Connecting Prisons with Nature
The Sustainable Prisons Project is a partnership of the Washington State Department of Corrections and The Evergreen State College. Their mission is to reduce the environmental, economic and human costs of prisons by training offenders and correctional staff in sustainable practices. They also bring science into prisons by helping scientists conduct ecological research and conserve biodiversity through projects with offenders, college students and community partners.
We were hired to create a film and photo galleries for this initiative, and Benj also worked with Darin Reid to build an exciting new Web site. We are doing more and more of this sort of work. In fact, we’ve just launched a new Web site of our own, and it includes more information about the services we offer.
One of the highlights of my summer was going back into the prisons to share this finished piece and present our other work from Facing Climate Change. Here is what some of the prisoners have to say about our presentation in written evaluations:
“I’ve been at SCCC 10 months and I’ve never seen anything about the Sustainable Prisons Project. I knew we had recycling, but never knew this was an organized, multi-faceted effort. Thank you for the educational opportunity.”
“This program is revolutionary. By involving prisoners in programs where they take responsibility for their community, they are thereby reintegrated into our society.”
“The lasso ring is the foundation of northern life. Firefighting costs are alarmingly high. Prisoners can be part of the solution to today’s problems. I like the presentation and will recommend it to my family.”