The Impact of Prison Gardens on the Rehabilitation of Prisoners

By: Ahona Haque

As former President of South Africa, a 1993 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and an advocate for human rights, Nelson Mandela portrayed his twenty-seven years in Robben Island Prison in the biography, A Prisoner in the Garden. Mandela famously states “A garden was one of the few things in prison that one could control. To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it and then harvest it, offered a simple but enduring satisfaction. The sense of being the custodian of this small patch of earth offered a taste of freedom...” (Mandela 2006). In a broader context, prison gardens can uplift the atmosphere of a prison facility through rehabilitation. The possible impacts of prison gardens include bettering prisoner conduct, improving mental health, and reducing recidivism rates. These factors have a direct connection with the rehabilitation of prisoners and provide them with an alternative option to traditional therapy.

According to Norman S. Hayner and Ellis Ash, professors of Sociology at the University of Washington with expertise on prison politics and structure, the prison community can be separated into two different social classes with inmates and officers. The attitudes of the officers have a direct impact on the rehabilitative process for prisoners and vice versa. Research shows that officer-inmate dynamics directly affect rehabilitation outcomes. A 2015 study at Carleton University found that the prison community highly benefited from spending more time in nature and it increased cooperation among prisoners. Amy Lindemuth, a landscape architect that published an essay in the Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, also says “gardens within correctional facilities can help reduce stress among inmates and staff by providing more complex, visually engaging views within the prison landscape” (p. 89). Inmates resisted officers and other inmates less after working in gardens and putting their focus into alternate labor. These are important steps to overcome while rehabilitating; thus, it can be said that gardens lead to increased cooperation among these two social groups and allow the prison community to be a more positive place. 

Figure 1: This is an organic vegetable garden at the San Quentin State Prison in December.

In addition to prisoner conduct, prison gardens have been scientifically proven to have a major impact on mental health. A study by Elizabeth K. Nesbit and John M. Zelenski, who are psychology professors at Trent and Carleton University, found that being immersed in nature produces better mindsets and positive feelings about personal growth and life. Such feelings can have a significant positive impact on the mental health of prisoners and progress their rehabilitation efforts and foster a healthier prison environment.

Gardening can also develop into a turning point of personal reflection for many prisoners. For example, the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation found that many prisoners take the time to reflect on their own experiences and important times in their lives while working in prison gardens. Additionally, a 2011 Department of Justice report, The Greening of Corrections, claims that gardening creates a “sense of empathy” and a connection within prisoners and human beings as therapy to relieve mental stress. Co-founder of Sustainability in Prisons Project and a former Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections, Dan Pacholke, mentions in the report, the approach of gardening is significantly different compared to “cognitive behavioral therapy,” because it requires inmates to physically remain on- site and participate in a larger concept (Feldbaum and Mukamal, p. 16). 

According to a social psychologist and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, “Prison environments are often bleak, chaotic, overcrowded and isolating, with little access to nature”; meaning, prison gardens can truly transform the community and leave a lasting impact on prisoners. 

As discussed before, prison gardens are one of many rehabilitative avenues and have a direct connection to recidivism, the tendency for inmates to be reoffended. The means of rehabilitation can reduce recidivism and is mentioned in, The Greening of Corrections. The report claims, supporting prisoners with gardening skills and horticulture training can lead to shortening sentences and reducing recidivism (Feldbaum and Mukamal, p. 12). Gardening programs within prisons can also open new opportunities for volunteering work with prisoners to help them expand their horticulture skills. Then, inmates can feel more rooted within their community and be able to build healthy relationships. 

Figure 2: This is the Insight Garden Program, who transforms the lives of prisoners through landscaping training and creating safer communities.

In short, prison gardens function as rehabilitation, and provide an effective alternative to traditional methods of therapy. The success of prison gardens allow for the possibility of results and changes in future prison facilities. Implementing gardens and engaging inmates can relieve mental health stresses, improve their behavior within prison, and reduce overall recidivism rates.

References

Author(s): Mindy Feldbaum, Frank Greene, Sarah Kirschenbaum, Debbie Mukamal, Megan Welsh, Raquel Pinderhughes. (2022, July 21). The Greening of Corrections: Creating a sustainable system. National Institute of Corrections. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://nicic.gov/greening-corrections-creating-sustainable-system

Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., Folke, C., Frumkin, H., Gross, J. J., Hartig, T., Kahn, P. H., Kuo, M., Lawler, J. J., Levin, P. S., Lindahl, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Mitchell, R., Ouyang, Z., Roe, J., … Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0903

Hayner, N. S., & Ash, E. (1939). The prisoner community as a social group. American Sociological Review, 4(3), 362. https://doi.org/10.2307/2084923

Lindemuth, A. (2007). Designing Therapeutic Environments for Inmates and Prison Staff in the United States: Precedents and Contemporary Applications. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 8, 91.

Mandela, N. (2006). A Prisoner in the Garden: Opening Nelson Mandel's Prison Archive. Viking Studio.

Timler, K., Brown, H., & Varcoe, C. (2019). Growing connection beyond prison walls: How a prison garden fosters rehabilitation and healing for incarcerated men. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 58(5), 444–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2019.1615598

Toews, B., Wagenfeld, A., & Stevens, J. (2018). Impact of a nature-based intervention on Incarcerated Women. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 14(4), 232–243. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijph-12-2017-0065

Zelenski, J. M., Dopko, R. L., & Capaldi, C. A. (2015). Cooperation is in our nature: Nature exposure may promote cooperative and environmentally sustainable behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.01.005 

Images

Insight Garden Program. MIRIDAE. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.miridae.com/insight-garden-program 

Barclay, E. (2014, January 12). Prison gardens help inmates grow their own food - and Skills. NPR. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/12/261397333/prison-gardens-help-inmates-grow-their-own-food-and-skills 

Horton, C. (2019, August 27). How a Gardening Scheme is Reaping Rewards for Prisoners' Mental Health . The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/27/prison-garden-inmates-mental-health-hmp-parc-royal-horticultural-society