Horticultural Community Restitution Work Crew Programmes ... · questions. Special thanks to Hilda...
Transcript of Horticultural Community Restitution Work Crew Programmes ... · questions. Special thanks to Hilda...
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Horticultural Community Restitution Work Crew Programmes for
Mentally Disordered Offenders
Richard Eltringham
Content
Map 2
Acknowledgements 3
About the Author 4
Executive Summary 5
Introduction to the Project 6
Findings
Case Study 1: The Greenhouse Project 9
Case Study 2: A Prison Gardening Programme 15
Case Study 3 The Sustainability in Prisons Project 20
The Emergent Vegetation Conservation Nursery 21
Mother Earth Farm 22
Monroe Correctional Complex Intensive Management Unit 23
The Washington Corrections Centre for Women 24
Stafford Creek Correctional Centre 25
Roots of Success 26
Case Study 4: The Garden Project 28
Conclusions 31
Recommendations 32
Implementation 33
Dissemination 35
Appendices
Itinerary 40
Additional non-horticultural findings 41
References 43
Picture Credits 44
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Map of places visited in the USA
The names of 3 facilities visited
have been anonymised
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my hardworking colleagues from
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for all the
extra work they undertook in my absence during the 4 weeks I
spent travelling in the USA.
I would like to thank Fiona Evriviades for her support and
encouragement during the application process for the Fellowship.
I would like to thank all of my hosts in the USA for making time to
introduce me to their inspiring projects and answer all of my
questions. Special thanks to Hilda Krus, John Autin and Julie
Vanneste for organising the itinerary, as well as making me feel
welcome everywhere I visited.
Thank you to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for offering me
this incredible opportunity. I am hugely honoured to be a Churchill
Fellow.
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About the Author I am interested in exploring and developing the effective use of our
landscape in the treatment and rehabilitation for a wide range of
illnesses while preserving, restoring and managing our natural
beauty. Working under the supervision of Occupational Therapists
(OTs) and supporting nursing staff, I lead therapeutic horticultural
activities for and with patients at Arnold Lodge. The East Midlands
Centre for Forensic Mental Health is based at Leicester and forms
part of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
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Executive Summary This study was carried out in May 2017. The overall aim was to
view how horticultural community restitution work crew
programmes were undertaken for offenders with mental health
problems in the USA.
The study was funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
(WCMT); it involved spending four weeks in the USA – travelling to
New York, California and Washington State. During this time I
visited eleven projects run by four different organisations.
Horticulture offers a range of diverse activities, which can then be
adapted to meet the needs of different client groups. When giving
consideration to the environment, gardens in secure facilities can
provide a place for happiness and tranquillity for those
incarcerated.
In North America, the Department of Corrections work with
external charities and not-for-profit organisations to carry out
horticultural activities for both rehabilitation and therapy. This study
found that North America was developing a more wide ranging
curriculum by allowing external organisations into secure facilities.
From my Fellowship I observed first-hand how developing external
partnerships can make valuable contributions to the lives of
incarcerated men and women. This has led to me set further goals
for my own work within the UK:-
Building relationships with other community organisations to
establish further restitution opportunities.
To develop nature based curriculum to be taught by
prisoners/ patients who are trained and certified to teach the
course.
Enhance the skills of healthcare staff and later prison staff
involved in co-delivering such programmes through the
transfer of knowledge, resources and best practice gained
from the project.
Develop partnerships between people incarcerated in the
UK and America
Provide opportunities for social inclusion to break down the
stigma associated with mentally disordered offenders
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Introduction to the Project My work role has led me to establish volunteering opportunities for
patients, in order to equip them with self-confidence and practical
skills to undertake essential maintenance work in our local
community. The Royal College of Psychiatrists state that work can
help people’s physical and mental health.
A horticultural evaluation was conducted over a period of 1 year
with 19 patients from Arnold Lodge medium secure unit. This
showed that the processes involved provided opportunities for
patients to learn new skills. It was also perceived as a very positive
subjective experience for the patients, with everyone reporting
some personal benefit.
The main themes emerging from the responses were about
learning new skills in a relaxed and calm environment. Another
interesting outcome from the study was the view that their working
relationships with others (staff and peers) had developed in a
positive way. I feel that this may be due to patients becoming more
confident around their peers and developing connections through
the shared interest of gardening.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, (2017) also suggests that “Work
is generally good for health; as well as a financial
reward, it gives many of us self-esteem,
companionship and status.”
Volunteer work placements can help patients in providing:
Socialising
Support
Structure and occupying time
Physical and mental activity
Opportunities to develop skills
A sense of identity and personal achievement
Financial and other resources.
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Secure mental health services work with people who have mental
health problems and many have committed a criminal offence.
These individuals pose a risk to themselves or others; some are
transferred from prison whilst others are admitted directly to
hospital. Services provide accommodation, treatment and support
for people with severe mental illness and/or personality disorders
and learning disability.
There are approximately 7,000 – 8,000 beds within the three levels
of secure services (low, medium and high) in England. 5,500
people in total with a diagnosis or either mental illness or
personality disorder are detained in low and medium secure
services (NHS England, 2017). The average cost of a year’s
treatment in a medium secure hospital is £165,000. High security
is in the region of £300,000 (Centre for MH, 2017)
“10% of men and 30% of
women have had a previous
psychiatric admission
before they entered prison.”
