programs in one presently active on Riker's Island. The first addresses the female population who come to the greenhouse through a high school program attached to the women's facility. This is an alternative high school that is approved by New York City Board of Education. Any woman who joins the Environmental Studies class is eligible to go out to the greenhouse as a part of her educational and vocational program. The greenhouse is a freestanding facility surrounded by approximately 1 acres of land. This area is entirely enclosed by a security fence. The facility is a separate entity, and is not physically connected to the prison. This may afford a false sense of separation from the prison, yet it does provide some temporary relief from the realities of prison life. The program accepts violent cases in hopes that the horticultural therapy approach will transform these individuals into gentle and calm people. Each day reflects incredible teamwork and a sense of sharing. James notes that he has observed older women enter the program who have no experience other than dealing with basic houseplant management. However, within a three-week time frame, he has been able to give these individuals the responsibility of running the greenhouse and training new participants. This responsibility creates a sense of empowerment and heightens self-esteem. This may be a very new experience for many of these women who perhaps were never able to show substantial achievement in an academic setting,

or in the workplace. Within the Greenhouse Program they are able to see their achievements on a daily basis. James has developed a newsletter entitled "Green Scene" which is written by women, and alumni from the program. All participants, who leave, receive a copy of the newsletter after their term. They are able to see how their gardens have evolved and have the opportunity to respond to various articles. The vocational aspect of this program occurs through the former inmates who can come back to the program as members of the Greenteam. This program consists of released inmates who work as a team on various projects, and are farmed out to particular facilities in the area. This position provides the individual with paid employment until he or she can locate something more permanent. The HSNY works actively to find alumni employment. The participants receive some innovative onthe-job-training in terms of learning how to build gardens, sculptures and maintenance. Along with instruction provided by the directors of each program, lecturers and skilled volunteers have been brought in to teach topics, such as landscape restoration. Presently, funding for the Greenteam has run out. During this inactive stage, steps are being taken to develop a more effective approach to make this a more profitable enterprise. The purpose of this is to provide a credible and dynamic after-care program that has the capacity to self-support. The Riker's program has room to grow, and James has begun to develop another program which will strictly entail landscaping as opposed to a greenhouse work. It will involve maintaining various gardens that are being created on Riker's Island's approximately 450 acres of land. There are currently over 150 adult males in that program. It will basically be a beautification program. James hopes to create a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in the participants. He hopes that the productive, visible, satisfying, hard work can create an attitude about being job-ready and job eager. ~ GRASSROOTS CHANGE Although I had met her twice before, I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the 2010 BAodn conference with Beth Waitkus, the director of the Insight Garden Program (IGP) at San Quentin State Prison, and I was struck by the profound nature (no pun intended) of what she and the programs volunteers, supporters and inmate participants are doing. Beth is a quiet, dignified and unassuming person, but I had the distinct impression that she is completely present to whatever she is doing and whomever she is with. We were in an open space discussion group that had been convened on the subject of getting regular people involved in processes. Beth spoke eloquently about the participants in the IGP and the stages they go through in becoming involved and engaged in their classroom and business discussions. It seemed to me that an important aspect of the process was the earning of the participants trust that it was safe to speak honestly and that their input was valued. A transformation occurs as participants learn to not only value and respect their own input but also that of others.

This would be a significant accomplishment in a business setting, where there can be many obstacles and barriers to engaged participation, but in a prison setting it is nothing short of astounding. And it shows us that even when there are significant constraints, amazing things can be accomplished like a dandelion growing out of a crack in the sidewalk, or a lily growing high in the crotch of a tree. What, you might be asking, IS the Insight Garden Program? The Insight Garden Program (IGP) operates a 1,200-square foot organic garden in San Quentins medium-security prison yard. The IGP website says: The Insight Garden Program (IGP) provides rehabilitation to self-selected prisoners through the process of organic gardening. Through the act of caring for plants, the qualities of responsibility, discipline and mindfulness transfer to the interpersonal realm by growing plants, people also grow In our classes, men learn about landscaping and gardening, including (but not limited to): Planning, budgeting and design, irrigation, soil amendment, seasonal garden maintenance, and plant ID and propagation. By working in an organic flower garden, men also (develop) an awareness of their connection to and impact on the world around them. They learn about the interconnectedness of human and ecological systems and how the principles of the natural world, such as diversity and cooperation, transfer to all levels of human systems. Pretty neat stuff, isnt it? But it relies upon a fairly radical basic assumption, that the participants in the program can learn, can change, and have something worthwhile to contribute. That is radical in many organizations, let alone in a prison setting. Has Beth made a significant change to the prison system? Hard to say. But programs such as this certainly give Sacramento something to think about. Has she made a significant change to one aspect of that system and, perhaps most importantly, to the lives of program participants and the systems they enter upon release? Yes, indeed. Now thats what I call a grassroots change. If she can do that in a prison, perhaps there is hope for other organizations as well. Insight Garden Program http://www.insightgardenprogram.org ~ I wanted to let you know about another prison garden project that we started in Oregon two years ago. Last year Lettuce Grow Garden Foundation had one garden in Oregons womens prison. This year were were given the opportunity to expand into six other prisons, and are working actively with four of them now. We focus on organic vegetable gardens, first grown to supplement the kitchens limited fare. This year in addition ,we were given dedicated land to grow for the Food Bank. Inmates are appreciating the chance to give back and we find them as interested in sustainability issues as the average awake person.

