Welcome to Season 3, Episode 7, Success Starts at the Root: all about the Roots of Success program! &nbsp;Season 3 features the Washington Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment.&nbsp;This is the seventh and final episode of Season 3. If you’ve missed any episodes, you can root around in our archives and listen.&nbsp; So far, we’ve brought you <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e1-from-the-tree-canopy-to-the-prison-grounds">how it all started</a>; a <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e2-reducing-recidivism-through-education-science-and-nature">background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP</a>; <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/s3e3-spp-partnerships-oh-my">how SPP is a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system</a>; we’ve also learn more about the <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e4-pluggingawayatthesouthsalishlowlandprairies">SPP Conservation Programs and the Native Plant Nurseries</a>; and <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/8/1/s3e5-why-did-the-caterpillar-cross-the-road-to-get-to-the-artillery-range">rearing endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterflies at the Mission Creek Correctional Facility</a>; as well as some of the <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e6-letting-knowledge-and-nature-in">Peer-led education programs, including gardening and beekeeping</a>.In this episode we will learn more about the Roots of Success program from Grady Mitchell, a former participant and current Corrections &amp; Reentry Program Director at Roots of Success.&nbsp;Guests in this EpisodeEmily PassarelliEmily Passarelli is the Education and Outreach Manager at The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). She first worked with SPP as a graduate student from 2015-2017 as the Green Track Program Coordinator. While there she helped coordinate<a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/"> </a>Roots of Success and helped develop the framework for the statewide<a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/"> </a>Beekeeping Program. After she graduated, she went on to work with Centralia College at the Washington Corrections Center as their Education Program Manager. In 2021, she rejoined the SPP Team as the Education and Outreach Manager.Grady MitchellGrady Mitchell is the Corrections &amp; Reentry Program Director at Roots of Success (ROS) Environmental &amp; Job Readiness Curriculum. He is also a motivational speaker and consultant with Grady Mitchell Consulting. Mitchell has taught and mentored hundreds of students in the ROS program and trained men incarcerated in Washington’s prisons to teach ROS classes. Mitchell volunteers for the Washington Department of Corrections in developing volunteer and re-entry policies and continues to mentor.Roots of Success<a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/">Roots of Success</a> is a 10-module curriculum that teaches about the environment and prepares people for jobs.&nbsp; It is focused on those individuals who have traditionally been left out of environmental policy and planning, and is taught in prisons, juvenile facilities, schools, and youth and job training programs across the US.&nbsp; The program has even expanded to the UK and South Africa!&nbsp; It was developed by <a href="https://pace.sfsu.edu/raquel-rivera-pinderhughes">Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes</a> of San Francisco State University.&nbsp; The program provides a green jobs and career pathways guidebook containing 125+ jobs students will be qualified for once graduating from Roots of Success.&nbsp; Graduates can not only obtain better paying jobs, but can improve their communities.Grady’s Story&nbsp;After Emily briefly explains what Roots of Success is, Grady shares his experience learning about Roots of Success and becoming a facilitator.&nbsp; He really believes in the program and has taught and mentored hundreds of students in the Washington State prison system.&nbsp; Grady tells us several stories of what it’s like in the classroom, how seriously everyone takes it, and how in his years of facilitating they have never had an incident in the classroom.&nbsp;&nbsp;He relates sharing knowledge he gained from the classes with his family to save on energy and to conserve water.&nbsp; They were able to bring their electric bill from $380/month down to $120/month!&nbsp; Many students shared their knowledge with each other, and Grady shares how some students even did a water-use study that led to a campaign to reduce water usage in prison.Re-entry can be a hard process and Grady tells us a bit about his current role as Corrections and Re-entry Program Director.&nbsp; So often people are on their own and don’t get mental health or other services to transition back into society, and Grady is here to help his contacts through the process, as well as to advocate for all people going through the re-entry process.Grady talks about a Yale sponsored conference he attended (<a href="https://jedsi.yale.edu/new-horizons-conservation">I believe it was this one</a>) where he learned just how many organizations are doing work similar to Roots of Success and SPP.&nbsp; He also mentions the <a href="https://anshome.org/taking-nature-black/">Taking Nature Black</a> roundtable with the Audubon Society and how much he appreciates nature now.We ask Grady to share what he wants us to know about re-entry.&nbsp; He wants us to know it’s traumatic on all sides.&nbsp; The only way to heal is for people to keep open minds.&nbsp; It’s important for formerly incarcerated people to hold each other accountable but help each other out.&nbsp; It’s one thing for volunteers or counselors to give advice or try to help, but to hear it from someone who has shared the same lived experience is much more impactful.“It’s one thing to tell someone they’re great, show them their greatness; and then to have it stifled by hate… always remember that hate is louder than love, but love is bigger than hate.” - Grady MitchellUntil Next Time…Thank you so much for joining us this episode!This episode featured Emily Passarelli, Grady Mitchell and the Roots of Success program.&nbsp; Roots of Success isn’t an SPP program, but SPP does help administer it in the 12 Washington prisons.&nbsp; Grady speaks passionately about Roots of Success and believes it is very empowering and magical. The peer-led education program promotes leadership, cooperation, and science and sustainability education in prisons.&nbsp; The program also fosters relationships, even across racial and political lines, with graduates helping each other during re-entry and throughout life, encouraging each other to stay successful.This season we learned about how the Sustainability in Prisons Project all started, to how SPP supports and facilitates their partnerships, to more of the details of some of the conservation and education programs. If you missed anything, there are six other episodes of inspiration just waiting for you!&nbsp; We also heard from SPP staff, partners, and former participants about how important science and sustainability education and programs are in prisons.&nbsp; The people we interviewed this season have all learned from their experiences with SPP, whether it was realizing they had what it takes to learn and be successful, or breaking down preconceived notions about incarcerated individuals and prisons.&nbsp; I know I have learned a lot this season, and I hope to be able to make time to become involved in the future.&nbsp; I’d really like to help bring GIS education into the prisons in some way!&nbsp; If you have similarly been inspired, contact <a href="mailto:spp@evergreen.edu">spp@evergreen.edu</a>.Once again, we’d like to thank all of our interviewees this season.&nbsp; We are very grateful that so many people opened up and shared their lived experiences with us. It’s a testament to the impact of the SPP programs and we are glad that we were able to share this wonderful program with you this season.&nbsp;We will be taking a break before starting work on Season 4.&nbsp; If you have ideas for an upcoming season, please leave them in the comments or email us at outalivepodcast@gmail.com.Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3V0YWxpdmVwb2RjYXN0LmNvbS90aGUtcG9kY2FzdD9mb3JtYXQ9cnNz"> Google Podcasts,</a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6REQ4JpCikjCZCzwA4fv60"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive"> Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts (like<a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/"> Tune In</a>,<a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us"> Castbox</a><a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528"> Himalaya</a>,<a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/"> iheartradio</a>, etc).&nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our<a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive"> Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/outalivepodcast">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/outalivepodcast/">Pinterest</a> pages.Until next time, Will We Make It Out Alive?

