What are viable strategies for the greening of correctional institutions?

Roots of Success Founder and Executive Director Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes begins to answer this question in a recent white paper  jointly authored with a number of other scholars for the Federal Department of Corrections: The Greening of Corrections: Creating a Sustainable System. The white paper looks at how corrections can achieve substantial cost savings through the adoption of sustainability strategies, and  “provides correctional professionals with a framework to gain a general understanding of sustainability practices and principles and to identify examples of operations, programs, and management strategies for self-sustaining facilities” (p. ii). In her section of the publication, Dr. Pinderhughes discusses her model for preparing and training inmates for green jobs, and her experience working with green reentry programs across the country.

Because Roots of Success is designed for students with reading levels lower than ninth grade and with limited math skills, but with content appropriate for older youth and young adults, the curriculum was identified in the paper as having the potential to be adapted or used with incarcerated youth and adults. Roots of Success helps institutions achieve their sustainability goals and prepares offenders for employment opportunities in the green economy upon reentry. Prisons, Jails, Juvenile Justice Facilities, and Re-entry Programs that use Roots of Success include:

  • Cook County Sheriff’s Boot Camp
  • East River Academy
  • Grafton Correctional Institution
  • Marin County Probation
  • Marion Correctional Institution
  • Northeast Pre-Release Center
  • Ohio Central School System
  • Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction
  • Ohio Green Prison Project
  • Ohio Reformatory for Women
  • Pickaway Correctional Institution
  • Richland Correctional Institution
  • Rikers Island
  • Southeastern Correctional Institution (SCI)
  • Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA)
  • Southern State Correction Facility
  • The Garden Project
  • Wilbur Wright College
  • Windy City Harvest