arrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upclosedownloademailembedexpandfacebook-dkfacebookfilmAsset 22Asset 21instagram-dkinstagraminteractivelinkedinlockphotographsplayplussharespinnertwitter-dktwittervimeo-dkvimeo

Menu

Men’s Conservation Programs

The Sustainability in Prisons Project strives to reduce the environmental, economic and human costs of prisons by implementing sustainable practices, green-collar education programs and ecological research projects. It’s a partnership founded by The Evergreen State College and Washington State Department of Corrections.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (2009)

The Sustainability in Prisons Project strives to reduce the environmental, economic and human costs of prisons by implementing sustainable practices, green-collar education programs and ecological research projects. Guest presenters include professors, college students, agency biologists and business entrepreneurs. Here, project founder and forest ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni lectures about trees.
Project manager Jeff Muse addresses offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. In 2009-10, activities will also take place at Cedar Creek, McNeil Island and the Washington Corrections Center for Women. These facilities represent a broad spectrum of population size, gender, security level and infrastructure, which will maximize the extensibility of this project to other institutions.
Inmates listen to a presentation by Dr. Nalini Nadkarni at Stafford Creek.
The Sustainability in Prisons Project introduces inmates to educational and employment opportunities that they may pursue upon release, a critical factor for reducing recidivism according to the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Here, project manager Jeff Muse (right) collects post-lecture evaluations and provides handouts on careers in urban horticulture.
A faculty member at The Evergreen State College, Dr. Nalini Nadkarni is a renowned forest ecologist who specializes in tree canopy research and outreach to non-scientists. Her ecological research with offenders at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center inspired today’s Sustainability in Prisons Project.
Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, a forest ecologist and faculty member of The Evergreen State College, is cofounder of the Sustainability Prisons Project with Department of Corrections Deputy Director Dan Pacholke.
Through a partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, inmates at Cedar Creek raise endangered Oregon spotted frogs, a Pacific Northwest species facing rapid decline due to habitat destruction, predation by exotic bullfrogs and chytrid fungal infections exacerbated by climate change.
Two inmates at Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Littlerock, WA oversee the captive rearing of endangered Oregon spotted frogs. In the fall the frogs will be released into native wetlands under the direction of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Graduate students from The Evergreen State College learn valuable leadership skills while working for the Sustainable Prisons Project. Here, Liesl Plomski (right) helps a Cedar Creek inmate outfit the endangered frog project with heaters for the rearing tanks and other essential research equipment.
Located in the Capitol State Forest near Olympia, Washington, inmates and staff at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center embrace science and sustainability as part of their mission.
An inmate participates in beekeeping training at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Through a biologist-led program with The Evergreen State College, inmates learn how to maintain hives and conduct research on bee colony collapse.
An offender at Cedar Creek examines a recently installed frame. He's working with scientist Sam Hapke on research exploring hive maintenance, pollination and the implications of bee colony collapse.
Bee researcher Sam Hapke (right) discusses hive health with an inmate at Cedar Creek.
Evergreen State College biologist Sam Hapke inspects a frame at Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Sam is working with inmates on research exploring hive maintenance, pollination and the implications of bee colony collapse.
Daeg Byrne (center) of The Nature Conservancy teaches Stafford Creek inmates about soil, native plants and techniques to restore the prairies of South Puget Sound.
Inmates at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest remaining portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Stafford Creek offenders work with Daeg Byrne (left), a prairie restoration specialist with The Nature Conservancy, to propagate numerous flower and grass species within the prison’s greenhouse and garden.
Offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Offenders at Stafford Creek Corrections Center propagate native prairie plants in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
An inmate makes a label for the prairie plant Erigeron speciosus.
Offenders at Stafford Creek propagate native prarie plants in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy. The seedlings will be used to restore habitat on the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest and most critical portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Army, the Stafford Creek Corrections Center is propagating 200,000 native plants for the Fort Lewis military base, which protects the largest remaining portion of Puget Sound’s prairie ecosystem.
Stafford Creek inmates and restoration specialists from The Nature Conservancy smile at a job well done -- the first steps in propagating 200,000 native prairie plants.
Erigeron speciosus flowers in a seed bed on the Fort Lewis military base.
Biologist Rod Gilbert restores the native prairies at Fort Lewis, a rare Puget Sound ecosystem that is widely lost to development and invasive species outside the military base. In early 2009, he helped establish a Sustainable Prisons Project partnership between the U.S. Army, The Nature Conservancy and the Stafford Creek Corrections Center.
Inmates return from a guest lecture before final lockdown at Stafford Creek. The average sentence in Washington State is only 23 months, though recidivism remains high. The Sustainability in Prisons Project helps inmates prepare for successful reentry into society through green-collar job training and positive work habits.
Located outside of Aberdeen, Washington, Stafford Creek Corrections Center is a medium-security facility responsible for housing about 2000 inmates.
Back to Connecting Prisons with Nature

Contact Benj + Sara

mail@benjandsara.com    +1 206 599 9274

Follow us

Code by Darin Reid. Our Privacy Policy. Copyright © 2025.