<description>&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Welcome to Season 3, Episode 7, Success Starts at the Root: all about the Roots of Success program! &amp;nbsp;Season 3 features the Washington Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is the seventh and final episode of Season 3. If you’ve missed any episodes, you can root around in our archives and listen.&amp;nbsp; So far, we’ve brought you &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e1-from-the-tree-canopy-to-the-prison-grounds"&gt;how it all started&lt;/a&gt;; a &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e2-reducing-recidivism-through-education-science-and-nature"&gt;background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP&lt;/a&gt;; &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/s3e3-spp-partnerships-oh-my"&gt;how SPP is a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system&lt;/a&gt;; we’ve also learn more about the &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e4-pluggingawayatthesouthsalishlowlandprairies"&gt;SPP Conservation Programs and the Native Plant Nurseries&lt;/a&gt;; and &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/8/1/s3e5-why-did-the-caterpillar-cross-the-road-to-get-to-the-artillery-range"&gt;rearing endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterflies at the Mission Creek Correctional Facility&lt;/a&gt;; as well as some of the &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e6-letting-knowledge-and-nature-in"&gt;Peer-led education programs, including gardening and beekeeping&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;In this episode we will learn more about the Roots of Success program from Grady Mitchell, a former participant and current Corrections &amp;amp; Reentry Program Director at Roots of Success.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Guests in this Episode&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily Passarelli&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily Passarelli is the Education and Outreach Manager at The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). She first worked with SPP as a graduate student from 2015-2017 as the Green Track Program Coordinator. While there she helped coordinate&lt;a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;Roots of Success and helped develop the framework for the statewide&lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;Beekeeping Program. After she graduated, she went on to work with Centralia College at the Washington Corrections Center as their Education Program Manager. In 2021, she rejoined the SPP Team as the Education and Outreach Manager.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Grady Mitchell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Grady Mitchell is the Corrections &amp;amp; Reentry Program Director at Roots of Success (ROS) Environmental &amp;amp; Job Readiness Curriculum. He is also a motivational speaker and consultant with Grady Mitchell Consulting. Mitchell has taught and mentored hundreds of students in the ROS program and trained men incarcerated in Washington’s prisons to teach ROS classes. Mitchell volunteers for the Washington Department of Corrections in developing volunteer and re-entry policies and continues to mentor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Roots of Success&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/"&gt;Roots of Success&lt;/a&gt; is a 10-module curriculum that teaches about the environment and prepares people for jobs.&amp;nbsp; It is focused on those individuals who have traditionally been left out of environmental policy and planning, and is taught in prisons, juvenile facilities, schools, and youth and job training programs across the US.&amp;nbsp; The program has even expanded to the UK and South Africa!&amp;nbsp; It was developed by &lt;a href="https://pace.sfsu.edu/raquel-rivera-pinderhughes"&gt;Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes&lt;/a&gt; of San Francisco State University.&amp;nbsp; The program provides a green jobs and career pathways guidebook containing 125+ jobs students will be qualified for once graduating from Roots of Success.&amp;nbsp; Graduates can not only obtain better paying jobs, but can improve their communities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Grady’s Story&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;After Emily briefly explains what Roots of Success is, Grady shares his experience learning about Roots of Success and becoming a facilitator.&amp;nbsp; He really believes in the program and has taught and mentored hundreds of students in the Washington State prison system.&amp;nbsp; Grady tells us several stories of what it’s like in the classroom, how seriously everyone takes it, and how in his years of facilitating they have never had an incident in the classroom.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;He relates sharing knowledge he gained from the classes with his family to save on energy and to conserve water.&amp;nbsp; They were able to bring their electric bill from $380/month down to $120/month!&amp;nbsp; Many students shared their knowledge with each other, and Grady shares how some students even did a water-use study that led to a campaign to reduce water usage in prison.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Re-entry can be a hard process and Grady tells us a bit about his current role as Corrections and Re-entry Program Director.&amp;nbsp; So often people are on their own and don’t get mental health or other services to transition back into society, and Grady is here to help his contacts through the process, as well as to advocate for all people going through the re-entry process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Grady talks about a Yale sponsored conference he attended (&lt;a href="https://jedsi.yale.edu/new-horizons-conservation"&gt;I believe it was this one&lt;/a&gt;) where he learned just how many organizations are doing work similar to Roots of Success and SPP.&amp;nbsp; He also mentions the &lt;a href="https://anshome.org/taking-nature-black/"&gt;Taking Nature Black&lt;/a&gt; roundtable with the Audubon Society and how much he appreciates nature now.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We ask Grady to share what he wants us to know about re-entry.&amp;nbsp; He wants us to know it’s traumatic on all sides.&amp;nbsp; The only way to heal is for people to keep open minds.&amp;nbsp; It’s important for formerly incarcerated people to hold each other accountable but help each other out.&amp;nbsp; It’s one thing for volunteers or counselors to give advice or try to help, but to hear it from someone who has shared the same lived experience is much more impactful.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;“It’s one thing to tell someone they’re great, show them their greatness; and then to have it stifled by hate… always remember that hate is louder than love, but love is bigger than hate.” - Grady Mitchell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Until Next Time…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Thank you so much for joining us this episode!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This episode featured Emily Passarelli, Grady Mitchell and the Roots of Success program.&amp;nbsp; Roots of Success isn’t an SPP program, but SPP does help administer it in the 12 Washington prisons.&amp;nbsp; Grady speaks passionately about Roots of Success and believes it is very empowering and magical. The peer-led education program promotes leadership, cooperation, and science and sustainability education in prisons.&amp;nbsp; The program also fosters relationships, even across racial and political lines, with graduates helping each other during re-entry and throughout life, encouraging each other to stay successful.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This season we learned about how the Sustainability in Prisons Project all started, to how SPP supports and facilitates their partnerships, to more of the details of some of the conservation and education programs. If you missed anything, there are six other episodes of inspiration just waiting for you!&amp;nbsp; We also heard from SPP staff, partners, and former participants about how important science and sustainability education and programs are in prisons.&amp;nbsp; The people we interviewed this season have all learned from their experiences with SPP, whether it was realizing they had what it takes to learn and be successful, or breaking down preconceived notions about incarcerated individuals and prisons.&amp;nbsp; I know I have learned a lot this season, and I hope to be able to make time to become involved in the future.&amp;nbsp; I’d really like to help bring GIS education into the prisons in some way!&amp;nbsp; If you have similarly been inspired, contact &lt;a href="mailto:spp@evergreen.edu"&gt;spp@evergreen.edu&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Once again, we’d like to thank all of our interviewees this season.&amp;nbsp; We are very grateful that so many people opened up and shared their lived experiences with us. It’s a testament to the impact of the SPP programs and we are glad that we were able to share this wonderful program with you this season.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We will be taking a break before starting work on Season 4.&amp;nbsp; If you have ideas for an upcoming season, please leave them in the comments or email us at outalivepodcast@gmail.com.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907"&gt; Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3V0YWxpdmVwb2RjYXN0LmNvbS90aGUtcG9kY2FzdD9mb3JtYXQ9cnNz"&gt; Google Podcasts,&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6REQ4JpCikjCZCzwA4fv60"&gt; Spotify&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive"&gt; Stitcher&lt;/a&gt;, or wherever you get your podcasts (like&lt;a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/"&gt; Tune In&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us"&gt; Castbox&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528"&gt; Himalaya&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/"&gt; iheartradio&lt;/a&gt;, etc).&amp;nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our&lt;a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive"&gt; Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/outalivepodcast"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="https://www.pinterest.com/outalivepodcast/"&gt;Pinterest&lt;/a&gt; pages.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Until next time, Will We Make It Out Alive?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

In this episode we will learn more about the Roots of Success program from Grady Mitchell, a former participant and current Corrections & Reentry Program Director at Roots of Success.