Arnold Lodge Towpath Volunteers
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The average population of men and women in prison is 84,705
with a cost per prisoner averaging £32,510 (Ministry of Justice,
2016). A study from The Prison Reform Trust suggests that “10%
of men and 30% of women have had a previous psychiatric
admission before they entered prison.”
The American government spend $80 billion per year on prison
and incarcerate 2.3 million nationally. (U.S. Department of
Education, 2016) In California it spends approximately $71,000
per/ inmate/ year (Legislative Analyst's Office, 2017).
The Department of Corrections gives volunteers and not-for-profit
organisations the opportunity to develop innovative programmes
for rehabilitation through grant funding community restitution
programs. Additionally the UK has traditionally looked towards
North America for evidence based practice in horticulture and
therapy. It was for these reasons that I wanted to focus my travel
Fellowship in the states and gain knowledge, experience and
understanding of best practice within a variety of American secure
facilities.
The aims were to identify how work programs are implemented
successfully by viewing first-hand the programmes in America. To
explore education curriculum that is combined with horticultural
restitution programmes, to develop and maintain strong
international relations with colleagues in the USA and to continue
sharing ideas around best practice, to gain new knowledge and
skills this will be used to develop learning, tools and resources,
and to transfer ideas gained from observing projects in America
into my own clinical practice in the UK.
“The aims were to
identify how work
programs are
implemented
successfully by
viewing first-hand the
programmes in
America.”
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Case Study 1: The GreenHouse Project
The GreenHouse is a partnership between The Horticultural
Society of New York (The HORT) and the Department of
Corrections New York. Initially founded in 1986 and having closed
for a brief period between 1993 and 1996, the program has been
revived and grown since 1996 to encompass an educational
setting on Rikers Island. Facilities include a greenhouse, a
classroom and over four and a half acres of landscaped and
productive gardens (designed and built by inmates) in five different
garden spaces and with five different groups of participants. Hilda
Krus, the Horticultural Therapist and her team are based on Rikers
Island. Their main aim is to reduce the recidivism rate through
offering incarcerated men and women an innovative jail-to-street
program, to help strengthen individuals in their entire being and
prepare them for their next steps, whether they will lead to release
or to serving time in state facilities, and to help students make first
steps into recognizing necessary areas of change in their lives.
This uses horticultural therapy as a tool to help prepare individuals
re-entry into society.
The GreenHouse Project
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was introduced to the two and half acre fenced enclosure by
Hilda, which is the original garden started in 1986. She explained
that the project provides a place of sanctuary for men and women
that are 19 plus years old, serving sentences for one year or less.
During the mornings that I visited, the men were already working in
the garden - even before the arrival of the facilitators from The
HORT. This was possible due to the support and supervision of
the correctional officers. Over the time spent at The GreenHouse
project, the sense of personal ownership from each student
(inmate) became evermore apparent. Each of them worked on
different aspect of the garden, from mowing the grass to creating
pieces of art installations.
The team was spread out across the whole area. It was hard to tell
who was in charge as each individual went about their own
business in the garden. It seemed that the students had the
freedom to wander within this “little Eden” without barriers or
obstacles.
After the morning session with the men, the women attended.
Theirs seemed like a much shorter session but it was equally
productive. All those working in the garden were happy to talk
about their experience and past in this relaxed environment,
making me feel extremely welcome.
On the final morning, both the men and women gave a joint
farewell party for a student and me. The outgoing student was
being prepared for release and was moving onto a hostel in
downtown New York. The party involved them singing their
version of “For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". This was followed by a
present of their home grown asparagus, garlic and chilli jams.
These little gatherings are arranged for all students upon release
as a way of saying goodbye, good luck and thank you.
The HORT has developed the Green Team for inmates who
graduate from The GreenHouse project and are released into the
community. This provides vocational training in horticulture,
transitional work, job search skills, job placement, and aftercare
services. The GreenTeam also offers at risk young people an
internship programme through partnerships with other social
services, including young adult’s courts. During my visit I was
“Plants are a teacher of forgiveness; plants
tell us when something went wrong”.
“Plants are a teacher of forgiveness; plants
tell us when something went wrong”. She
further commented that “students then learn
how to make the necessary changes in their
life”
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introduced Sam Lewis, (the Field Supervisor) and his team, during
a busy time of planting a plaza in downtown Brooklyn. I couldn’t
help myself and mucked in to assist the planting of the summer
bedding.
There was a new contract funded through New York Department
of Correction (NYDC) for the 18-21 year old detainees and 16-17
year old adolescent male detainees since summer 2016. This was
developed following a request by the Mayor’s office and the NYC
Department of Correction, also reciprocated by The HORT. This
fledgling group for the 16-17 year olds seemed to be the most
challenging. I was taken down into the darkness of the basement,
which had been converted to a store room in the Robert N.
Davoren Center (RNDC). Inside this darkened room there was
wall-to-wall young plants bring propagated under artificial lighting,
with posters and pieces of students work spread over the tables.
“The students had the freedom
to wander within this “little
Eden” without barriers or
obstacles.”
