ProgramsOur Programs in Washington State Prisons
SPP delivers a wide range of sustainability, conservation, education, and community programs across all 11 Washington State prisons. These initiatives bring nature, science, and meaningful work into correctional environments and build skills that benefit participants, ecosystems, and local communities.
Environmental
Education
Education is integral to SPP’s programs. SPP-Evergreen aims to make the most of both formal and informal education opportunities and to offer new knowledge and new practice to incarcerated students.
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Conservation
SPP’s conservation programs encompass a huge range of activities and topics but share three things in common.
With the guidance of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Zoo, SPP partners (Evergreen and WA Corrections) rear and release federally-endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies.
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Sustainable
Practices
Prisons are essentially small cities, operating 24/7. They can be extremely costly and resource-intensive. In Washington, prison age and design range from the 130-year-old first territorial prison in Walla Walla, to the country’s first LEED Gold prison campus in Connell, WA. Facilities provide health and dental care, treatment programs, educational and employment training, laundry and food services.
COMPOSTING PROTOCOLS
The first edition of the Composting Protocols manual includes a guide for food waste collection, food waste processing, and using bokashi and vermiculture techniques to compost in the corrections environment along with other facilities, organizations, and individuals.
Community
Contributions
SPP celebrates the many Community Contribution programs in facilities across Washington. Community Contribution programs are administered and supported by hundreds of diverse organizations across the state.
Consistent with the earliest days of SPP programs, WA prisons strive to “throw nothing away,” to transform potential refuse into something of value. In some cases, these programs’ creations directly meet an organization’s need.
Consistent with the earliest days of SPP programs, WA prisons strive to “throw nothing away,” to transform potential refuse into something of value. In some cases, these programs’ creations directly meet an organization’s need.
Restorative Nature &
Sustainable Living
SPP aims to bring nature inside prisons for the numerous benefits it can provide for people living and working in prisons. Benefits can include stress relief and the enhanced well-being of human and non-human organisms. Research demonstrates that incorporating nature into institutional and urban environments positively impacts mental and emotional health.
The Washington Way
The Washington Way (WA Way) is a partnership between the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and Amend at the University of California, San Francisco. It introduces a health-centered approach to transforming correctional culture within Washington’s prison facilities and Reentry Centers.
Foundations in Gardening is a 4-credit course that provides the academic fundamentals of small-scale food production, as well as the planning
Programs by Facility
In 2024, Washington’s 11 prisons reported around 162 sustainability-related programs and named 151 partner organizations across the state. In 2025, programs continue to grow, adapt, and thrive.
- Airway Heights Corrections Center
- Cedar Creek Corrections Center
- Clallam Bay Corrections Center
- Coyote Ridge Corrections Center
- Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women
- Monroe Correctional Complex
- Olympic Corrections Center
- Stafford Creek Corrections Center
- Washington Corrections Center
- Washington Corrections Center for Women
- Washington State Penitentiary
“What does science mean to me? Science is the study of the world around us… I would not want to experience life without science.”
Morris Talaga
Program Participant
Stories & Reflections
We design and deliver hands-on programs that connect environmental education.
““I never did well in school and my skills were more on the manual labor side. While I was incarcerated at Cedar Creek Correction Center in 2015 thru…
Darin Armstrong
Former SPP conservation technician
Together, We Reimagine
What’s Possible
Sustainability Thrives On Community. Be Part Of A Unique Collaboration That Bridges
Education, Environmental Justice, And Rehabilitation In Real, Tangible Ways.