Like the Insight garden we provide classes, which are received with great enthusiasm. We are partnering with Oregons Master Gardener program, which provides some of our garden volunteers and is giving us the university-level course on a DVD to use inside prisons. We are working toward vocational training, several of our volunteers have run landscaping businesses and have encouraging words for inmates who decide they want to continue their horiculture and sustainability studies after release. I cannot describe the joy and attention they bring to the classes we teach. It is a gift to do this work. ~ BEHIND THE GARDEN WALL It is hard not to notice the gray. Pale gray buildings surround an expanse of asphalt. Men in blue move in a somber fashion through a landscape of windswept concrete. For a first-time visitor to San Quentin State Prison, there can be a sense of foreboding and, frankly, fear. But then a splash of vivid color bursts forth -- tucked into a small area bordered by steel-gray fencing and shadowed by a looming charcoal-gray tower. A garden, stitched into the corner like a bright calico patch lovingly tacked onto the frayed edge of a dull gray flannel blanket, glows in the lateafternoon sun. Vibrant shades of reedy green, deep lake blue, rich garnet and burnished yellow-gold shimmer and undulate in the breezes buffeting the plot -- an image that is inviting and peaceful in a location that dictates against such a mood. And, although this garden lies on some of the most desirable real estate in the Bay Area, it is a rare law-abiding citizen who will have the pleasure of sharing it with the men who created it and nurture its growth. The conceptual seeds of the garden were planted several years ago by Jacques Verduin, executive director of the Insight Prison Project, which sponsors 16 classes for San Quentin inmates that help them through incarceration and parole to become happier, more productive citizens. The classes include violence prevention, positive parenting, victim-offender dialogues, substance abuse, preparole preparation and meditation. Verduin, who believes that when "you grow plants, you grow people," had the backing of former San Quentin Warden Jeannie Woodford, a determined advocate of prisoner rehabilitation. The project germinated under the guidance of Beth Waitkus, the volunteer director of the Insight Garden Program. For more than three years, she navigated the layers of institutional bureaucracy, fostering collaborative decision making between prison leadership, staff, inmates and volunteers. The garden was finally born on the Winter Solstice two years ago, the shortest, darkest day of the year. In four short days, inmates, with support from volunteer experts, transformed a mound of mud into a 1,200-square-foot organic flower garden, and in the process sowed the promise of a tranquil haven in the bleak prison yard.

Since then, more than 250 inmates have participated in the garden program, gaining much more than just an education in gardening. They have learned that working in the garden means working on themselves, that the effort of digging, planting and nurturing applies as much to their hearts and minds as it does to the soil. Now Fridays are regularly scheduled garden days combining classroom instruction and discussion with garden work. Volunteers share their expertise with the men. The inmates have become wellversed in the fundamentals of growing an organic flower garden in the Bay Area's Mediterranean climate. They have also explored how feelings of abundance or scarcity can impact the successful propagation of a garden, or a life. Inmates enthusiastically share their views on how these concepts affect them and their experience in the garden: Michael feels that an abundance of garden knowledge, experience and observation -- for example, using compatible plantings to assure good light and root growth for all plants -- allows the gardeners to "plan for success." Travis reveals how a childhood spent "watching my mother grow 400 rose bushes" provided him with an abundant appreciation of "textures and colors" in the garden. Troy believes that "plants respond to emotional attitude." When questioned whether bringing a positive emotional attitude to the garden includes singing to the plants, the men chuckle at the image of a musical gardening group, "The Boys in Blue." For Ronnell, a scarcity mind-set can lead to destruction of natural surroundings. On the other hand, "Gardening and landscaping can bring abundance into my life. I can give back to the Earth, instead of killing the Earth." Troy echoes this sentiment and is grateful to have "knowledge to take home." And the men are eager to return home, hopeful they can find employment on the outside using their gardening skills. In fact, volunteer Kevin Sadlier, owner of Green Jeans Garden Supply in Mill Valley, often hears, "I can hardly wait to garden when I get out of here." Sadlier donates time and plenty of bat guano to feed the hungry organic garden. One key lesson he has imparted is, "despite the risk of looking hodgepodge," diversity of plants -- and even weeds -- assures the health of the garden. This lesson has shaped the entire gardening effort and its significance is not lost on this community of gardeners. While inmates usually cluster in ethnically exclusive groups in the prison yard, men of different races work in harmony and cooperation in the garden. The garden also provides a sensual and experiential connection to the world. The inmates may not know every name of the geraniums, lavender, heliotrope and wild grasses that fill its borders, but they quickly lead visitors to plants sheltering a praying mantis, or sweetly scenting the air with soft powdery fragrance. The garden attracts a copious array of insect and bird life -- butterflies, lizards, worms, gulls and geese -- that bring movement, color, pest control and natural fertilizer to the plants. Although there are some logical restrictions -- tools are securely locked and food production is not an option as it would be impossible to provide for the entire prison population -- the garden does offer a thriving, lively oasis for any inmate who chooses to wander its paths in a quiet moment.