Planting Brooklyn with the GreenTeam
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The students were late arriving for class, after originally refusing to
attend in protest against an incident in the dormitory. When the
students did eventually arrive the look on their faces just seemed
to suggest that they did not want to be here. Who could blame
them after being escorted from light-filled dormitory to a dark
basement store with no natural light?
When the clearance was given the door was opened again. The
sun shone through and the students could go outside with
watering cans to hand. Upon exiting to the courtyard I was
surrounded by a three storey high dormitory. Their peers from up
above were shouting obscenities from the openings of their tiny
windows. The correctional officers appeared to struggle to get the
students to focus on the tasks in the garden. Trying to act calmly
like the facilitators, I attempted to distract some of the students by
engaging them in conversation but to no avail.
“This relationship seemed to be one of
mutual respect and friendship,
sometimes lasting beyond the time in
custody.”
Praying Mantis
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After the students had finished and were escorted back to their
dormitory, the facilitator explained that this session was quite
normal. Hilda explains “as the dorm with the adolescent
students now changed, and it’s a vastly different
situation with all time being spent outdoors in
gardening activities and students being very excited
about their work. I wish the instructors had been
more specific in their statement and also mentioned
that the atmosphere within groups can and does
change daily. You describe a rather bad day, which
we do have, but we have a higher number of good
days.”
As part of my visit I had the privilege of meeting a group of
adolescents young men in the high secure detention centre; these
were 18-21 year olds. This project was support and funded by the
New York Department of Education (NYCDOE) in collaboration
with The Horticultural Society of NY and the NYC Department of
Correction since 2008.
Women Harvesting Tomatoes
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These students were also late arriving but the difference in their
presentation was clear and the complete opposite of the previous
session. These students come out into the garden unescorted
after attending their education session leading towards a GED or
high school diploma and participated in a range of low-tech
gardening activities. During the session the students asked
questions about me, appearing interested in English culture from
soccer (football) to television. They ended the session by picking
the flowering heads from the camomile to make infused tea in their
next class.
The aspect I had notice during my visit to Rikers Island was the
relationship that had formed between the facilitators and the
students. This relationship seemed to be one of mutual respect
and friendship, sometimes lasting beyond the time in custody. The
facilitator’s willingness to be open with students differed to the
attitude of the correctional officers. For example when a pair of
scissors where uncounted for at the end of the session, the
officers seemed far more concerned. Fortunately the scissors were
found by the officer in charge and no further action was taken. If
this happened in my own clinical practice an incident report would
be completed and investigated undertaken to prevent this type of
incident happening again. Hilda remarks “this is really
appearance, as you say, because each instructor
feels high anxiety when tools are misplaced, which
hardly happens. The instructors probably didn’t want
to cause panic, especially in the face of having a
guest. The consequence if a tool actually went
missing would be the same as you describe, and
would include the temporary closing down of a
facility until the tool is found, as well as a written
report”.
The bagpiped officer who I had spent the week with was nearing
retirement and described seeing many changes within the DOC.
Sadly he mentioned feeling less safe than he used to be, reflecting
a similar view within the UK prison sector. He viewed the inmates
as having more control over how the jail is run. He also suggested
that the young, less experience officers struggled to manage and
sometimes left the service after their induction. Another sad
moment was that he never gave a rendition on the bagpipes
during my visit. He remains extremely positive for The
GreenHouse Project and sometimes participates in the activities.
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Case Study 2: A Prison Gardening
Programme
This gardening based programme has been anonymised. It was
launched after 9/11 to find faith in humanity as a volunteer-run
programme in a prison twelve years ago. The Director of this
unique programme explains that after seeing what the
incarcerated men and women go through faith is being restored.
The programme runs curriculum based gardening and landscaping
training, so that people in prison can reconnect to themselves and
to the community and the natural world. The “inner” connections
focus on the use of transformative tools such as meditation and
emotional process. The “outer” approach aims to transforms lives,
and creates safer communities. Students are involved though
organic gardening, human/ ecological systems and life skills.
Since the programme started the recidivism rate for those
participating students fell to less than ten percent. So for one
thousand served by the programme less than one hundred return
to prison in three years.
Since then the programme has developed an evidenced-based
education curriculum combined with vocational gardening and
landscape training, a number of men’s prisons and youth facilities.
This was possible due in part to provisions of the Innovative
Programmes grants to programmes in prisons. Funded over
sixteen month, and in some cases three year period, with the
expectation that the volunteers and/or not-for-profit organisations
would be develop enough resources to sustain their practice after
this time. This can be achieved through sourcing alternative
funding. This programme is now part of a collaborative group
advocating for renewable funding from the state to ensure program
sustainability in prisons.
“God made me come
here to weed things out
of my life”
“Take care of the
garden, take care of
ourselves”
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During this year (2017) the programme has approximately 650
students participating in their programmes. The curriculum can be
adopted to meet the needs of those with different abilities and
covers subjects such as:
Environmental systems: we are all connected: self,
community and nature
Permaculture gardening: gardens as whole system
“inner gardening: gardening from the inside out
Supporting re-entry transition: gardening your life
After nervously driving on the opposite side of the road, I arrived at
the first prison where I was met by the facilitator that runs the
gardening project.