S3E7: Success Starts at the Root

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 6, Letting Knowledge and Nature In: Science and Sustainability Education in Prison. This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. This season is seven episodes long. If you’ve missed any episodes, you can go back in our arc-hives and listen.&nbsp; So far, you’ve heard <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e1-from-the-tree-canopy-to-the-prison-grounds">how it all started</a>; a <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e2-reducing-recidivism-through-education-science-and-nature">background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP</a>; <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/s3e3-spp-partnerships-oh-my">how SPP is a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system</a>; we’ve also learn more about the <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e4-pluggingawayatthesouthsalishlowlandprairies">SPP Conservation Programs and the Native Plant Nurseries</a>; and <a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/8/1/s3e5-why-did-the-caterpillar-cross-the-road-to-get-to-the-artillery-range">rearing endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterflies at the Mission Creek Correctional Facility</a>.In this episode we will have our final interview of the season with Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director and introduce Emily Passarelli, Education and Outreach Manager for SPP.&nbsp; We’ll be chatting with them about SPP’s science education programs in Washington prisons.Guests in this EpisodeKelli BushKelli Bush is the Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from The Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.Emily PassarelliEmily Passarelli is the Education and Outreach Manager at The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). She first worked with SPP as a graduate student from 2015-2017 as the Green Track Program Coordinator. While there she helped coordinate <a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/">Roots of Success</a> and helped develop the framework for the statewide <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/">Beekeeping Program</a>. After she graduated, she went on to work with Centralia College at the Washington Corrections Center as their Education Program Manager. In 2021, she rejoined the SPP Team as the Education and Outreach Manager.SPP Education ProgramsKelli Bush starts us off by explaining what the <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/">Education Programs</a> portion of SPP is.&nbsp; While all of SPP’s programs include education, there were some programs they weren’t sure how to categorize so they created a catch-all Education bucket.&nbsp; Some of the programs in this bucket include peer-led gardening and composting, beekeeping certifications, and the environmental engagement workshop series.&nbsp;&nbsp;Education in Prison&nbsp;Offering education in prison definitely has its challenges, because prisons weren’t designed with education in mind.&nbsp; Finding classroom space, accessing technology, lack of internet, and the difficulty of bringing traditional science labs into prisons are some of the major barriers.&nbsp; SPP is creative and is developing science curriculum and labs that work in a prison setting.&nbsp; They are also looking into ways of developing secure internet within prisons, as other states have done.&nbsp; Having hard copy materials is the most resilient way to deliver content, because it can be broadly shared and even consumed by incarcerated individuals who need to be separated from others and are unable to attend regular classes.The <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/prison-workshops/">workshop series</a> is a program where scientists, professors, nonprofits, and others with knowledge to share come into the prisons to share 90 minute presentations on a variety of topics the incarcerated population is interested in learning about.&nbsp; The program has been very popular and workshops were always filled to capacity.&nbsp; The program has unfortunately been put on hold due to the pandemic, but SPP hopes to start it back up in the future.&nbsp; In the meantime, SPP is working to develop education modules, which are presentations of 5-20 pages that can be delivered through printed materials.&nbsp; We wanted to tap into our listener hive mind, so if any listeners (or blog readers) feel like they have science or sustainability educational content they would like to share, SPP welcomes idea pitches!&nbsp; If they are interested in your idea, they will even guide you through creating content by providing the format and tips on making the content most effective for the prison audience.Kelli rounds out her time with us by telling us about a new <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2022/02/04/from-worms-to-flies-spp-is-enriching-the-soil-of-2022-with-a-new-composting-program/">composting curriculum</a> currently being developed and giving us an update on how those individuals participating in some of these science education programs can earn college credit.&nbsp; They are working to offer college credit for more of the programs and to offer transferable credit while still incarcerated rather than individuals getting a certificate that they can “redeem” for college credits if they attend Evergreen.We’d really like to thank Kelli for being such a big part of this season by not only being interviewed for 5 out of the 7 episodes, but also for helping us produce this season and introducing us to all of our amazing interviewees.&nbsp; She is the bees’ knees!&nbsp; We really couldn’t have brought you this season without Kelli Bush!Gardening Program&nbsp;Emily Passarelli joins us next to talk more in depth about some of the Education Programs offered by SPP.&nbsp; The <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/gardening-course/">Foundations in Gardening Course</a> has a robust manual and can be taught in a peer-led classroom environment, or through self study.&nbsp; Peer-led education means classes are facilitated by other incarcerated individuals, and can take different forms.&nbsp; Classes can have one peer instructor, or they can trade off and each teach a different module to each other.&nbsp; This model really draws people in and shows them that if their peers are learning and teaching that they can see themselves doing the same and people start to bee-lieve in themselves.Emily shares that there are gardens in each of the 12 prisons.&nbsp; These can take different forms, such as flower gardens, food gardens, native plant gardens, gardens with culturally significant meaning to different populations, and planter boxes people can rent in some of the prisons to grow anything they want (within reason).&nbsp; There are huge therapeutic benefits to gardening, or even seeing gardens (I can personally attest to this) and studies have shown that gardens can reduce stress and tension and improve cognitive ability, among other benefits.&nbsp; In this vein, there is a Nature Imagery program where incarcerated people who are in intensive management units (or IMUs) can go into a room with a television for an hour and view nature imagery.&nbsp; These people are stuck in a cell for 23 hours a day (luckily not for punishment anymore) and aren’t able to experience nature directly, so at least being able to view images of nature can have similar stress-reducing effects. Emily shares a lot more information about gardens, including who can participate in gardening, how much time incarcerated people who work in the gardens spend there, and what happens to produce grown in the gardens.Beekeeping Program&nbsp;Some of the prisons in Washington have <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/">beekeeping programs</a>.&nbsp; These are offered in partnership with local beekeeping associations.&nbsp; Expert beekeepers train new beekeepers and help facilities get new hives and materials.&nbsp; Washington has certified 507 beekeepers!&nbsp; Emily “schools” us on our misconceptions of prisons being gray, concrete behemoths and educates us on the beekeeping program.&nbsp; We learn that bees eat lots of sugar, not just plant nectar!&nbsp; We are also shocked by the fact that a lot of the <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2021/10/22/spp-bees-preparing-for-winter/">hives are lost over the winter</a>.&nbsp; They are always trying new things to try to make the hives more successful, so hopefully they will make strides and be able to share that knowledge with others.&nbsp; If they are successful, they hope to start a queen rearing program!&nbsp;Emily shares that the incarcerated beekeepers unfortunately don’t get to keep any of the honey, but they are very creative and each program has designed their own labels and logos! Sometimes they can try the honey during tasting workshops.&nbsp; Other times it is given out to staff or special guests, or even sold and the proceeds go back into more beekeeping materials or other educational programming for the incarcerated.<a href="https://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession86-10MES/Passarelli_EMESthesis2017.pdf">Emily’s Master’s thesis</a> was on the effects of environmental education on incarcerated students.&nbsp; Emily shares more about her research and findings with us.&nbsp; She had some expected results, but also some that were more unexpected.&nbsp; It turns out that working with living things has huge impacts on incarcerated individuals, including shifts in empathy for other beings, other people, and themselves.After making me feel like my heart was growing three sizes bigger hearing about people learning their self-worth, Emily regales us with the time she started a fire in prison. Ha!Until Next Time…Thank you so much for joining us this episode! We hope you have learned more about learning in this episode…at least pertaining to education in the WA State Prison System.All of SPP’s programs include education, but today we focused on those that SPP puts into their “Education” bucket. SPP is great at finding ways to make science education happen, even with the many hurdles in front of them.&nbsp; They have found the peer-led education model to be very effective in prison settings, particularly during a pandemic!Gardening and beekeeping are two programs under SPP’s broad “Education” bucket.&nbsp; It’s great to hear that all of the Washington prisons have gardens since they have been shown to reduce stress, and I imagine prisons can be a very stressful place for all involved.&nbsp; There is even a special garden for “lifers”! It’s also encouraging that they have beekeeping programs, because we need bees to pollinate most of our food.&nbsp; It was eye-opening to hear about some of the struggles, especially with keeping the bees alive over winter, and hopefully some of the things they are trying will lend itself to saving more hives in and out of prisons.As Kelli mentioned, the highly popular workshop series has been suspended due to the Covid pandemic and we’re not quite sure when it will be starting up again.&nbsp; However, if you have an idea for a workshop or training, you can still pitch your ideas and develop education modules!&nbsp; SPP can help guide you with formatting and give you tips on making the content effective for the population, as well as being delivered through written content.&nbsp; We hope some of our listeners were inspired by this episode to develop some science education materials for the incarcerated on topics near and dear to their hearts!Please join us for our next episode which will be the 7th and final episode of Season 3!&nbsp; We’ll be hearing just a tiny bit more from Emily Passarelli, and we’ll speak with Grady Mitchell about the Roots of Success program, another prison education program. That episode will be coming your way in two weeks, on Tuesday, August 30.Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3V0YWxpdmVwb2RjYXN0LmNvbS90aGUtcG9kY2FzdD9mb3JtYXQ9cnNz"> Google Podcasts,</a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6REQ4JpCikjCZCzwA4fv60"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive"> Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts (like<a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/"> Tune In</a>,<a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us"> Castbox</a><a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528"> Himalaya</a>,<a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/"> iheartradio</a>, etc).&nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our<a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive"> Facebook</a>, Instagram or Pinterest pages.Until next time, Will We Make It Out Alive?