And while there is debate about whether people who do bad things deserve good opportunities, Verduin sees the garden as "serving public safety." As inmates learn to patiently cultivate the garden, they learn, too, how to cultivate constructive responses to situations. This can mean the difference between committing another crime or not after they are paroled. And that, according to Waitkus, is the whole point. "Inmates learn to nurture themselves and their community through gardening. We aim to encourage personal responsibility as well as teamwork through the practice of mindful gardening." She has no doubt that the Insight Garden Program at San Quentin has done just that, providing "a place where men can smell, touch and enjoy flowers, plants and birds and take part in creating an environment that grows them as much as they grow it." ~ PRISON GARDENS A GROWING TREND - Feeding Inmates on the Inside and Food Banks on the Outside As inmates learn to care for a garden while in prison, they have more nutritious food to eat themselves, extra to share, and a valuable skill set for when they are released. Nelson Mandela may have started it all when he was in prison"A garden is one of the few things in prison that one could control," he wrote in his autobiography. "Being a custodian of this patch of earth offered a small taste of freedom." But the idea probably rose to national fame only earlier this past decade, when the Garden Project of San Francisco started selling fresh produce to Alice Waters's acclaimed Chez Panisse restaurant. Catherine Sneed, the woman who in 1992 founded that project, which is a post-release program for ex-prisoners, did so because she had already seen such success with the Horticulture Program at the San Francisco County Jail, where she would go out on a daily basis with prisoners to work on the farm within the boundaries of the jail. The vegetables they grew were donated to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Her moment of realization of a need for a post-release program came when one student of hers asked the visiting sheriff for permission to stay and work on the farm; Sneed recalled, "he had nothing on the outside." SHE STARTED A TREND An increasing number of prisons are launching gardening programs: on-site gardens improve the nutritional intake of inmates and as a direct result can reduce violence and improve participants' mental health, teaches horticultural skills that can be used upon inmates' release (slashing recidivism rates), and also often produce surplus that is sent to food banks or other community centers or services. Here's just a sampler of such programs that have started since Sneed's Garden Project, or even before.

The Insight Garden Program, also in the Bay Area, runs a 1,200 square-foot organic flower garden at the the medium-security San Quention Prison, where classes are given to teach inmates about gardening, environmental sustainability, and community care through gardening. Farther down the coast, the California Institute for Women runs an organic garden that sends fresh produce straight to the prison kitchen and the hospital kitchen, and is also geared to establish connections between the women and the outside community. The Greenhouse Project on New York's Riker's Island has seen tremendous success, while in Wisconsin, 28 adult correctional institutions started on-site gardening projects last year. Each facility is producing thousands of pounds of vegetables per yearthe highest yield being 75,000 pounds of produce, a quarter of which is donated to local food banks. Inmates at Washington State's McNeil Island Corrections Center have transformed an acre of lawn in the middle of the facility into an organic vegetable patch filled with tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and other plantsand composting units. The state has several other prison gardens that send produce to local food banks. Greenleaf Gardens runs a Prison Horticulture Vocational Program in New York's Westchester County, where produce from a one-acre garden that is maintained by inmates is distributed to people in need in the area. Prison garden projects exist in New Zealand and London and no doubt in numerous countries in between. There's even a how-to book about it (although it's out of print), and some programs have ways the outside community can get involved. So if you're looking for a way to green your neighborhood... ~ WESTCHESTER PRISON HORTICULTURE VOCATIONAL PROGRAM In the spring of 2008 Greenleaf Gardens Inc. began working with The Food Bank for Westchester to implement the Department of Correction Horticulture Vocational Program.The Westchester County Department of Correction prison, located in Valhalla, New York, has a one acre garden that provides produce for distribution to hungry people in Westchester. Our services involved providing oversight and supervision of all phases of the program including, planning, soil preparation, planting, nurturing and harvesting the crops and preparing soil again for the following season. Greenleaf Gardens Inc. also trained selected inmates in horticultural skills and supervised their work in the field. Greenleaf Gardens http://www.greenleafgardens.org