The group on this occasion was approximately twenty students.
The session was conducted inside the education building and start
with a meditation, which is usual practice. I have also, as a
facilitator, used meditation/ mindfulness session however as a
member of staff in my home facility we are advised not to close our
eyes. As I was looking around the room I noticed that even the
facilitator had his eyes closed. I quietly continued in the meditation
with one eye open; I feel that closing my eyes could put me in a
vulnerable position. However I did eventually become a lot more
comfortable among the men. The Director explains that “since
we really work on building group trust over the
course of time, folks really don’t have an issue
closing eyes because the group as a community is
solid. We’ve never had an issue with that!”
“To beautify the place”
“Addiction to the class”
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The students also talked about their garden design project; the
group appointed a “landscape architect”. This student explained
the process used to arrive at their final design. The main themes
the students had identified was what was important to them in a
garden; themes were aroma, peace, relaxation, have appeal,
tranquillity and providing a sense of freedom. The students talked
about the programme and there seemed to be a consistent theme
emerging from their comments. I explained that these were all
similar theme from the garden design project undertaken in my
own facility. The landscape architecture, urban design and
planning, volunteered their time to assist the students in producing
the final scale drawing. The “landscape architect” went on to
explain that the group would like to continue and further their
design experience through making suggestions for a garden in my
facility. I immediately thought about the design team in my facility
providing a counter design.
“Pruning out the bad things”
Garden Plan
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The second prison was similar to the previously mentioned visit in
so far as group size and the enthusiasm shown. The participating
students were men housed in individual dormitories, fenced
perimeters and armed officers. This session started in a separately
fenced area in the newly landscaped garden with a minute silent
as a mark of respect to all those that were affected by the tragic
event in Manchester (UK). This was followed by around of
introductions. We followed through to the education centre where
the students spent the time learning in an informal discussion
about plant biology. The session finished with an opportunity for
the students to ask questions about my home facility and the
project that I am undertaking. This was interrupted by the
correctional officers returning to collect the student who then
headed towards the corridors for another rub-down search, before
returning to their yard.
My final visit was a facility that provides medical care and mental
health treatment to inmates who have the most severe and long
term needs.
On the day of my visit all the students were working hard in the
blistering heat maintaining and tendering to their drought-tolerant
plants in front of the chapel. I met a similar group size of equally
motivated students inside the chapel. After the initial round of
introductions class began with a discussion about the major
causes of climate change.
The students talked about the programme and there seemed to be
a consistent theme emerging from their comments: -
“Pruning out the bad things”
“To beautify the place”
“Addiction to the class”
“Take care of the garden, take care of ourselves”
“God made me come here to weed things out of my life”.
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The programme is able to operate through volunteer support
helping run the different activities across the prisons. I understand
the importance of having enough support: in my own clinical
practice where I’ve had to cancel many work placements due to
staff shortage. I often feel anxious at the beginning of new work
projects/ placements as a lot of effort goes into establishing these
partnerships. It is very disappointing for everyone concerned when
sessions are cancelled at the last minute due to staff absence.
Conversely when we’ve returned from a successful days work
there is a feeling of immense satisfaction and relief, knowing that
our patients have worked hard doing something for society.
Perhaps volunteers could be recruited to ease the pressure on
staffing and help facilitate the rehabilitation of incarcerated men
and women.
The Volunteer befriending Service at Rampton Hospital provides
trained and accredited volunteers to befriend socially isolated
patients and place volunteers in other areas where appropriate,
such as Therapies and Education. It would be good to see
volunteers in horticultural programmes but this may take some
time to achieve.
“God made me come here to
weed things out of my life”.
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Case Study 3: Sustainability in Prison Project
In partnership with The Evergreen State College and Washington
State Department of Corrections, The Sustainability in Prison
Project (SSP) aims to bring science, environmental education, and
nature into prisons. Evergreen is a public liberal arts and sciences
college located in Olympia, Washington founded in 1967. SPP
began informally in 2003 and is now state-wide offering programs
in all twelve prisons in Washington State. Evergreen staff and WA
Corrections staff work collaborative daily in all programmes.
While visiting the different facilities, I saw how a unique and
brilliant partnership has grown to create variety of sustainable
projects, and community based partnerships. One example is a
prairie restoration project. In three of the facilities I visited I saw
evidence of this partnership though the native plant nurseries.
Within these facilities plant nurseries were established to grow a
range of native plant species for habitat restoration for local nature
reserves. I was shown evidence of growth from the small blue
violet in The Washington Corrections Centre for Women (WCCW)
and at The Washington Corrections Center (WCC) and at the
Stafford Creek Correctional Centre (SCCC) a species of native
sedges was being grown on coir (coconut fibre) mats.
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The Emergent Vegetation Conservation
Nursery
As Amanda Mintz, the Emergent Vegetation Conservation Nursery
Coordinator explains in addition to traditional soil based nursery
production at the Stafford Creek Corrections Centre they have also
developed an aquaponics system to grow a species of native
sedges on coir mats in an innovative approach to better support a
local restoration need. This sedge production didn’t require any
soil as it was being grown in an environment using an aquaponics
system. The mat were used for a growing medium floated on top
of water being circulated in tanks with over hundred koi, back and
forth between plants and through colour-coded pipes. Once the
sedges are ready the mats they are growing through rolled up,
delivered and are unrolled at the restoration sites on Joint Base
Lewis-McChord (JBLM) reserves. Carl Elliott, Conservation
Nursery Manager SPP introduced me to Mima Mounds Natural
Area Preserve and explains the important for habitat restoration
benefiting the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa).
Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve
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Mother Earth Farm
Mother Earth Farm is an eight acre organic farm located in the
beautiful Puyallup Valley. The farm distributes 80,000 pounds of
fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs to Pierce County food banks and
meal sites throughout the year. Food from the farm is available to
food banks within 24-hours of harvest. The farm recruits work
crews from The Washington Corrections Centre for Women
(WCCW) and others workers to help with the organic farm. During
my visit a group of women were out in the field, working hard by
weeding through the planted crops.
Mother Earth Farm is operated through the Emergency Food
Network. Their mission is “to provide Pierce County with a
consistent, diverse and nutritious food supply so that no person
goes hungry.” The fruit and vegetables grown from my home
facility have been donated to food banks through our chaplaincy
service during the harvest festival. The plan is to grow more food
each year and pass the produce onto The Real Junk Food Project,
Leicester (UK). This is a global, organic network of pay-as-you-feel
cafes diverting perfectly edible food that would have ended in
landfill and into creating delicious and healthy meals. This then
helps to bridge the gap between food waste and food poverty.
Mother Earth Farm
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Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) Intensive Management Unit Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) Intensive Management Unit
(IMU) operates a maximum, medium & minimum closed living
units & custody level offenders. The horticulture is currently being
run by the programmes manager with the assistance from the
correctional officers. During my visit I witnessed an officer helping
an inmate to access the garden and water the plants. I was later
informed that there had always been a “them and us” culture within
the Department of Corrections. However recent changes have
meant that officers are encouraged to become more involved in
the rehabilitation of offenders. The programme manager went on
to explain that horticulture was just one part of her role and she
would like to employ someone dedicated to this area to develop a
curriculum.
Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) Intensive Management Unit (IMU)
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The Washington Corrections Centre for
Women
Horticulture at WCCW is undertaken through a partnership
between local colleges. Meeting Ed Tharp, he explains that due to
other commitments his service can’t be provided on a full-time
basis. Subsequently Ed works three days a week as WCCW’s
horticulture instructor. This makes undertaking the hugh amount of
horticultural tasks, so progress can be slow. He also facilitates
class room activities both teaching the students and establishing
the curriculum.
During my visit I were shown students preparing a planting area
within the main courtyard of WCCW; this resembled a college
campus rather than a prison. After the students had their lunch,
they returned to the classroom and settled down to do their
homework. They were able to come and go as freely as students
in an actual college.
Arnold Lodge meets WCCW
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Stafford Creek Correctional Centre
At SCCC, the Sustainability in Prison Project is undertaken both
inside and outside the secure fenced perimeter. On the outside, for
those students nearing the end of their sentence was the
aquaponics centre and the In-Vessel Composting Centre. SCCC
compost their food waste and has done since 1999. Before
establishing this centre, SCCC sent approximately 500 tons of
food waste at a cost of $75,000 to landfill. In addition to saving the
waste removal, this practice has provided the rich soil for use in
their horticultural areas while creating up to six offender jobs.
Upon entering the centre you are struck by the smell; and as you
approach closer to the heaps you can feel the heat generated by
the decomposing food matter. The hottest average temperature
recorded since in 2017 has been 64°c.
The process of composing this waste was explained by their led
facilitator; food waste is chopped up into smaller pieces and the
water is removed by a pulpier. This reduces the material to 50% in
weight and then a mixture of wood chips are added before the
process of being turned in a drum an hour a day at temperatures
between 54-71°c. The material is sifted in to final stage product.
Horticulture Service at SCCC
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Roots of Success
The Roots of success program was created by Dr. Raquel
Pinderhughes, Professor of Urban Studies & Planning at San
Francisco State University. She is an internationally recognized
expert on the green economy and green workforce training. Roots
of Success have developed a curriculum in prisons, jails, and
juvenile justice facilities in states across the U.S. They promote
environmental literacy and successful re-entry for their inmate
populations. SCCC began classes in 2013; inmates are trained
and certified to teach other inmates.
The “Lifer’s Garden” was established since 2011 for those inmates
sentenced to life in prison; America life usually means life. This
gives these inmates (with limited job opportunities) a meaningful
occupation in order to improve quality of life. As I was escorted
from one program to another I pass these gardens. As a gardener
who has worked in high profile gardens in the UK, I am attracted to
the beauty of these perfectly manicured gardens.
I can only image how much pride these gardens give to the men
that work them. The variety of fresh vegetable and fruit produced
is used in the staff and inmates dining hall. Any additional food
was donated to the local food banks. During my visit I was invited
for lunch in the staff dining room.
Roots of Success
27
Along with the “Lifer’s Garden”, the horticultural service program
offers the opportunity for inmates to learn about all aspects of the
industry – Those are becoming very sought after positions. This
started in 2004, when a local nursery donated two pollytunnels.
