"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me you have a
seed there, and I am
prepared to expect wonders."
— Henry David Thoreau
Program Accomplishments
Key Stakeholder Engagement
IGP has developed relationships with key stakeholders in the prison system to build the garden through a participatory, collaborative, and transparent planning process. This effort resulted in extraordinary access to prison officials, prisoners, volunteers, and staff.
Garden Implementation
A 1,200-square foot native California organic flower garden was planted in a medium-security prison yard during Winter Solstice, December 2003, with the help of inmate program participants, volunteer landscape and gardening experts and the program director. The prison's staff was also on hand to assist with inventories and process oversight.
Ongoing Classes
For more than eight years, classes have been ongoing, and include course curricula and hands-on experience. Inmates learn about gardening and landscaping basics, environmental sustainability, personal growth, and community care through gardening. Class participants are responsible for maintaining the garden.
Extensive Research
IGP's director, Beth Waitkus, conducted extensive research on the "Impact of a Garden on the Physical Environment and Social Climate of a Prison Yard at San Quentin State Prison" as part of her graduate research work in Organization Development. The resulting thesis has been one of the only research projects conducted on a San Quentin rehabilitation program (for a small fee, the thesis is available upon request).
Community Presentations
IGP's director has made presentations and held dialogues about the Insight Garden Program as well as the need for prison reform and inmate rehabilitation to a variety of audiences including; university graduate programs; high schools; community gardening programs; and the American Horticultural Therapy Association. She intends to share her experiences at San Quentin in a book about stories from the prison garden.
Partnerships
IGP's director currently works with interns from various universities to conduct research on funding opportunities and explore employment opportunities in gardening, landscaping, and "green jobs" for men leaving prison so we can launch a "green jobs" placement program in the following years. IGP also remains closely affiliated with the Insight Prison Project — our initial parent orginization — as well as other community organizations, and leaders in prison reform, prisoner rehabilitation, and re-entry programs outside of prison.
Class appreciation day, July 2005.
"Being tough on crime means that as community members, we have a responsibility to work with those who violate community norms to
promote education,
transformation and public safety."
— Jacques Verduin, Insight Prison Project
Media Coverage
- IGP founder/director Beth Waitkus named Alumni of the Month, The Hotchkiss School, 04/09
-
San Quentin's Organic Garden,
featured in KQED's The California Report,
02/27/09
View photo slide-show.
Listen to our segment below:
- So grow the gardeners: Beth Waitkus is helping San Quentin's H-Unit cultivate the garden within, Feature Story by Tanya Henry, Pacific Sun, 07/13/07
- "Inside San Quentin Prison, a garden grows hearts and minds," the Coastal Gardener TV Show (35 million viewers nationwide), aired nationally October 2006. Visit: www.thecoastalgardener.com and go to Source Guide Show 092.
- Gardens grow life, not lifers by Lynnette Evans (editorial), San Francisco Chronicle, 1/14/06
- Behind the garden wall: Some San Quentin inmates are digging their way out of prison, by Noelle Robbins (contributing), San Francisco Chronicle, 1/14/06
- Cultivating dreams by Beth Ashley, The Marin Independent Journal, 11/1/05 (presented as PDF file)
Photo by John Kokoska.