~ Inmates at Leavenworth Federal Prison cultivating garden and sharing their bounty with the community Lawrence residents struggling with hunger have received a helping hand this summer from an unlikely source: inmates at the Leavenworth Federal Prison. On 17 acres, about 50 minimum-security inmates tend to an organic and self-sustaining farm as part of the prisons Therapy and Mentoring Horticulture Program. Last summer, the project yielded more than 100,000 pounds of produce used at the prison or donated to food banks. This year, prison staff expects twice that. Kansas University graduate student Raven Naramore heard about the project through a family member and has helped get the fruits and veggies to the Lawrence Just Food food bank. The project features cutting-edge sustainability practices, said Joe Mason, prison food services coordinator. Mason walks the prison grounds explaining rainwater collecting tubs, the half acre compost plot and the indoor worm bins, where red wiggly worms process the prisons food waste, turning it into a nutrient-rich liquid called black gold that will be used on the crops as fertilizer. Its a very green system, Mason said. The project costs taxpayers nothing, as all the seeds, equipment and labor is salvaged or donated by community members. Everythings about partnerships, Mason said. More than half of the produce is distributed to non-profit groups throughout the region, and theres a planned shipment to tornado-stricken Joplin, Mo. Food donations were at first kept local, but as the project produced more goods, food donations branched out, said Brian Habjan, a citizen member of the prisons community relations board and vice president of Commerce Bank in Leavenworth. Were open to any group that wants to be involved, Habjan said. In addition to providing food to the needy, the project has another function: teaching inmates valuable horticulture skills for when theyre released. About a dozen inmates are enrolled in a 4,000-hour horticulture certificate program, and another 40 or so inmates participate in the project which produces a wide variety of crops, including watermelon, tomatoes, squash, corn, strawberries and garlic.

Mason said the program already boasts success stories of released inmates whove gone on to start successful horticulture careers based on what theyve learned on the inside. And better job prospects for parolees means a lower risk of returning to prison, Mason said. As word has spread about the project, a wide range of good-hearted citizens have donated everything from pallets to gardening tools to produce boxes. Mason and prison staff members haggled over estimates of how much poundage the project will produce this year. The conservative estimate is 200,000 pounds, but Mason thinks it could hit 300,000. When we first started, we just had a little garden, Mason said. ~ PRISONS USING GARDENS TO REHAB INMATES Dont you think the world would be a better place if everyone did a little gardening? An unexpected group is coming around to that ideaprison administrators. The Natural Resources Defense Councils Smarter Cities Project reports that prisons across the country are harnessing the therapeutic powers of gardening. In Philadelphia, lucky and cooperative inmates get to tend the prisons organic garden, which produces thousands of pounds of food that ends up in local food pantries and soup kitchens. Our whole garden is managed organically, says Sharat Somashekara, city gardens coordinator for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. We build the soil, we compost, we cover cropwe even make our own cayenne pepper spray. Somashekara says he sees improvement in 90% of the people he works withgardening makes them healthier in body and spirit. This prison gardening plan sounds great to me. The inmates receive horticultural therapy and learn valuable skills, charitable organizations get organic food, and the world becomes just a little bit greener. Van Jones and Thomas Friedman have written about how investing in a green economy is good public policy. For more information on how green living can make the world a better place, check out this article on how grasscycling can save your lawn (and the world), or these 8 tips for green landscaping. ~ FEDERAL INMATES HELP FEED 10,000 FAMILIES Therapy Horticulture program & Horticulture Mentor program Description: Program Inmates plant and tend gardens using donated seeds from local non-profit organizations.

Fresh produce raised from the donated seeds will be donated to Homeless shelters and Food Banks in the community. The mentor program through the Prison volunteer program will help mentor and develop the inmates working the program into better citizens upon release. Benefits: USP Leavenworth enjoys the community?s involvement. This enhances positive public relations. In addition to benefitting the community, these programs are beneficial to the inmates who learn new and affordable marketable and social skills. This is a volunteer community service project sponsored by local non-profit charitable organizations in conjunction with USP Leavenworth and is designed to provide for the public good in keeping with the overall goals of the community, such as community food banks, battered woman and homeless shelters in the local community. This inmate volunteer project provides the inmates with the training and experience that will translate into meaningful work opportunities for the inmates upon release in the agricultural, greenhouse, and landscape industries. This project does not displace regular employees, supplant employment opportunities ordinarily available within the sponsoring organizations, or impair an contracts for services. This inmate volunteer project supplements the community?s resources and provides an opportunity for the inmates to perform community service for non-profit charitable organizations voluntarily. The nonprofit organizations sponsoring this project will provide funding for soil samples, and all organic pesticide and herbicides to be used in the Therapy & Mentor Horticulture Project . Community Volunteers will supervise the planting, maintenance and harvesting of the produce. All organic pesticides and herbicides will be pre-approved by the USP Leavenworth Safety Department and any materials (including, but not limited to seeds and fertilizer) used in the garden will be stored in a separate, locked area as designated by USP Leavenworth Food Service Administrator. Leavenworth Salvation Army, a local non-profit food bank, provides food to hungry persons through local social service shelters in the Leavenworth, Kansas area. Leavenworth Salvation Army and other sponsoring organizations will provide donations for associated garden supplies to include seeds, planting material, and personal protective equipment for inmates. A portion of the food items grown in the institution garden as part of the Therapy & Mentor Horticulture Project will be provided to Leavenworth Salvation Army. Leavenworth Salvation Army has explicitly stated and understands that there is no guarantee of production. Leavenworth Salvation Army is aware that USP Leavenworth will not provide potable water to irrigate the garden due to conservation efforts. Leavenworth Salvation Army staff will determine which items are suitable for consumption and will supervise the selection of these items for delivery to the local food banks and shelters. USP Leavenworth will provide a plot of land for the garden separate from its existing institution garden. USP Leavenworth staff will supervise inmates within existing institution garden, but staff will not participate directly in any of the gardening activities or provide any instruction to inmates regarding planting, care, maintenance or harvesting of the Therapy & Mentor Horticulture Project garden. USP Leavenworth will provide volunteer badges for frequent community volunteers for the Therapy & Mentor Horticulture Project. Any produce resulting from this project will be delivered to the institution food service warehouse for pickup by Leavenworth Salvation Army as scheduled in advance. USP Leavenworth Food Service Horticulture Program. Year 2008:

* USP Leavenworth Food Service established the Horticulture Program in FY 2008 with a 9 acre garden. * FPC Education Department established in FY 2008, a 4000 hour Landscape/ Horticulture Apprenticeship through the Department of Labor * Over 151,000 gross lbs. of produce was harvested and used in the USP Leavenworth Food Service Department. Year 2009: * In FY 2009, the Food Service Vermiculture Project was established and is self-containing. The bedding for the worms is produced from the Food Service composting program. * The worms will eat over 20,800 lbs. of food waste a year which is diverted away from the local land fill and saving money for the institution trash removal. The worm castings harvested are then used as fertilizer for the green house project and other projects around the institution grounds. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Composting Project was established and is self-containing. 65,000 lbs of food waste and yard waste was used in the composting project. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Green House Project was established and is self-containing. Since established over 100,000 plants have been started in the green house. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Water harvesting project was established and is self-containing. Since established over 360,000 gallons of rain water have been harvested and been used for irrigation in the Gardens. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Green House Project was established and is self-containing. Since established over 100,000 plants have been started in the green house. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Garden / Farm Equipment Recycling Project. Using the GSA excess site Food Service has been able to acquire over $192,800 of much needed equipment. Recycling this equipment from other Government agencies has proven to be a great asset to the success of the Horticulture Program. * In FY 2009, the Food Service Water Shed Project was established; there are 3 water structures (ponds) north of the USP Leavenworth. The three ponds had samples drawn from them in the spring of 2009 and sent to Kansas State University for testing and all ponds tested good for irrigation. If needed there is an estimated 9.5 million gallons of water that could be used for irrigation. * In FY 2009 Garden project increased in size to 32 acres. * In FY 2009 319,000 gross lbs of produce was harvested and used in the USP Leavenworth Food Service Department and at other facilities in the North Central Region.

Specifically, the following institutions received produce from the Leavenworth Horticulture Program: FCC Florence 31,009 gross lbs. FCI Greenville 22,334 gross lbs. FPC Yankton 14,460 gross lbs. FMC Springfield 48,156 gross lbs. Year 2010: * the Food Service Horticulture Program Therapy and Mentoring Community Service Program was established. * Food Service partnered with the following non profit organizations: ? Leavenworth County Salvation Army ? Harbor Lights Salvation Army, Kansas City ? Bellefontaine Salvation Army, Kansas City ? Jefferson County Salvation Army ? Holton County Salvation Army ? City Union Mission, Kansas City ? Council Of Aging Leavenworth County ? Alliance On Violence Leavenworth County ? Youth Achievement Center Leavenworth County * Estimated 1000 - 1400 Families are receiving food through this program every week. * Over 40 volunteers from the community are involved. * An estimated 300,000 gross lbs of produce will be harvested. It is Estimated we will end the season in November with produce donated to the community service program totaling 100,000 gross lbs . * 85 Inmate Volunteers with over 3500 hrs have participated to date in the program In addition to benefitting the community, these programs are beneficial to the inmates who learn new skills, and enable inmates the opportunity to give back to the community and establish a productive work ethic. Year 2011 Over 300,000 lbs. of produce will be donated to the local community. 20,000 families will benefit from this program. ~ A WIN-WIN PRISON PROGRAM
Spring means its growing season at Pender Correctional Institution and not just in the flowerbeds. Dozens of inmates assigned to the prisons Day Training Program (DTP) will be reaping what they sowlearning interpersonal communication and vocational skills while learning about horticulture, sewing or carpentry. The inmates are benefiting from the lost lessons of the garden lessons about life and living, said Russell Smith, psychological services coordinator. Im positive the horticulture program along with the landscape construction and design, sewing and compensatory education classes are helping the inmates. We want to help make sure they stay out of trouble when theyre released. Developmentally delayed adult offenders from all over the state are assigned to the DTP, designed to teach basic work ethics, standards of conduct, interpersonal skills and practical skills that are necessary for productive employment and independent living. Smith and Nicolle Nicolle, a horticulture therapist for the program, have conducted a number of workshops and welcomed countless visitors wanting to learn how horticulture therapy helps offenders.