<description>&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Welcome to Season 3, Episode 6, Letting Knowledge and Nature In: Science and Sustainability Education in Prison. This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. This season is seven episodes long. If you’ve missed any episodes, you can go back in our arc-hives and listen.&amp;nbsp; So far, you’ve heard &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e1-from-the-tree-canopy-to-the-prison-grounds"&gt;how it all started&lt;/a&gt;; a &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e2-reducing-recidivism-through-education-science-and-nature"&gt;background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP&lt;/a&gt;; &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/s3e3-spp-partnerships-oh-my"&gt;how SPP is a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system&lt;/a&gt;; we’ve also learn more about the &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/s3e4-pluggingawayatthesouthsalishlowlandprairies"&gt;SPP Conservation Programs and the Native Plant Nurseries&lt;/a&gt;; and &lt;a href="https://www.outalivepodcast.com/the-podcast/2022/8/1/s3e5-why-did-the-caterpillar-cross-the-road-to-get-to-the-artillery-range"&gt;rearing endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterflies at the Mission Creek Correctional Facility&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;In this episode we will have our final interview of the season with Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director and introduce Emily Passarelli, Education and Outreach Manager for SPP.&amp;nbsp; We’ll be chatting with them about SPP’s science education programs in Washington prisons.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Guests in this Episode&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush is the Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from The Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily Passarelli&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily Passarelli is the Education and Outreach Manager at The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). She first worked with SPP as a graduate student from 2015-2017 as the Green Track Program Coordinator. While there she helped coordinate &lt;a href="https://rootsofsuccess.org/"&gt;Roots of Success&lt;/a&gt; and helped develop the framework for the statewide &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/"&gt;Beekeeping Program&lt;/a&gt;. After she graduated, she went on to work with Centralia College at the Washington Corrections Center as their Education Program Manager. In 2021, she rejoined the SPP Team as the Education and Outreach Manager.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SPP Education Programs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush starts us off by explaining what the &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/"&gt;Education Programs&lt;/a&gt; portion of SPP is.&amp;nbsp; While all of SPP’s programs include education, there were some programs they weren’t sure how to categorize so they created a catch-all Education bucket.&amp;nbsp; Some of the programs in this bucket include peer-led gardening and composting, beekeeping certifications, and the environmental engagement workshop series.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Education in Prison&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Offering education in prison definitely has its challenges, because prisons weren’t designed with education in mind.&amp;nbsp; Finding classroom space, accessing technology, lack of internet, and the difficulty of bringing traditional science labs into prisons are some of the major barriers.&amp;nbsp; SPP is creative and is developing science curriculum and labs that work in a prison setting.&amp;nbsp; They are also looking into ways of developing secure internet within prisons, as other states have done.&amp;nbsp; Having hard copy materials is the most resilient way to deliver content, because it can be broadly shared and even consumed by incarcerated individuals who need to be separated from others and are unable to attend regular classes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;The &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/prison-workshops/"&gt;workshop series&lt;/a&gt; is a program where scientists, professors, nonprofits, and others with knowledge to share come into the prisons to share 90 minute presentations on a variety of topics the incarcerated population is interested in learning about.&amp;nbsp; The program has been very popular and workshops were always filled to capacity.&amp;nbsp; The program has unfortunately been put on hold due to the pandemic, but SPP hopes to start it back up in the future.&amp;nbsp; In the meantime, SPP is working to develop education modules, which are presentations of 5-20 pages that can be delivered through printed materials.&amp;nbsp; We wanted to tap into our listener hive mind, so if any listeners (or blog readers) feel like they have science or sustainability educational content they would like to share, SPP welcomes idea pitches!&amp;nbsp; If they are interested in your idea, they will even guide you through creating content by providing the format and tips on making the content most effective for the prison audience.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli rounds out her time with us by telling us about a new &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2022/02/04/from-worms-to-flies-spp-is-enriching-the-soil-of-2022-with-a-new-composting-program/"&gt;composting curriculum&lt;/a&gt; currently being developed and giving us an update on how those individuals participating in some of these science education programs can earn college credit.&amp;nbsp; They are working to offer college credit for more of the programs and to offer transferable credit while still incarcerated rather than individuals getting a certificate that they can “redeem” for college credits if they attend Evergreen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We’d really like to thank Kelli for being such a big part of this season by not only being interviewed for 5 out of the 7 episodes, but also for helping us produce this season and introducing us to all of our amazing interviewees.&amp;nbsp; She is the bees’ knees!&amp;nbsp; We really couldn’t have brought you this season without Kelli Bush!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gardening Program&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily Passarelli joins us next to talk more in depth about some of the Education Programs offered by SPP.&amp;nbsp; The &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/education/gardening-course/"&gt;Foundations in Gardening Course&lt;/a&gt; has a robust manual and can be taught in a peer-led classroom environment, or through self study.&amp;nbsp; Peer-led education means classes are facilitated by other incarcerated individuals, and can take different forms.&amp;nbsp; Classes can have one peer instructor, or they can trade off and each teach a different module to each other.&amp;nbsp; This model really draws people in and shows them that if their peers are learning and teaching that they can see themselves doing the same and people start to bee-lieve in themselves.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily shares that there are gardens in each of the 12 prisons.&amp;nbsp; These can take different forms, such as flower gardens, food gardens, native plant gardens, gardens with culturally significant meaning to different populations, and planter boxes people can rent in some of the prisons to grow anything they want (within reason).&amp;nbsp; There are huge therapeutic benefits to gardening, or even seeing gardens (I can personally attest to this) and studies have shown that gardens can reduce stress and tension and improve cognitive ability, among other benefits.&amp;nbsp; In this vein, there is a Nature Imagery program where incarcerated people who are in intensive management units (or IMUs) can go into a room with a television for an hour and view nature imagery.&amp;nbsp; These people are stuck in a cell for 23 hours a day (luckily not for punishment anymore) and aren’t able to experience nature directly, so at least being able to view images of nature can have similar stress-reducing effects. Emily shares a lot more information about gardens, including who can participate in gardening, how much time incarcerated people who work in the gardens spend there, and what happens to produce grown in the gardens.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Beekeeping Program&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Some of the prisons in Washington have &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/beekeeping-programs/"&gt;beekeeping programs&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; These are offered in partnership with local beekeeping associations.&amp;nbsp; Expert beekeepers train new beekeepers and help facilities get new hives and materials.&amp;nbsp; Washington has certified 507 beekeepers!&amp;nbsp; Emily “schools” us on our misconceptions of prisons being gray, concrete behemoths and educates us on the beekeeping program.&amp;nbsp; We learn that bees eat lots of sugar, not just plant nectar!&amp;nbsp; We are also shocked by the fact that a lot of the &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/blog/2021/10/22/spp-bees-preparing-for-winter/"&gt;hives are lost over the winter&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; They are always trying new things to try to make the hives more successful, so hopefully they will make strides and be able to share that knowledge with others.&amp;nbsp; If they are successful, they hope to start a queen rearing program!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Emily shares that the incarcerated beekeepers unfortunately don’t get to keep any of the honey, but they are very creative and each program has designed their own labels and logos! Sometimes they can try the honey during tasting workshops.&amp;nbsp; Other times it is given out to staff or special guests, or even sold and the proceeds go back into more beekeeping materials or other educational programming for the incarcerated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession86-10MES/Passarelli_EMESthesis2017.pdf"&gt;Emily’s Master’s thesis&lt;/a&gt; was on the effects of environmental education on incarcerated students.&amp;nbsp; Emily shares more about her research and findings with us.&amp;nbsp; She had some expected results, but also some that were more unexpected.&amp;nbsp; It turns out that working with living things has huge impacts on incarcerated individuals, including shifts in empathy for other beings, other people, and themselves.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;After making me feel like my heart was growing three sizes bigger hearing about people learning their self-worth, Emily regales us with the time she started a fire in prison. Ha!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Until Next Time…&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Thank you so much for joining us this episode! We hope you have learned more about learning in this episode…at least pertaining to education in the WA State Prison System.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;All of SPP’s programs include education, but today we focused on those that SPP puts into their “Education” bucket. SPP is great at finding ways to make science education happen, even with the many hurdles in front of them.&amp;nbsp; They have found the peer-led education model to be very effective in prison settings, particularly during a pandemic!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Gardening and beekeeping are two programs under SPP’s broad “Education” bucket.&amp;nbsp; It’s great to hear that all of the Washington prisons have gardens since they have been shown to reduce stress, and I imagine prisons can be a very stressful place for all involved.&amp;nbsp; There is even a special garden for “lifers”! It’s also encouraging that they have beekeeping programs, because we need bees to pollinate most of our food.&amp;nbsp; It was eye-opening to hear about some of the struggles, especially with keeping the bees alive over winter, and hopefully some of the things they are trying will lend itself to saving more hives in and out of prisons.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;As Kelli mentioned, the highly popular workshop series has been suspended due to the Covid pandemic and we’re not quite sure when it will be starting up again.&amp;nbsp; However, if you have an idea for a workshop or training, you can still pitch your ideas and develop education modules!&amp;nbsp; SPP can help guide you with formatting and give you tips on making the content effective for the population, as well as being delivered through written content.&amp;nbsp; We hope some of our listeners were inspired by this episode to develop some science education materials for the incarcerated on topics near and dear to their hearts!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please join us for our next episode which will be the 7th and final episode of Season 3!&amp;nbsp; We’ll be hearing just a tiny bit more from Emily Passarelli, and we’ll speak with Grady Mitchell about the Roots of Success program, another prison education program. That episode will be coming your way in two weeks, on Tuesday, August 30.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907"&gt; Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3V0YWxpdmVwb2RjYXN0LmNvbS90aGUtcG9kY2FzdD9mb3JtYXQ9cnNz"&gt; Google Podcasts,&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6REQ4JpCikjCZCzwA4fv60"&gt; Spotify&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive"&gt; Stitcher&lt;/a&gt;, or wherever you get your podcasts (like&lt;a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/"&gt; Tune In&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us"&gt; Castbox&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528"&gt; Himalaya&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/"&gt; iheartradio&lt;/a&gt;, etc).&amp;nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our&lt;a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive"&gt; Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, Instagram or Pinterest pages.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Until next time, Will We Make It Out Alive?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Science and Sustainability Education in Prison

In this episode we will have our final interview of the season with Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director and introduce Emily Passarelli, Education and Outreach Manager for SPP. We’ll be chatting with them about SPP’s science education programs in Washington prisons.