I was shown around this area by a couple of students from the
programme; they were expecting and looking forward to my visit.
Like me, they were very keen to find out more about other people’s
work. The student’s explained their sophisticated method of
capturing rainwater through the guttering that has been installed
on the greenhouse roof. The water is collected in a sedimentary
tank and filtered before use this utilizes 13248 litres of below
ground storage. WCCW conserves over 246052 litres of domestic
water use annually.
During the visit the students also showed me their bee hives. This
was installed in 2006 in order to provide bee lectures and
workshops for up to ten inmates in the production of making hand
balm and harvesting the honey. This was evidently replicated
across all four Washington State Department of Correction
facilities visited.
Alongside the growth in partnership between DOC and SPP, the
therapeutic relationship between officers and inmates has
positively developed. Like that of WCCC, SCCC feels like a
college campus and officers actively participated in activities
alongside the inmates.
It was interesting to go into one of the “pods” (dormitory style
accommodation) I noticed the officer positioned on a raised
platform and enclosed by waist high benches. I was informed that
each pod consists of only one officer and a pod houses
approximately twenty inmates.
Feels like a college campus and
officers actively participated in
activities alongside the inmates.
28
Case Study 4: The Garden Project The Garden Project was founded in 1992 by Catharine Sneed, a
trained lawyer and agroecologist. During a period of personal
adversity she was inspired by John Stainbeck’s “The Grapes of
Wrath”. This suggested a way out of the incarceration cycle for her
clients.
The farm at the San Francisco County Jail San Bruno Complex
started out working with the men from the jail. The farm then
turned towards working with the at risk young adults from inner city
San Francisco area. It aimed to empower individuals through
environmentally based job training and life skills programming,
whilst also transforming the urban environment.
The Director of Education, John Austin explains that the project
welcomes 250 to 300 students annually; focusing on 13 – 15 year
olds. Older students who have completed the program are invited
back to act as mentors.
The Garden Project offers students hourly rated paid positions
from a San Francisco city funding budget of slightly less than $2
million dollars for the year. Opportunities include running the youth
programme, adult programme, general operations, the native plant
nursery and farming/vegetable distribution programmes.
John further explained “that we (The Garden Project) are
interested in consistently offering elementary school
students the opportunity to visit outside of our
regular pumpkin patch in the fall.
In June 2017 we hosted elementary students for a
programme through the first two weeks of summer
vacation. This programme is used to integrate
students with other young people from the San
Francisco area that they would not normally socialise
with. These students are slightly better off than their
peers, but are still in similar economic strata. We are
fortunate enough to participate in the types of
programming their schools offer – such as going
abroad or college visits, but still call some of the
29
most depressed parts of the city home. The idea is
not to discount these students because they’ve
gained more support, but to integrate them into our
student roster so they can speak to those
experiences that weren’t afforded to their peers.”
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) sends 7 - 15
officers everyday throughout the summer, to work with the young
people in the garden as mentors. Many of the officers and cadets
will also work alongside the students and socialise with them
during meal times. This, John explains helps builds a positive
relationship between the police and the young people.
The farm cultivates 15 of the 145 acres of land and grows
vegetables such as kale, pumpkin, pak choi for food banks within
the city. John also explains that “The Garden Project is
considering a farmers market in the county jail parking lot as a way
to serve hard to reach communities, who don't have access to
vegetables”
As well as the farm, the Garden Project student workers maintain
the green spaces around the city. They mainly concentrate on the
cities reservoirs such as Sunset reservoir, Quintara - through a
contract with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. They
take some of the plants grown at the farm and use them in the
planting within these areas. There is a native plant nursery that is
used to reintroduce native plants around San Francisco where
they’ve historically been displaced; this helps with natural ecology
and drought sustainability.
John finally mentions “that the summer programme is a
large part of what they do. It's used to constructively
occupy student down time during the summer. It was
created to give work experience, support student
families with additional income, feed students who
depend on school food programs and provide
educational opportunities. This year we visited
museums, went sailing, completed an iPad
programming class and had mini workshops on
cooking, origami, writing workshops and math
breakout sessions.”
30
The Garden Project
31
Conclusions The Fellowship allowed me to visit many facilities within the
American corrections service and viewed programmes and met
people that I would not have been able to see/ meet otherwise.
Examining the projects and range of people served by them
demonstrates why horticultural based activities are an effective
tool in work rehabilitation and therapy.
Like the Prison Gardening Programme this gives those
incarcerated the opportunity to develop their temporary home into
a happier and tranquil place. This I feel reduces the violence and
aggression while in custody and become better people in society. I
am now hoping to build upon this relationship by working with
people incarcerated in the UK and America to construct gardens in
secure facilities.
By utilising the skills of the prison and healthcare staff we can
involve them in co-delivering horticulture programmes, like what
they’ve done in Washington. This will help staff to enhance and
develop a therapeutic relationship with the inmate and breaks
down those barriers.
I feel that by developing partnerships with external organisations
would help break down the stigma of mental health. Like those
not-for-profit organisation in America, by inviting external
organisations and potential employers into secure facilities would
help them to understand more about mental health and the
positive work that it done rather than hearing the negative stories
from the media regarding prisons and secure units.
