FALL 1998
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In this issue
General Motors, Mayo, 3M offer ISU degrees Computer literacy class helps at-risk teens succeed Extension curriculum helps workers succeed In Calhoun County __________ |
A whole new garden grows From one session on fruit tree pruning, a whole new aspect of gardening is growing in Calhoun County. Twelve inmates from North Central Corrections Facility and 14 Calhoun County "civilians," residents from outside the medium security prison, are March 1998 graduates of Iowa State University Extension's Master Gardener program. "Everyone that was part of the class gained knowledge," said Bill Junkman, a correctional trades leader at the Rockwell City facility. "Every participant had his or her own area of interest. Whether it was landscaping, flower gardening, fruit trees or vegetables, everyone got some good, useful knowledge."
Mary Clancy, former Calhoun County extension education director, agreed on the success of the project and said that it was an all-around satisfying program. "Insiders were very grateful to have the opportunity to participate. They were very happy to be part of a situation where outsiders accepted them," she said. "The outsiders indicated in follow-up interviews that they felt privileged to have the inmates as classmates and felt like they had contributed to the inmates' rehabilitation process." "The prison officials went the extra nine yards to allow inmates and outsiders to come together at the prison for the course," Clancy said. "Inmates said it was nice learning something that they wanted to learn," Clancy said. Junkman said that the inmates he worked with following the program were much more interested in the gardening work, and not simply going through the motions of getting the job done. "Many of the residents of the North Central Correction Facility are on their way out, working through a progressive release," said Junkman. "This program gave them self-confidence, self-esteem and proved to them that they can successfully interact with the general public. It has been a big step towards helping them get back into a normal life." The interaction didn't stop with the March graduation. Some of the contacts made between the two groups during the program may lead to jobs in greenhouses upon inmates' release. A repeat of the spring program is planned for this fall, once again bringing outsiders inside the fence for half of the class sessions and giving more inmates and outsiders an opportunity to meet on common ground.
Garden program bridges
barrier Twelve prison inmates and 14 Calhoun County residents are proud that they are the nation's first ever such combined class of Master Gardeners, a status they achieved because of one man's inspiration and one woman's desire to see the idea to fruition.
"I had invited Eldon Everhart to come talk to the inmates about pruning fruit trees," said Bill Junkman, a correctional trades leader at North Central Corrections Facility. "He was so impressed with the attentiveness of the inmates, that he began thinking about presenting the entire Master Gardener program at the prison." Everhart, an ISU Extension horticulturist, took his idea to Mary Clancy, then the county extension education director in Calhoun County. Together they drew up a proposal that they took to prison officials. "This Master Gardener program was conducted exactly as any other in the state; the only exception was that one class each week met inside the prison," said Clancy. "The other weekly class was held over the ICN (Iowa Communications Network), with inmates helps at-risk teens succeed |