S3E6: Letting Knowledge and Nature In

Welcome to Episode 4, Plugging away at the South Salish Lowland Prairies, all about conservation programs with the WA Sustainability in Prisons Project. In this episode we will learn a little about the umbrella Conservation Programs with Kelli Bush, and then we chat with Carl Elliot about the Conservation Nursery Program.This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. We now know that this season is at least 6 episodes long and it still could be 7 episodes long. In the first episode we got into how it all started; Episode 2 provided a background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP. Episode 3 was all about partnerships, which is really what SPP is, a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system.According to an article “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90008727">Conservation Projects in Prison</a>,”“The pace of habitat destruction and loss of biological diversity globally exceeds the current capacity of societies to restore functioning ecosystems. Working with prison systems to engage inmates in habitat conservation and ecological science is an innovative approach to increase our ability to reestablish habitat and at-risk species, while simultaneously providing people in custody with opportunities for reciprocal restoration, education, therapeutic activities, safer conditions, and lower costs of imprisonment. We present the benefits of working with prisons to conduct habitat conservation through nursery production of plants and captive rearing of animals, combined with educational experiences...”Interviewees this EpisodeKelli Bush is the co-director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from The Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.&nbsp;Carl Elliot is the Program Manager of the <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/conservation-nursery-programs/">Conservation Nursery Programs</a> with the Sustainability in Prisons Project. Carl has a B.S. and a Masters of Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College. Prior to his work with the Sustainability in Prison Project, he had over twenty years of experience in horticulture and sustainable agriculture. He was a founding board member of the <a href="https://volunteer.uwkc.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=62113">Seattle Youth Garden Works</a>, which trains homeless children and other at-risk youth in skills for employment and healthy living. He began working for SPP in 2011 as the Conservation and Restoration Coordinator and has expanded the Conservation Nursery Program from one to four prisons in Washington.SPP Conservation ProgramsIn this episode we chat with Kelli Bush about the overarching Conservation Program, its goals and some of the different types of programs. She also shares a little about some conservation programs on the horizon; like the <a href="https://appliedeco.org/education/sagebrush-in-prisons-project/#:~:text=The%20Sagebrush%20in%20Prisons%20Project%2C%20as%20part%20of%20the%20Sustainability,in%20the%20great%20basin%20region.">Sagebrush in Prisons Project</a>, which grows sagebrush in prisons to help restore sagebrush habitat. We get off on a little tangent, but it leads us to talking about another potential partnership with <a href="https://education.ucdavis.edu/center-community-and-citizen-science">UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science.</a>Next we talk to Carl Elliot about the <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/conservation-nursery-programs/">Conservation Nursery Programs</a>. He starts with some background in the South Salish Lowland Prairies (say that five times fast!) and the work over the last 20 years or so to restore this habitat. He also shares how he got his start with SPP and why he was ultimately the ideal candidate to help further develop the Conservation Nursery Program (spoiler alert, it was because he was not just looking at it as cheap prison labor). He also talks about what is grown at the nurseries and why. He also shares about how biological technicians participate in the program, including a discussion about how ideas are shared and how he fosters and encourages new ideas from all people involved. He shares some of the benefits of participating in the program; technicians are learning, they can get college credit and in the end those things ultimately benefit our communities. He also shares about his personal experience working with a program in a prison and what working with incarcerated individuals is like.“I rarely meet an incarcerated individual that can not add something to the conservation community.” -Carl ElliotCarl provides a solid foundation to the restoration of South Salish Lowland Prairies. This includes discussion about some of the locations of remaining prairie near Olympia, WA.<a href="https://wolfhaven.org/conservation/prairie/restoration/">Wolf Haven</a> is working with many partners to help restore 36 acres of Mima Mound Prairie found on their property.<a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/spp-staff-2/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-jblm/">JBLM</a> includes the largest remaining intact Prairie in the South Salish Basin (which happens to be a live artillery range). The artillery impact area at JBLM contains some of the highest quality prairies in the Pacific Northwest and some of the few remaining natural populations of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies. Out of all of the glacial outwash prairie that previously existed there is only 5% remaining and of that, JBLM is home to about 95%!!!<a href="https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/the-once-and-future-%E2%80%A8northwest-prairie/">Glacial Heritage Preserve</a>, a 1,134-acre preserve, including 650 acres of grassland, located in Thurston County south of Olympia, Washington. In 1988, Thurston County purchased the land, recognizing the potential for restoring several native ecosystems on the variable site. The Nature Conservancy began managing the land in 1995, a role that was taken over by the Center for Natural Lands Management in 2014. Today, CNLM sees to all aspects of maintenance on this private preserve: managing controlled burns, removing invasive plants by pulling or herbicide use, and reintroducing native plants through seeding and planting. They open up the prairie each spring to the public for <a href="https://www.prairieappreciationday.org/">Prairie Appreciation Days.</a>Did you know that there’s a <a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Prairie-Landowner-Guide-Western-WA1.pdf">Prairie Landowner Guide for Western Washington</a>?!Western Washington Prairies BackgroundDid you know? <a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/">Prairies</a> are one of the <a href="https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/ecosystems/westside-prairie">rarest ecosystems</a> in Washington State! Only 3% of the original prairies remain.Prairies west of the Cascade Mountains were created by glaciers. When the glaciers started to recede about <a href="https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/ecosystems/westside-prairie">15,000 years ago</a>, they left behind dry gravelly soils perfect for prairies. These prairies were a natural landscape habitat in this area during the <a href="https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/the-once-and-future-%E2%80%A8northwest-prairie/">earlier dryer and warmer climate</a>. Between <a href="http://w.southsoundprairies.org/documents/PrairieFiresandEarthMounds-LindaStorm.pdf">6000 and 5000 years</a> ago the pollen signature shifted to a wetter and cooler climate, resulting in a natural plant succession that shifted the ecosystem to oak and then Douglas fir dominated forests. However some of the prairies persisted and this has been attributed to the Coast Salish tribes, who likely grew to depend on the prairies and so they continued to maintain them through burning. This type of landscape management was used to maintain <a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/">prairie areas</a> from Vancouver Island south to Eugene. The prairies in the South Salish Lowlands were traditional use areas for the Nisqually, Squaxin Island, Upper Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes.&nbsp;Prairies in the South Salish Lowlands have faced many ecosystem pressures. Current restoration efforts are as varied as the sites they are trying to restore. Typical methods include <a href="https://salishmagazine.org/riches-of-the-prairies/">invasive species removal methods</a> (mowing, herbicide, hand pulling), prescribed burning, and native plant restoration (seeding, plugging, planting). Adaptive management is the name of the game as they try to improve their restoration techniques.&nbsp;Until Next Time…WE HOP TO SEE YOU NEXT EPISODE!Thank you so much for joining us this episode! We hope you learned more about the SPP Conservation Program and the Conservation Nursery Programs and how they impact our communities and our environment. We think the biggest take away from this episode is that bringing nature and education into prisons can be rewarding for all involved, from the individuals, to the ecosystem, to the community. Maybe most importantly, these programs often change the way that people view themselves. We also want to reiterate that these programs are really about bringing education, nature and training into prisons.&nbsp;We hope you also learned more about prairie ecosystems and some of SPP’s conservation and restoration efforts both for the prairies themselves and for endangered species like the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly. Carl also shared what it’s like to grow plants in a conservation nursery and what it looks like to bring this kind of science and education into the prison.&nbsp;This episode showcases what a big partnership with SPP might look like. While this might not be the right fit for every organization, it certainly seems to be very beneficial for those who have a big idea about bringing science and nature into prisons.Please join us on August 2nd for our next episode which will be all about the SPP Conservation Partnership for the Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Program. We will let Kelli rest for one episode and chat with Mary Linders (again) and introduce Liz Louie, former butterfly technician.&nbsp;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts (like <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/">Tune In</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us">Castbox</a> <a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528">Himalaya</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/">iheartradio</a>, etc).&nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our <a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive">Facebook</a> page.