I would like to follow on my horticultural evaluation to investigate
the impact of our existing community work crew projects. Does
involving patients in community partnerships help break down the
stigma associated with mental health?
32
Recommendation Build relationships with other community organisations to establish
further restitution opportunities.
To develop nature based curriculum to be taught by prisoners/
patients who are trained and certified to teach the course.
Enhance the skills of healthcare staff and later prison staff involved
in co-delivering such programmes through the transfer of
knowledge, resources and best practice gained from the project.
Develop partnerships between people incarcerated in the UK and
America
Provide opportunities for social inclusion to break down the stigma
associated with mentally disordered offenders
Developing partnerships
33
Implementation Developing partnerships with conservation organisations, to grow
and nurture plant species within secure units for the restoration in
the many nature reserves around the UK. As part of the Towpath
Volunteer project patients were involved in planting over one
thousand young native trees along the towpath. I hope to work
with patients to grow and nurture these native trees within the
hospital grounds, working in association with the Woodland Trust.
They will supply the seeds of native trees for the replanting of
areas of the British countryside - thereby replacing lost woodland
and hedgerows. This could be replicated in any secure facility
which has some outside space, at very little cost.
Provide training that enables patients to work in the horticulture
industry professionally, independently or semi-independently by
gaining job skills (Hazen, T. 2014). Currently some facilities offer
courses in horticulture for those incarcerated to gain qualifications.
More recently patients within my practice have been offered
vocational programmes and have gained a qualification in
horticulture.
To develop and provide the training and resources that enable
nursing staff to undertake ‘low tech’ gardening tasks to help build
upon their therapeutic relationship with patients. Training would
include health and safety requirements and the fundamental
knowledge required for growing and nurturing plants.
Volunteer befrienders scheme that includes horticultural work that
would seek to reduce the patient’s isolation, improve their self-
esteem and help rehabilitation through providing practical support
by other members of society – not just therapy staff. This would
also be a good opportunity for socialisation.
To design and construct gardens in secure facilities, including
people incarcerated in the UK and the US. A project to design a
new garden for Thornton Ward at Arnold Lodge is now well
underway. The patient led design team started work in 2016 with a
questionnaire on what their peers and staff wanted from a ward
garden. They’ve also surveyed the area available for the garden
by using the tape and offset method; they recorded accurate
measurements and drew a scale plan. The team then used the
dimensions from a range of ready-made materials to explore the
feasibility of the design ideas. Once the planting strategy was
complete they then turned their diagrams and sketches into a
more definite plan to help when presenting their design to their
fellow peers and staff. This was overseen by me and I was
34
extremely pleased to see how hard patients worked through such
a complex process to deliver something that will be hopefully
enjoyed by so many.
The gardening team will now begin work to prepare the ground for
the construction and planting.
I hope our design team will work with the men of the prison
gardening programme to design each other a garden. Working
with measurements and photographs of a designated area of the
prison, our patients would be able to learn about different plants
and planting styles. Meanwhile men of the prison gardening
programme would look at designing English style garden for
Arnold Lodge.
Establishing, developing and maintaining the previous mentioned
initiatives would provide the incarcerated and those with mental
health problems new opportunities to give something back to
society, while learning new skills and having different experiences.
“I have enjoyed doing the design work for
the garden, designing is new for me. I’ve not
done this before. I’ve learnt lots about plants
and to scale design. I look forward to doing
the physical work and putting the design
plan into construction.”
35
Dissemination Evaluate and present findings with existing partnerships (Leicester
City Council and The Canal & River Trust)
Evaluate community restitution with the research group to
measure the progress
Organise workshops to involve prisoners/ patients in delivering
nature based curriculum, sharing their experience community
restitution with their peers.
Summer School (Arnold Lodge Education Department)
Recovery College
Carers Days
The National Recovery and Outcomes Conference
Present to advice on establishing community restitution as part of
the mental health recovery pathway process:
Forensic Masterclass at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS
Foundation Trust
Forensic Services Recovery Conference at Nottinghamshire
Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Present at the Clinical Governance / Academic Programme
Present regular findings at The Clinical Improvement Group
Publish articles and newsletters
36
Share with MDT all 3 care streams at Arnold Lodge Medium
Secure unit
Male mental illness
Male personality disorders
Women service
Submit abstracts for healthcare conferences:
CCA (CPAA) AGM and presentation of Good Practice
Awards
The British and Irish Group for the Study of Personality
Disorder (BIGSPD) 2018 in Cardiff
Refocus on Recovery 2018, Institute of Mental Health,
School of Health Sciences (University of Nottingham),
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Attend workshops for nursing, occupational therapy and
horticultural students
Mental Health Nursing at De Montfort University, Leicester
Units within Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
(Rampton, Well’s Road, Wathwood hospitals, Southwell Day
Centre)
37
Clinical Governance / Academic Programme
38
April’s Edition of Positive
39
August Edition of Positive
40
Appendices Itinerary:
Greenhouse Project; Riker's Island for men and women 19+
years old sentence for 1 year/ less, high secure detention
centre for 18-21 year olds, a unit for 16-17 year old
detainees
The Garden Project; based at San Francisco County Jail
San Bruno Complex
The names of all 3 facilities from the Prison Gardening
Programme have been anonymised
The Sustainable Prison Project; ran in partnership with The
Evergreen State College and Washington State Department
of Corrections: Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC)
Intensive Management Unit (IMU), Stafford Creek
Corrections Center (SCCC), and Washington Corrections
Center for Women (WCCW), Washington Corrections
Center (WCC) and Mother Earth Farm.