The East yard at the prison has a separate gate DTP inmates must pass through to go to work. Everywhere you look in the yard there is evidence of their work. Gravel paths wind across the grounds leading to a simulated dry creek bed, footbridges, greenhouses, a gazebo and rows of flowers, plants and vegetables. Inmates build the gardens, paths and structures using donated or recycled materials. The inmates are given a chance to choose where they want to work and are assisted by inmate teacher aides. If an aide and some inmates feel that one inmate is not doing his fair share of the work, the group is likely to volunteer that inmate to another work group. The inmates who work on the toughest and often least desirable jobs, such as compost, call themselves the Marine Corps, while one of the most prized work assignments is in the greenhouse. If youre not disciplined and you dont do your work, Ill fire you, said the inmate teacher aide. They dont tolerate troublemakers, says Nicolle. They will vote an inmate off the work crew and the inmate will have to explain why he was voted off and why another crew should consider him. The inmates learn how to work with others, problem solving and delayed gratification. In addition to the horticulture program, inmates learn the basic lessons about life and living in the sewing class and landscape construction design class. Although the instructors teach specific job skills, the primary focus for all work assignments is the development of general social skills that are essential in any job or social situation. The instructors work together to teach skills, change behavior and build values. To the extent possible, the DTP creates work projects that benefit other people. By all accounts, the program seems to be working. We have so few problems with the DTP inmates, said Supt. Michael Bell. The pride and the sense of belonging is evident every time I walk through the East unit. Its uplifting.

~ HARD TIME IN THE GARDEN Florida Convicts Bloom As They Tend Flowers Behind The State`s Prison Walls On many a flowered stretch of Florida highway median blooms the work of convicted killers, armed robbers and habitual thieves. The blossoms are the progeny of the Union Correctional Institute in Raiford, which boasts that its horticulture therapy program is the oldest, biggest and best behind bars. Inside the high steel fences and coils of barbed wire, beefy killers with ferocious tattoos tend the pale lavender orchids. Robbers and check forgers prune the rose bushes and inspect the hibiscus buds. Once their time is done, Union gardeners move easily from the big house to the greenhouse. ``The training is very valuable. These inmates are readily hired by nurserymen and growers when they are released,`` said Jim Miller, education supervisor at the maximum security prison. ``The nurserymen are almost competing with each other to get our graduates.``

Union has a reputation as a dumping ground, the place to send prisoners who prove troublesome at Florida`s other penal institutions. Some of its 1,900 inmates have committed heinous crimes and are not particularly nice people. Fights among them are frequent. MELLOW HOPES ``People die in here. You have a lot of inmates that have a lot of time. They`re not looking to get out any time soon. They don`t have a lot to lose,`` said horticulture supervisor Ken Gaskill. The program was begun 27 years ago with the hope that putting the prisoners to work with the bromeliads would mellow them out. ``Tending plants can be very therapeutic. It can calm you down, give you a whole new outlook to care for a growing, living thing,`` said Miller. Garden therapy is so highly regarded that prisons in 37 states now operate some type of garden. Other prisons have bigger and older food gardens or crop programs, but Union was the first prison to specialize in ornamental plants. The 135 prisoners in Union`s horticulture program attend eight-hour classes two days a week and work in the greenhouses and nurseries or on the grounds the rest of the time. By completing the courses and passing written tests, they can earn state vocational certificates that improve their job prospects when they leave prison. REWARDING WORK ``This has opened up a whole new life for me,`` said Ken Odum, a prisoner serving time for three armed robbery convictions. ``Before I came in here I didn`t know anything about plants, didn`t really care. Now I wouldn`t be happy doing anything else. It`s something that when I get outside I`d like to look into.`` Union has four large greenhouses, an indoor nursery and an outdoor nursery with 75 acres and more than 200 varieties of plants. The program was begun with the help of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, whose 26,000 members now support garden therapy programs at seven Florida prisons. CLUB EFFORT ``Union was our first endeavor. We asked each member of the federation to give a nickel, and raised enough money to build the first greenhouse,`` said Ellen Noll, state chairman of the federation`s penal garden therapy program. Club members provide the prisoners with cuttings, seeds, fertilizer, tools, books and used pots.

``Some of the garden club ladies correspond with the inmates, and a lot of clubs take tours through the prison greenhouses,`` Miller added. Club members also serve as judges for the prison`s annual flower show. ``You wouldn`t believe the orchids and bromeliads they grow. They have every type of fern, bonsai; they go the whole route,`` Noll said. The May show is the highlight of the year, with only the best selected for exhibition. This year`s show drew 2,500 visitors, including three former inmate gardeners who returned to check the progress of the seedlings they started. The ribbons awarded at the show are hung on cell walls or mailed home to relatives as proof of achievement. A 2D CHANCE ``Most of the inmates that come to prison have been failures at a great many things,`` said Miller. Dan Gardener, a fisherman who spent four years on Death Row before his murder sentence was commuted to life in prison, proudly displays his 13 blue ribbons and two red ones in the pepperomia greenhouse where he spends his afternoons. ``I was a saltwater man. This is all new to me,`` said Gardener, 53. ``I really enjoy it.`` Inmate John Williams makes tiny pots in arts and crafts class for his bonsai plants and dotes on each miniature tree. ``It`s like a person`s imagination. You can get it to grow exactly like you want it,`` said Williams, 40. ~ CANADA TO SHUT DOWN SIX PRISON FARMS Save Our Prison Farms This new Save Our Prison Farms website has been set up by the national campaign team to respond to growing public concern over the immanent shut down of Canadas six prison farms. We believe that our government will reverse its misguided policy decision as it continues to discover that the vast majority of Canadians of all political stripes support this productive, cost effective, rehabilitative farm-based program. Background Canadas six prison farms are located at,