<description>&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Welcome to Episode 4, Plugging away at the South Salish Lowland Prairies, all about conservation programs with the WA Sustainability in Prisons Project. In this episode we will learn a little about the umbrella Conservation Programs with Kelli Bush, and then we chat with Carl Elliot about the Conservation Nursery Program.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. We now know that this season is at least 6 episodes long and it still could be 7 episodes long. In the first episode we got into how it all started; Episode 2 provided a background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP. Episode 3 was all about partnerships, which is really what SPP is, a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;According to an article “&lt;a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90008727"&gt;Conservation Projects in Prison&lt;/a&gt;,”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;“The pace of habitat destruction and loss of biological diversity globally exceeds the current capacity of societies to restore functioning ecosystems. Working with prison systems to engage inmates in habitat conservation and ecological science is an innovative approach to increase our ability to reestablish habitat and at-risk species, while simultaneously providing people in custody with opportunities for reciprocal restoration, education, therapeutic activities, safer conditions, and lower costs of imprisonment. We present the benefits of working with prisons to conduct habitat conservation through nursery production of plants and captive rearing of animals, combined with educational experiences...”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Interviewees this Episode&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush is the co-director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from The Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Carl Elliot is the Program Manager of the &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/conservation-nursery-programs/"&gt;Conservation Nursery Programs&lt;/a&gt; with the Sustainability in Prisons Project. Carl has a B.S. and a Masters of Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College. Prior to his work with the Sustainability in Prison Project, he had over twenty years of experience in horticulture and sustainable agriculture. He was a founding board member of the &lt;a href="https://volunteer.uwkc.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=62113"&gt;Seattle Youth Garden Works&lt;/a&gt;, which trains homeless children and other at-risk youth in skills for employment and healthy living. He began working for SPP in 2011 as the Conservation and Restoration Coordinator and has expanded the Conservation Nursery Program from one to four prisons in Washington.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;SPP Conservation Programs&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;In this episode we chat with Kelli Bush about the overarching Conservation Program, its goals and some of the different types of programs. She also shares a little about some conservation programs on the horizon; like the &lt;a href="https://appliedeco.org/education/sagebrush-in-prisons-project/#:~:text=The%20Sagebrush%20in%20Prisons%20Project%2C%20as%20part%20of%20the%20Sustainability,in%20the%20great%20basin%20region."&gt;Sagebrush in Prisons Project&lt;/a&gt;, which grows sagebrush in prisons to help restore sagebrush habitat. We get off on a little tangent, but it leads us to talking about another potential partnership with &lt;a href="https://education.ucdavis.edu/center-community-and-citizen-science"&gt;UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Next we talk to Carl Elliot about the &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/conservation/conservation-nursery-programs/"&gt;Conservation Nursery Programs&lt;/a&gt;. He starts with some background in the South Salish Lowland Prairies (say that five times fast!) and the work over the last 20 years or so to restore this habitat. He also shares how he got his start with SPP and why he was ultimately the ideal candidate to help further develop the Conservation Nursery Program (spoiler alert, it was because he was not just looking at it as cheap prison labor). He also talks about what is grown at the nurseries and why. He also shares about how biological technicians participate in the program, including a discussion about how ideas are shared and how he fosters and encourages new ideas from all people involved. He shares some of the benefits of participating in the program; technicians are learning, they can get college credit and in the end those things ultimately benefit our communities. He also shares about his personal experience working with a program in a prison and what working with incarcerated individuals is like.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;“I rarely meet an incarcerated individual that can not add something to the conservation community.” -Carl Elliot&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Carl provides a solid foundation to the restoration of South Salish Lowland Prairies. This includes discussion about some of the locations of remaining prairie near Olympia, WA.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://wolfhaven.org/conservation/prairie/restoration/"&gt;Wolf Haven&lt;/a&gt; is working with many partners to help restore 36 acres of Mima Mound Prairie found on their property.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/spp-staff-2/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-jblm/"&gt;JBLM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;includes the largest remaining intact Prairie in the South Salish Basin (which happens to be a live artillery range). The artillery impact area at JBLM contains some of the highest quality prairies in the Pacific Northwest and some of the few remaining natural populations of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies. Out of all of the glacial outwash prairie that previously existed there is only 5% remaining and of that, JBLM is home to about 95%!!!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/the-once-and-future-%E2%80%A8northwest-prairie/"&gt;Glacial Heritage Preserve&lt;/a&gt;, a 1,134-acre preserve, including 650 acres of grassland, located in Thurston County south of Olympia, Washington. In 1988, Thurston County purchased the land, recognizing the potential for restoring several native ecosystems on the variable site. The Nature Conservancy began managing the land in 1995, a role that was taken over by the Center for Natural Lands Management in 2014. Today, CNLM sees to all aspects of maintenance on this private preserve: managing controlled burns, removing invasive plants by pulling or herbicide use, and reintroducing native plants through seeding and planting. They open up the prairie each spring to the public for &lt;a href="https://www.prairieappreciationday.org/"&gt;Prairie Appreciation Days.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Did you know that there’s a &lt;a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Prairie-Landowner-Guide-Western-WA1.pdf"&gt;Prairie Landowner Guide for Western Washington&lt;/a&gt;?!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Western Washington Prairies Background&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Did you know? &lt;a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/"&gt;Prairies&lt;/a&gt; are one of the &lt;a href="https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/ecosystems/westside-prairie"&gt;rarest ecosystems&lt;/a&gt; in Washington State! Only 3% of the original prairies remain.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Prairies west of the Cascade Mountains were created by glaciers. When the glaciers started to recede about &lt;a href="https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/ecosystems/westside-prairie"&gt;15,000 years ago&lt;/a&gt;, they left behind dry gravelly soils perfect for prairies. These prairies were a natural landscape habitat in this area during the &lt;a href="https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/the-once-and-future-%E2%80%A8northwest-prairie/"&gt;earlier dryer and warmer climate&lt;/a&gt;. Between &lt;a href="http://w.southsoundprairies.org/documents/PrairieFiresandEarthMounds-LindaStorm.pdf"&gt;6000 and 5000 years&lt;/a&gt; ago the pollen signature shifted to a wetter and cooler climate, resulting in a natural plant succession that shifted the ecosystem to oak and then Douglas fir dominated forests. However some of the prairies persisted and this has been attributed to the Coast Salish tribes, who likely grew to depend on the prairies and so they continued to maintain them through burning. This type of landscape management was used to maintain &lt;a href="https://cascadiaprairieoak.org/"&gt;prairie areas&lt;/a&gt; from Vancouver Island south to Eugene. The prairies in the South Salish Lowlands were traditional use areas for the Nisqually, Squaxin Island, Upper Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Prairies in the South Salish Lowlands have faced many ecosystem pressures. Current restoration efforts are as varied as the sites they are trying to restore. Typical methods include &lt;a href="https://salishmagazine.org/riches-of-the-prairies/"&gt;invasive species removal methods&lt;/a&gt; (mowing, herbicide, hand pulling), prescribed burning, and native plant restoration (seeding, plugging, planting). Adaptive management is the name of the game as they try to improve their restoration techniques.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Until Next Time…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;WE HOP TO SEE YOU NEXT EPISODE!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Thank you so much for joining us this episode! We hope you learned more about the SPP Conservation Program and the Conservation Nursery Programs and how they impact our communities and our environment. We think the biggest take away from this episode is that bringing nature and education into prisons can be rewarding for all involved, from the individuals, to the ecosystem, to the community. Maybe most importantly, these programs often change the way that people view themselves. We also want to reiterate that these programs are really about bringing education, nature and training into prisons.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We hope you also learned more about prairie ecosystems and some of SPP’s conservation and restoration efforts both for the prairies themselves and for endangered species like the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly. Carl also shared what it’s like to grow plants in a conservation nursery and what it looks like to bring this kind of science and education into the prison.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This episode showcases what a big partnership with SPP might look like. While this might not be the right fit for every organization, it certainly seems to be very beneficial for those who have a big idea about bringing science and nature into prisons.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please join us on August 2nd for our next episode which will be all about the SPP Conservation Partnership for the Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly Recovery Program. We will let Kelli rest for one episode and chat with Mary Linders (again) and introduce Liz Louie, former butterfly technician.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on &lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907"&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive"&gt;Stitcher&lt;/a&gt;, or wherever you get your podcasts (like &lt;a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/"&gt;Tune In&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us"&gt;Castbox&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528"&gt;Himalaya&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/"&gt;iheartradio&lt;/a&gt;, etc).&amp;nbsp; Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our &lt;a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt; page. &lt;/p&gt;</description>

WA Sustainability in Prisons Conservation Programs and the Conservation Nursery

In this episode we talk to Kelli Bush, SPP Co-Director and Carl Elliot, SPP Conservation Programs Manager about the Conservation Programs and the Conservation Nursery at the Sustainability in Prisons Project.

