May 8th, 2009 · No Comments

By Sommer Saadi
Green Right Now

Side by side, hunched over mounds of dirt with shovels in hand, students from Scripps College and inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California, plant an organic garden. It’s not the most conventional pairing – twenty-somethings in jeans and t-shirts and women clad in prison uniforms growing fresh produce along stale concrete walls. But it’s a pairing that works. And to those involved, it makes a lot of sense.

“The garden is about connecting communities,” explains Scripps College senior and Criminal Justice Network co-leader Adrian Hodos. “These are two populations that don’t come into contact with each other enough. And now with the garden, they do.”

Hodos and her Scripps colleague Hannah Segal founded the Criminal Justice Network three years ago with the goal of raising awareness about prison related issues on their campus. In May 2008, Segal spearheaded the idea of planting an organic garden at the CIW, a women’s prison about 35 minutes from the university. After nearly a year of working on the project with the help of funding from the Strauss Foundation, the first seeds were planted in early April.

“I was looking for a more permanent project for the organization,” Segal says. “Something with a bigger impact.”

While searching for ideas Segal came across the book Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons through Prison Horticulure by James Jiler. Jiler ran a successful horticultural vocation program at New York City’s Rikers Island jail system, the largest jail complex in the U.S. Segal thought planting an organic farm would be a good way to promote lasting relationships between network members and women at the prison. And she knew the farm could provide fresh produce and serve as a rehabilitative activity, advantages that have been recognized by prisons across the country.

Efficient solutions and sustainable projects like organic farms have garnered a lot of interest in recent years, especially since local jails continue to operate at near full capacity. Since the end of 2000, the nation’s prison and jail custody populations have increased by 19 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice.

Facilities like the Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock, Washington, are embracing greener solutions. Cedar Creek prisoners grew 8,000 pounds of organic vegetables last year, and they raise bees and compost 100 percent of their food waste.

The Indiana Department of Corrections in Indianapolis installed water boilers that run on waste wood chips to help minimize costs and environmental impact. The Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, Calif., uses solar panels to collect energy and North Carolina’s Department of Correction uses chemical-free cleaners and vegetable-based inks.

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