 Pittsburgh and Frontenac Institutions in Kingston, Ontario Westmorland Institution in Dorchester, New Brunswick Rockwood Institution in Stoney Mountain near Winnipeg, Manitoba Riverbend Institution near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Bowden Institution in Innisfail near Calgary, Alberta On February 24, 2009, the Kingston Whig Standard broke the story that Correctional Service of Canada would be shutting them down over the following two years. The wheels are in motion to dismantle them. Why save the prison farms 1) PUBLIC SAFETY The hundreds of inmates working in the farm program learn employment and trade skills such as agriculture (which includes a diversity of tasks such as plant and animal care and crop rotation planning), food processing, equipment operation and repair, metal fabrication, computer skills, inventory tracking, shipping and receiving, etc. They also learn teamwork, punctuality and reliability. This prepares them for a variety of jobs once they are released. Although Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is denying this fact without producing evidence of employment rates of former prison farm workers. Minister Toews is from Manitoba he should know that a background in farming is a firm basis for employment in a range of fields. Employment prevents re-offending. On a personal level, many inmates get used to rising early in the morning, working a full day, cooperating with others, and dealing with animals and the land. Prison staff say these inmates develop better social skills and are less alienated. This makes society safer. As affordable sources of light sweet crude oil are depleted, it will become increasingly difficult to provide food for our population, including inmates. There is debate about how soon that time will come, but when it arrives, it will be too late to start building a more sustainable food system for the prison population. We wonder how public safety will be affected if inmates cannot be properly fed. 2) HEALTH AND REHABILITATION The program provides nutritious food for the prison system which has numerous untold benefits in terms of inmate health and their ability to work, educate and rehabilitate themselves. Farming provides rehabilitation and therapy through working with and caring for plants and animals. The evidence on the positive impact working with plants, dogs, horses, cows and other living creatures, is growing exponentially at present. Based on this, prison farms in New York and New Jersey are expanding their horicultural and animal therapy programs, as documented in the book Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons Through Prison Horticulture. 3) SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY

The Harper government talks about getting tough on crime putting more Canadians in jail, even when crime rates are going down. To house the surplus prison population, the Tories want to spend billions of tax dollars on new Super Prisons, or regional complexes. These have been a tragic failure in the United States. Prison farms cost little in comparison and are much more effective use of our taxes. The cost to taxpayers and the nutritional value and quality of replacement food must be taken into account in assessing the value of the prison farm program. The recent contract for $1 million of milk for three central Canadian prisons is just a glimpse of the many millions that will be spent replacing the food lost if the farms close. No clear accounting of the prison farm program has been put on the table. The government insists that these farms are losing money $4 million per year is the unsupported figure given. We have heard that revenue, intended for inmate training on the farms, is not being applied to the program; that there is no budget line accounting for the training and security services that the farm training staff provide; and that expenses incurred in other programs are being allocated to the farms. These claims raise numerous questions: i) What is the $4 million loss calculation based on? ii) How much do other CSC training programs cost and lose in comparison to the farms? iii) How much more will it cost taxpayers if the food needs to be purchased from outside? iv) If closed, what will be the financial losses to business within the local communities? v) What will be the costs of decommissioning the farms? A public investigation is needed to tell Canadians how much the closure of these farms will cost us. 4) SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FARM AND FOOD SYSTEMS The prison farms provide fresh, regionally-produced food to prisons in their regions. If the farms are closed, this food will be supplied by outside contractors, which, under NAFTA rules, could be in the US or Mexico. This is not a green alternative. Local feed and farm service businesses and abattoirs are supported by prison farms. The prison farms do not compete with local farmers. Quite the opposite is true they help to keep farm service businesses open and thereby make it possible for local farmers to access their services as well. The prison farms make important local donations that enhance regional food security, such as thousands of dozens of eggs per year to the Partners in Mission Food Bank in Kingston, Ontario. Closing the program would make valuable farmland vulnerable to being sold and developed. As an example, at the Frontenac Institution in Kingston, Ontario, approximately 80% of the 772 acres of