S3E4 - Plugging Away at the South Salish Lowland Prairies

Season Three is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (or SPP), and how they bring education and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. In this episode we interview James Jackson, who serves as an education reentry navigator at The Evergreen State College. He shares some of his experiences with the prison system and the importance of education in breaking the cycle of incarceration. We will also hear again from Kelli Bush, Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project, who shares more about what SPP is all about.IntervieweesJames JacksonJames is the Education Reentry Navigator at The Evergreen State College. He works to match formerly incarcerated students with colleges in the South Puget Sound that best meet their needs, and helps them transition from prison to life on campus.Kelli BushKelli Bush is the co-director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from the Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.The Prison SystemJames (JJ) Jackson was formerly incarcerated in the US Federal prison system. He graciously shares some of his experiences with the prison system and with education in and out of prison. James starts out by providing some statistics indicating that formerly incarcerated people who earn a college degree are much less likely to recidivate. Similar reports can be found <a href="https://now.tufts.edu/2019/06/28/educational-program-aims-lower-recidivism-rates-improve-quality-life-inmates#:~:text=However%2C%20studies%20that%20focus%20on%20the%20impact%20of,further%2C%20some%20studies%20suggest%20to%20below%202%20percent." target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.nlg.org/guild-notes/article/beyond-bars-education-key-to-lower-recidivism/#:~:text=Prisoners%20who%20achieve%20a%20high,with%20a%20bachelor's%20degree%20reoffend." target="_blank">here</a>. He then talks through his experience and motivations while incarcerated, including education he had access to and programs such as the Residential Drug Abuse Program (<a href="https://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/FAQ-Residential-Drug-Abuse-Program-5.3.pdf" target="_blank">RDAP</a>) that he could have participated in (listen to the episode to find out why he chose not to participate in this program). He also shares a bit about his experience with reentry and some of the <a href="https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2018/03/prisons-to-communities" target="_blank">challenges people face with reentry,</a> including housing, substance abuse, and jobs. James says <a href="https://www.sbctc.edu/resources/documents/colleges-staff/programs-services/corrections/correction-report-fy-2020.pdf" target="_blank">education</a> is something the Washington corrections system is doing well. Washington is unique in hiring education navigators to help incarcerated students navigate the college system and the transition from prison to college campuses. Federally, education grants, that were stripped during the Tough on Crime legislation in the 1980’s and 1990’s, for all currently and formerly incarcerated students are scheduled to be <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-expansion-second-chance-pell-program-and-actions-help-incarcerated-individuals-resume-educational-journeys-and-reduce-recidivism" target="_blank">fully reinstated in 2023</a>. We discuss some of the systemic changes needed to improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated people, some of which Washington has implemented including removing the felon checkbox on college applications. James mentions a book, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow" target="_blank">The New Jim Crow</a> by Michelle Alexander. He discusses several of the author’s ideas, including how being charged with a felony follows people throughout their lives, even after they have served their time and paid their debt to society.We have a great discussion about language and how certain terms like convict, offender, and inmate can cause stigma and bias and dehumanize people. Using terms such as incarcerated individuals can help change the narrative and reduce stigma, while making it harder to treat people as numbers and distance yourself from other individuals.What is SPP (and what isn’t it)?Kelli talks about some of the benefits participants receive, such as exposure to nature and science, education, training, networking, and college credits. The program also benefits the community, particularly by breaking down barriers. It brings community members inside the prisons and helps break down biases by letting them interact with and get to know incarcerated people. Kelli discusses what SPP is (environmental education and training for incarcerated individuals) and what <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/what-spp-is-and-isnt/" target="_blank">SPP isn’t</a> (cheap labor or sustaining the prison system). She shares that the program does have some constraints, namely that the prison system isn’t designed for programs like this so the infrastructure just isn’t there. SPP don’t let these constraints stop them; they had around <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/" target="_blank">199 projects or programs</a> last year! Some of these are led by the Department of Corrections, and some are led by Evergreen. Others have unfortunately been suspended because of Covid-19 but will hopefully be brought back soon. A large portion of the programs are funded through grants and <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/get-involved/donate-2/" target="_blank">donations</a>. We encourage our listeners to start thinking about potential projects that might be a good fit for SPP and listen to future episodes for ideas on how to plug in!Coming up nextJoin us in two weeks (July 5) for our next episode, where we will hear more in depth about some of the great partnerships at SPP. We will be talking to Mary Linders, a SPP partner and scientist at WDFW, and Carolina Landa, a former butterfly technician with SPP. We will also hear more from Kelli Bush because she’s awesome.Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts (like <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/" target="_blank">Tune In</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us" target="_blank">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528" target="_blank">Himalaya</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/" target="_blank">iheartradio</a>, etc). Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our <a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page.

<description>&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Season Three is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (or SPP), and how they bring education and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. In this episode we interview James Jackson, who serves as an education reentry navigator at The Evergreen State College. He shares some of his experiences with the prison system and the importance of education in breaking the cycle of incarceration. We will also hear again from Kelli Bush, Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project, who shares more about what SPP is all about.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Interviewees&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;James Jackson&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;James is the Education Reentry Navigator at The Evergreen State College. He works to match formerly incarcerated students with colleges in the South Puget Sound that best meet their needs, and helps them transition from prison to life on campus.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush is the co-director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from the Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;The Prison System&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;James (JJ) Jackson was formerly incarcerated in the US Federal prison system. He graciously shares some of his experiences with the prison system and with education in and out of prison. James starts out by providing some statistics indicating that formerly incarcerated people who earn a college degree are much less likely to recidivate. Similar reports can be found &lt;a href="https://now.tufts.edu/2019/06/28/educational-program-aims-lower-recidivism-rates-improve-quality-life-inmates#:~:text=However%2C%20studies%20that%20focus%20on%20the%20impact%20of,further%2C%20some%20studies%20suggest%20to%20below%202%20percent." target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.nlg.org/guild-notes/article/beyond-bars-education-key-to-lower-recidivism/#:~:text=Prisoners%20who%20achieve%20a%20high,with%20a%20bachelor's%20degree%20reoffend." target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. He then talks through his experience and motivations while incarcerated, including education he had access to and programs such as the Residential Drug Abuse Program (&lt;a href="https://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/FAQ-Residential-Drug-Abuse-Program-5.3.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;RDAP&lt;/a&gt;) that he could have participated in (listen to the episode to find out why he chose not to participate in this program). He also shares a bit about his experience with reentry and some of the &lt;a href="https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2018/03/prisons-to-communities" target="_blank"&gt;challenges people face with reentry,&lt;/a&gt; including housing, substance abuse, and jobs. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;James says &lt;a href="https://www.sbctc.edu/resources/documents/colleges-staff/programs-services/corrections/correction-report-fy-2020.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;education&lt;/a&gt; is something the Washington corrections system is doing well. Washington is unique in hiring education navigators to help incarcerated students navigate the college system and the transition from prison to college campuses. Federally, education grants, that were stripped during the Tough on Crime legislation in the 1980’s and 1990’s, for all currently and formerly incarcerated students are scheduled to be &lt;a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-expansion-second-chance-pell-program-and-actions-help-incarcerated-individuals-resume-educational-journeys-and-reduce-recidivism" target="_blank"&gt;fully reinstated in 2023&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We discuss some of the systemic changes needed to improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated people, some of which Washington has implemented including removing the felon checkbox on college applications. James mentions a book, &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow" target="_blank"&gt;The New Jim Crow&lt;/a&gt; by Michelle Alexander. He discusses several of the author’s ideas, including how being charged with a felony follows people throughout their lives, even after they have served their time and paid their debt to society.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We have a great discussion about language and how certain terms like convict, offender, and inmate can cause stigma and bias and dehumanize people. Using terms such as incarcerated individuals can help change the narrative and reduce stigma, while making it harder to treat people as numbers and distance yourself from other individuals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;What is SPP (and what isn’t it)?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli talks about some of the benefits participants receive, such as exposure to nature and science, education, training, networking, and college credits. The program also benefits the community, particularly by breaking down barriers. It brings community members inside the prisons and helps break down biases by letting them interact with and get to know incarcerated people. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli discusses what SPP is (environmental education and training for incarcerated individuals) and what &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/what-spp-is-and-isnt/" target="_blank"&gt;SPP isn’t&lt;/a&gt; (cheap labor or sustaining the prison system). She shares that the program does have some constraints, namely that the prison system isn’t designed for programs like this so the infrastructure just isn’t there. SPP don’t let these constraints stop them; they had around &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-programs-in-wa/" target="_blank"&gt;199 projects or programs&lt;/a&gt; last year! Some of these are led by the Department of Corrections, and some are led by Evergreen. Others have unfortunately been suspended because of Covid-19 but will hopefully be brought back soon. A large portion of the programs are funded through grants and &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/get-involved/donate-2/" target="_blank"&gt;donations&lt;/a&gt;. We encourage our listeners to start thinking about potential projects that might be a good fit for SPP and listen to future episodes for ideas on how to plug in!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Coming up next&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Join us in two weeks (July 5) for our next episode, where we will hear more in depth about some of the great partnerships at SPP. We will be talking to Mary Linders, a SPP partner and scientist at WDFW, and Carolina Landa, a former butterfly technician with SPP. We will also hear more from Kelli Bush because she’s awesome.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on &lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907" target="_blank"&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive" target="_blank"&gt;Stitcher&lt;/a&gt;, or wherever you get your podcasts (like &lt;a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/" target="_blank"&gt;Tune In&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us" target="_blank"&gt;Castbox&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528" target="_blank"&gt;Himalaya&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/" target="_blank"&gt;iheartradio&lt;/a&gt;, etc). Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our &lt;a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive" target="_blank"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt; page.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Season Three is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (or SPP), and how they bring education and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. In this episode we interviewed James Jackson, who serves as an education re-entry navigator at The Evergreen State College. He shares some of his experiences with the prison system and the importance of education in breaking the cycle of incarceration. We will also hear again from Kelli Bush, Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project, who will share more about what SPP is all about.

