Gardens take root at McNeil Island prison
Blog post by Project Manager Jeff Muse:
The McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC) is digging into the Sustainable Prisons Project with inspiring results.
This summer, MICC Gardens Supervisor Scott Skaggs led a team of inmates in turning patches of grass into a field of organic vegetables destined for the prison’s kitchen. Approximately one acre of lawn in the middle of the facility now boasts tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and other plants, as well as small composting units to enhance the soil. Supervised by Scott, a 27-year veteran at MICC, the inmates manage the garden as part of their jobs on the prison’s horticulture crew.
Inmates at the McNeil Island Corrections Center tend the broccoli in the prison's first-year garden. Photo: Laurie Ballew.
With support from Evergreen graduate assistant Carl Elliott, a gardening and horticulture expert known for his appearances on KUOW’s Weekday, MICC staff and inmates are planning to expand this exciting operation. Next year, more grass inside the fence will be converted to organic food production or native plants.
Located in southern Puget Sound between Tacoma and Olympia, MICC occupies the site of a former federal penitentiary built in 1875. Today, it is administered by the Washington State Department of Corrections as the nation’s only prison operating on an island accessible solely by boat or airplane. Learn more about McNeil Island’s history.
2 comments on Gardens take root at McNeil Island prison
Great to see what you are doing with the Sustainable Prisons Project, will this include sustainable energy solutions like wind turbines?. Prisons use vast quantities of water, one think you should consider is wastewater treatment and recycling the water for irrigation of the crops.
Comment by Wind Turbine on September 22, 2009 at 3:31 pmThank you for your question!
The capital programs division of the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) is working on innovative solutions for energy and water efficiency. These range from solar installations and water catchment systems to large-scale food composting to reduce the waste stream burden on water treatment facilities. For instance, at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock, WA, a plate-scraping and food composting initiative run by inmates eliminated the need for a $1.4 million upgrade to the prison’s water treatment facility.
Wind turbines and greywater recycling are under consideration. You can learn more about DOC efforts at http://www.doc.wa.gov/goals/sustainability/default.asp or by contacting the agency’s sustainability coordinator: SustainableDOC@doc1.wa.gov.
Jeff Muse, Sustainable Prisons Project Manager
Comment by Jeff Muse on October 5, 2009 at 11:33 amThe Evergreen State College