land being farmed is class 2 and 3 soils (i.e. prime agricultural land). This farm is within an urban area that is home to over 100,000 people in a region where such high quality farmland is scarce. In addition to farmland, there is considerable farm and food system infrastructure located on these farms which would be lost to the prisons, and to the broader local food systems of each prison. Examples include facilities such as abattoirs, feedlots, egg laying barns and grading equipment, dairy barn and milk processing equipment, greenhouses, cold storage and composting equipment. 5) A MODEL OF CANADIAN VALUES AND HERITAGE Canadas correctional goal is to rehabilitate inmates for their re-entry into society. This is why we call it Corrections Canada not Punishment Canada. This speaks to Canadian values. The idea of forcing trust-worthy, hardworking minimal security inmates off the farms and back into their cells goes against Canadian values. Despite former Public Safety Minister Van Loans claim in parliament on April 28, 2009 that the prison farms are set up on a model of agriculture that really reflects the way it worked in the days of the old mixed farm in the 1950s, the farms are diversified, well equipped and highly respected for their productivity. For example, the dairy herd at Frontenac Institution is one of the most productive in the country, with over 60 years of genetic history. Prison authorities from around the world have visited Canada to see how our prison farms work. Delegates from Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Hungary, and England have come to tour these prison farms as a model to be copied around the world. Most concerning is the prospect that these closures may be part of a long-term agenda to shut down all farm and on-site food services and move towards the outsourcing of services, and the privatization of Canadas prisons based on the U.S. model. ` Once the prison farms are gone they will start feeding them a diet largely in soy which will kill them and or give them the effect of a chemical castration. It is an abomination. one of the worst cases of human abuse this generation has ever experienced. I`am thinking of starting a save an inmate from soy foundation. where you donate money to them so they can buy non soy based food from the Concession stands but i dont know what kind of food the prsion concession stands really sell. ~ HORTICULTURE PROGRAM: Sowing Seeds for a New Future - Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office

"Horticultural programs are used in jails throughout the country to help achieve the twin goals of employment preparation and inmate therapy. The Salt Lake County Metro Jail broke ground on its two-acre chemical-free garden in 2007. In partnership with Utah State University Extension Services, the Programs Division developed a plan, did extensive soil prep, and identified prisoners to begin working in the garden. USU put together a 40-hour Master Gardener class for prisoners. We are not yet USDA Certified Organic but are completing the second year in the three year cycle to gain that certification. By the end of 2009, we will hold that prestigious title! Water conservation is also an important priority in the operation of the garden; we use a water-wise drip tape system with metering. During 2007, almost 20,000 pounds of produce was harvested by specially-selected prisoners under the watchful eye of JIVE officers and USU volunteers. In 2008 the amount of produce is even greater. We are offering it for sale at the Downtown Farmers Market and are selling out early every week! Proceeds from the sale go into the Program Divisions operating account. Current plans call for constructing a greenhouse to begin germinating seeds and the creation of a composting program at the jail. In 2007 the program generated $9,544 toward operations and expansion of the 2008 garden. So far this season, [2008] the garden has yielded over 8,000 pounds of produce and generated approximately $10,000 to be reinvested in program growth. In addition, over a ton of fresh produce has been donated to St. Vincent dePaul, the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City, and the Utah Food Bank. The 2008 Master Gardeners class will graduate in September. Ten prisoners will be recognized for completing the program." ~ DOING TIME IN THE GARDEN: life Lessons through Prison Horticulture Doing Time in the Garden is very useful for community corrections facilities because these inmates have the freedom to use their ideas and talents to improve the areas around their facilities. And it provides a visible way for the community to appreciate their talents. Doing Time in the Garden, in an easily readable format, explains horticulture as a rehabilitative tool and shows and describes in detail many garden designs. Before and after photographs of the gardens reveal aesthetic progress made by inmates. The book provides new information on using horticulture as a method of therapy, including how working outdoors awakens the inmates to all their senses.

"Six years of creative work and input by over 350 inmates have helped transform a flat weedy field into a labyrinth of different gardens, a small emerging woodland and a waterfall and pond complex," author James Jiler states. "Nothing here is static. As the inmates come and go they add their own distinctive touches to the landscape." Horticulture calms the inmates, provides a positive outlet for them and allows them to gain new skills. Gardening, according to Jiler, allows inmates to see and believe they can make a difference in the future of the facility and in their own lives. "If ex-offenders are provided options, they can begin to contribute to their communities instead of engaging in crime that debilitates families and damages neighborhoods." Doing Time in the Garden offers a message of hope for offenders. Horticulture shows the inmates that they are very much like the seeds they plant. If they are to overcome their circumstances in life, inmates must learn how to tend themselves and grow into positive people in society. The book provides up-to-date information on new horticulture techniques and ideas. It addresses horticulture as a new method of therapy for the inmate population and shows how a prison environment can be made beautiful through horticulture. The book reveals the positive effect on inmates when their work is seen and appreciated by staff, other inmates and visitors to the facility. Inmates not only benefit from the kudos they receive, the book purports, they also leave the facility with skills that will serve them in the future. The author addressed all the logical aspects of the subject by using examples of horticulture programs in various prisons. Doing Time in the Garden explains how both the land and the inmates progress as they become involved in horticulture projects. The book offers a full discussion on how a horticulture program is a viable commodity for prisons and the positive influence it provides in the rehabilitation of inmates. Doing Time in the Garden addresses how inmates felt before they worked in horticulture and how their experiences in the gardens helped them physically, psychologically and spiritually. ~