S3E2: Reducing Recidivism Through Education, Science and Nature

Season 3 is all about the Washington Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP). SPP brings education and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. This season will be six or seven episodes long (we’re not sure yet because numbers and math or something) and we will be interviewing a variety of people from SPP, as well as partners and individuals that have participated in the program. Unfortunately, we are missing the Department of Corrections perspective because we were unable to connect with them.In this episode we are honored to interview Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, whose curiosity and out of the box thinking led to the formation of SPP.&nbsp; She’s so amazing she even had a <a href="https://science.utah.edu/news/nalini-nadkarni-barbie/" target="_blank">TreeTop Barbie</a> made in her likeness!&nbsp; We will also hear a little bit from Kelli Bush, current Co-Director of SPP.&nbsp; Kelli will be joining us most, if not all, episodes this season.&nbsp; Kelli helped us out a great deal this season, helping us make connections with interviewees and providing a lot of background information and assistance.&nbsp; We couldn’t have created this season without Kelli! Thanks Kelli!!!IntervieweesNalini NadkarniNalini is currently a professor of Biology at the University of Utah, and is a former professor at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. According to her <a href="https://nalininadkarni.com" target="_blank">website</a>, “Nalini’s research interests are on: community and ecosystem ecology of tropical and temperate forest canopy organisms and interactions; the effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity and community function; and the development of database tools for canopy researchers.” She has also “pioneered bringing science education, conservation projects, and nature imagery to the incarcerated.”Kelli BushKelli Bush is the co-director of the sustainability in prisons project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from the Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.Sustainability in PrisonsNalini talked about the origins of SPP, which started with an idea of having incarcerated people help her learn how to grow moss, so sustainably grown moss could be used for horticultural purposes instead of gathering moss from the wild. This idea came about because of Nalini’s scientific work, as well as that of <a href="https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2004/aug/moss-huge-underground-market-ecological-concern" target="_blank">Pat Muir from Oregon State University</a>. It turns out people don’t know how to propagate moss, even in the famous <a href="https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3937.html" target="_blank">moss gardens of Japan</a>! After shopping the idea around to several prisons, she got a bite from <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/spp-staff-2/dan-pacholke/" target="_blank">Dan Pacholke</a>, who was the prison superintendent at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center at the time, and the two of them founded SPP. This has led to more scientific study, seminars, environmental training, and education in prisons in Washington State. Nalini has since moved on to Utah (where she’s started a similar program called <a href="https://nalininadkarni.com/inspire/" target="_blank">INSPIRE</a>), but SPP has continued to grow. Nalini remains involved with SPP and often collaborates with Kelli Bush and others, including writing peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals. One of these describes a collaboration between NASA, SPP, INSPIRE, as well as similar programs in Ohio and Florida, where <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2019.2209" target="_blank">NASA brought astrobiology education to prisons</a>.Since we forgot to ask Nalini, we had Kelli join us to explain what an<a href="https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/institutional-review-boards-frequently-asked-questions" target="_blank"> IRB</a> is. She also shares more about some <a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-network/spp-network-programs/" target="_blank">similar programs</a> around the US and around the world that SPP shares ideas with and learns from.Coming up nextJoin us in two weeks (June 21) for our next episode, where we will be hearing from James Jackson, who works with SPP and the Department of Corrections as an Education and ReEntry Navigator. We will also hear more from Kelli Bush about what the Sustainability in Prisons Project is (and isn’t).Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts (like <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/" target="_blank">Tune In</a>, <a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us" target="_blank">Castbox</a>, <a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528" target="_blank">Himalaya</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/" target="_blank">iheartradio</a>, etc). Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our <a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page.

<description>&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Season 3 is all about the Washington Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP). SPP brings education and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. This season will be six or seven episodes long (we’re not sure yet because numbers and math or something) and we will be interviewing a variety of people from SPP, as well as partners and individuals that have participated in the program. Unfortunately, we are missing the Department of Corrections perspective because we were unable to connect with them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;In this episode we are honored to interview Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, whose curiosity and out of the box thinking led to the formation of SPP.&amp;nbsp; She’s so amazing she even had a &lt;a href="https://science.utah.edu/news/nalini-nadkarni-barbie/" target="_blank"&gt;TreeTop Barbie&lt;/a&gt; made in her likeness!&amp;nbsp; We will also hear a little bit from Kelli Bush, current Co-Director of SPP.&amp;nbsp; Kelli will be joining us most, if not all, episodes this season.&amp;nbsp; Kelli helped us out a great deal this season, helping us make connections with interviewees and providing a lot of background information and assistance.&amp;nbsp; We couldn’t have created this season without Kelli! Thanks Kelli!!!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Interviewees&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Nalini Nadkarni&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Nalini is currently a professor of Biology at the University of Utah, and is a former professor at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. According to her &lt;a href="https://nalininadkarni.com" target="_blank"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;, “Nalini’s research interests are on: community and ecosystem ecology of tropical and temperate forest canopy organisms and interactions; the effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity and community function; and the development of database tools for canopy researchers.” She has also “pioneered bringing science education, conservation projects, and nature imagery to the incarcerated.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Kelli Bush is the co-director of the sustainability in prisons project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from the Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Sustainability in Prisons&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Nalini talked about the origins of SPP, which started with an idea of having incarcerated people help her learn how to grow moss, so sustainably grown moss could be used for horticultural purposes instead of gathering moss from the wild. This idea came about because of Nalini’s scientific work, as well as that of &lt;a href="https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2004/aug/moss-huge-underground-market-ecological-concern" target="_blank"&gt;Pat Muir from Oregon State University&lt;/a&gt;. It turns out people don’t know how to propagate moss, even in the famous &lt;a href="https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3937.html" target="_blank"&gt;moss gardens of Japan&lt;/a&gt;! After shopping the idea around to several prisons, she got a bite from &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/about/spp-staff-2/dan-pacholke/" target="_blank"&gt;Dan Pacholke&lt;/a&gt;, who was the prison superintendent at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center at the time, and the two of them founded SPP. This has led to more scientific study, seminars, environmental training, and education in prisons in Washington State. Nalini has since moved on to Utah (where she’s started a similar program called &lt;a href="https://nalininadkarni.com/inspire/" target="_blank"&gt;INSPIRE&lt;/a&gt;), but SPP has continued to grow. Nalini remains involved with SPP and often collaborates with Kelli Bush and others, including writing peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals. One of these describes a collaboration between NASA, SPP, INSPIRE, as well as similar programs in Ohio and Florida, where &lt;a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2019.2209" target="_blank"&gt;NASA brought astrobiology education to prisons&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Since we forgot to ask Nalini, we had Kelli join us to explain what an&lt;a href="https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/institutional-review-boards-frequently-asked-questions" target="_blank"&gt; IRB&lt;/a&gt; is. She also shares more about some &lt;a href="http://sustainabilityinprisons.org/spp-network/spp-network-programs/" target="_blank"&gt;similar programs&lt;/a&gt; around the US and around the world that SPP shares ideas with and learns from.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Coming up next&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Join us in two weeks (June 21) for our next episode, where we will be hearing from James Jackson, who works with SPP and the Department of Corrections as an Education and ReEntry Navigator. We will also hear more from Kelli Bush about what the Sustainability in Prisons Project is (and isn’t).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Please don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on &lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive/id1450090907" target="_blank"&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/will-we-make-it-out-alive" target="_blank"&gt;Stitcher&lt;/a&gt;, or wherever you get your podcasts (like &lt;a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-p1186606/" target="_blank"&gt;Tune In&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive%3F%7D-id1990601?country=us" target="_blank"&gt;Castbox&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.himalaya.com/Natural%20Sciences-podcasts/Will-We-Make-It-Out-Alive-938528" target="_blank"&gt;Himalaya&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-will-we-make-it-out-alive-43095161/" target="_blank"&gt;iheartradio&lt;/a&gt;, etc). Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our &lt;a href="http://facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive" target="_blank"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt; page.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Origins of the Sustainability in Prisons Project

Season 3 is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP). SPP brings education and training into Washington prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. In this episode we are honored to interview Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, whose curiosity and out of the box thinking led to the formation of SPP. We will also hear from Kelli Bush, current Co-Director of SPP.

S3E1: From the Tree Canopy to the Prison Grounds

Join two crazy cats as we take you on a journey of environmental restoration, GIS, and citizen science!

Will We Make It Out Alive?

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