41
Appendices
Additional non-horticultural findings: At SCCC, inside the pod for serving ex-service men there were
also a number of dogs; they have been fostered and our being
trained to become service and/or disability animals. This is part of
the Freedom Trail programme formed in 2009 with local animal
shelters and administrator for the program is Harbor Association of
Volunteers for Animals (HAVA). I watch one inmate walking with
his dog from his cell, down the steps of the mezzanine floor to
great me. He talked extensively and passionately about the
training he gives these dogs. He explained how he’d trained five
dogs since being incarcerated and all have gone into service in the
community.
Since I have returned to my own facility, we have just completed a
pilot project run in-conjunction with the education service at The
Dogs Trust, Loughborough. This brings in an educational
approach for patients to help them become more responsible dog
owners. The workshop covered such topics as law, legislation and
care for dogs. This project provides opportunities to gain
experience and qualification in building confidants in working with
animals. Their educational services are free of charge and they
focus on improving the lives of all dogs. However they also
recognise the many benefits that having healthy happy dog beings
to their owners, better mental health are being just one aspect.
42
Feedback from the workshop has included:
“I find the Dogs Trust educational and seeing Lyra
makes me feel happy”
“Working with Dogs Trust has been a very enriching,
rewarding and informative experience”
“I have learnt more about the Dogs Trust and how
they can re-home stray dogs. I would recommend the
Dog Trust and hope this course continue to run for
others to learn”
“The Dogs Trust group was very interesting. I learnt
how to look after a dog”
“Working with the Dogs Trust has given me a better
insight and understanding on dogs. It has been really
interesting and enjoyable and it was really lovely to
meet Lyra and thanks the staff for coming in to learn
about dogs”
Lyra from the Dogs Trust, Loughborough
43
Reference:
Ministry of Justice, 2016. Costs per place and costs per
prisoner by individual prison; National Offender
Management Service Annual Report and Accounts 2015-
16. Management Information Addendum 2016 Accessed 1st
July 2017
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/att
achment_data/file/563326/costs-per-place-cost-per-
prisoner-2015-16.pdf
Hazen, T (2014). Cited in. Marcus. C, C and Sachs. N, A.
(2014). Therapeutic Landscape; an Evidence-Based
Approach to Designing Healing Garden and Restorative
Outdoor Space. Horticultural Therapy and Healthcare
Garden Design. C. 16. P. 250. John Wiley & Sons, 2014
The Prison Reform Trust, 2017. Mental Health Care in
Prisons.
http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/ProjectsResearch/Ment
alhealth Accessed 25th September 2017.
NHS, February 2017. Five Year Forward View for Mental
Health: one year on Accessed 1st July 2017
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/fyfv-mh-one-year-on.pdf
CentreforMH, June, 2017. Secure mental health services.
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/secure-care
Accessed 1st July 2017
Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2017. Is Work Good for You
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/usefulresources/workandmentalhe
alth/worker/isworkgoodforyou.aspx Accessed July 2017
U.S. Department of Education, 2017. Report: Increases in
Spending on Corrections Far Outpace Education
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/report-increases-spending-corrections-far-outpace-education Accessed July 2017
Legislation Analyst’s Office, 2017. How much does it cost to incarcerate an inmate? http://www.lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost Accessed July 2017
44
Picture Credits:
• Acknowledgment Picture by Richard Eltringham 2017
• Profile by Richard Eltringham 2017
• Arnold Lodge Towpath Volunteers by Richard
Eltringham 2015
• Planting Brooklyn with The Green Team by
• The GreenHouse Project courtesy of The Hort 2017
• Praying Mantis courtesy of The Hort 2017
• Women Harvesting Tomatoes courtesy of The Hort 2017
• Garden planning courtesy of the Prison Gardening
Programme 2017
• Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve by Richard
Eltringham 2017
• Mother Earth Farm, Puyallup Valley by Richard
Eltringham 2017
• Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) Intensive
Management Unit (IMU) by Julie Vanneste 2017
• Horticulture Instructor at Washington Corrections Center
for Women by Julie Vanneste 2017
• Horticulture Service at SCCC; Bright colors speak loudly
for the hard work being done at Stafford Creek!
http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2017/09/13/bright-
colors-speak-loudly-for-the-hard-work-being-done-at-
stafford-creek/ Accessed 30th September 2017
• Roots of Success; “Participating in the transformation of
the world”: Roots of Success at Stafford Creek
Corrections Center
http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2014/06/17/particip
ating-in-the-transformation-of-the-world-roots-of-
success-at-stafford-creek-corrections-center/ Accessed
30th September 2017
• The Dogs Trust, Loughborough’s Education Service at
Arnold Lodge by Richard Eltringham 2017
• The Garden Project by Richard Eltringham 2017
• Clinical Governance / Academic Programme by Fiona
Evriviades 2017