April Moments from the Field
Avenal State Prison
This is C Yard at Avenal State Prison, before and after.
Land Together program participants designed and painted the mural, and designed and planted the permaculture garden from the ground up. Every color, every plant, every choice reflects the vision and labor of the people who live and work on this yard.
Today, C Yard is a restorative sanctuary, a living classroom, and a source of fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables grown by the people who tend it. Participants practice permaculture and landscape design, develop hands-on environmental stewardship skills, and cultivate something rare inside a prison: a space that feels alive.
The garden is also a teacher. Through Land Together's inner and outer gardening framework, participants connect the work of tending the land to the work of tending themselves, building patience, purpose, and a sense of belonging that extends far beyond the garden bed.
This is what it looks like when incarcerated people are trusted with land, tools, and creative agency. And this is just one of nine California state prisons where Land Together programs are growing hope.
Solano State Prison
In a recent class at Solano, we opened with a meditation guiding participants to visualize their dream garden designs: the feelings, sensations, and plants they hope to grow on D Yard. Hearing those reflections was grounding for everyone in the room.
From there, pairs tackled real garden design scenarios, bringing creativity to challenges like water access, slope, soil health, and pest pressure. One group proposed silvopasture with grazing goats to manage fire fuel and fertilize rotating growing areas. Another planned a community stakeholder meeting to build neighborhood support for an urban garden. A third proposed adopting a garden cat to handle pest control.
We closed by walking the new potential garden site together, already thinking ahead to the challenges and possibilities of the space.