On The Outside

Our Green Industry Career Guide is now live —

We want this career guide to get into as many hands as possible! We also want it to grow! Please reach out to info@thenewgardensociety.org if you or an organization you represent would like copies to distribute, or if you are or represent a business that would like to be added to our list.

Click here to view and download our guide!

Green Industry Opportunities Survey - Closed Nov. 1st

Thanks to all who participated in this year’s survey! Stay tuned for results and consequential action based on our findings.

We work to strengthen the bridge between incarcerated and formerly incarcerated horticulture students and our welcoming local green industry. We’re asking Greater-Boston Green Industry professionals with hiring responsibilities in firms/organizations/agencies responsible for landscaping, arboriculture, horticulture, plant propagation, farming and conservation to fill out this short survey on their hiring practices. The survey takes less than 10 minutes.

If you choose to share your contact information and complete the survey by August 15, you will be included in "The Bostonians’ Guide to Careers Outside". This guide will be printed and distributed to incarcerated horticulture students and re-entry service providers in the Fall of 2021.

New beginnings reentry

Earlier this fall, 2021, some of our volunteers, board members, and friends were able to take part in the planting of the yard for New Beginnings Reentry Services, Inc.’s new property to assist in women re entering society post incarceration. We were thrilled to be able to support endeavors of using horticulture, as therapy and vocation, as a means of lifting people up upon their release, so it was especially joyous to take part in this on the outside of the prison walls we spend most of our time working behind. Learn more about their work and how you can support them here, and stay tuned for future partnerships!

Hiring in Boston Landscapes

**A Virtual Round Table**
*For Greater-Boston Arborists, Landscapers, Horticulturists, & Farmers interested in hiring more formerly-incarcerated people.*

Monday, August 31st, 2020, 12:30-1:30 pm

Space is limited. Register here.

Join us for a candid conversation with Robert Turner of the Mayor's Office of Returning Citizens about how your business can recruit and hire formerly-incarcerated Bostonians. Let's learn the nuts and bolts of how to offer good jobs and second chances to people returning to our neighborhoods from prison or jail.

It’s been a hot summer. We know that at the end of the day, when you’re loading the truck, mulching or planting those last few trays, a good crew makes everything possible. For years, we’ve been hearing that its tough to recruit people to do this crucial work in Greater-Boston landscapes. We've also been meeting budding plant people who have done their time. Let’s bridge the gap.

Are you a local Green Industry employer? Robert Turner has a few questions for you to consider…

Are you CORI friendly? Do you hire people with a criminal record or with a big gap in work history?
Do you offer year-round or seasonal jobs?
What starting wages do you offer?
Do you require employees to have a drivers license?
Are there opportunities for on-the-job training or advancement within your company?

Questions? Reach out to erika@thenewgardensociety.org or call (857) 203-0585.

The 2nd Northeast Prison Garden Retreat in Providence, RI.

The Northeast Prison Garden Collaborative

The New Garden Society is pleased to co-sponsor the upcoming “Conference on Social and Ecological Infrastructure for Recidivism Reduction.” The event will convene researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and community leaders on March 19-21, 2021 in New Haven, CT. For more information, visit the conference webpage: prisongardenjustice.org

Early on, The New Garden Society recognized that therapeutic horticulture in corrections is an emerging, and often challenging, field. The work happens beyond the view of the general public and is subject to restrictive institutional policies. Incarcerated program participants also face unique obstacles as they do time in an environment that was not designed for healing and does a poor job of preparing people for release. Emerging from conversations with other educators across Massachusetts and at the 2014 American Horticultural Therapy Association conference, The New Garden Society co-founded the Northeast Prison Garden Collaborative.

*The 3rd Northeast Prison Garden Retreat in Lakeville, CT.*

Since then, The New Garden Society has co-organized three convenings of prison garden educators to strategize and build community with others doing the work. We started in living rooms and grew from there. During the most recent event in January 2018, 25 educators gathered from 17 different organizations across the Northeast for the third Prison Garden Educators Retreat.

Beyond The New Garden Society, key leadership, support, and organizing for the collaborative has been provided by Abrah Dresdale of Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Kate Lacouture of Garden Time, and Ferriss Donham of The Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

*From our ongoing outreach, we have identified more than 45 active prison gardens across the Northeastern United States.*

Join the conversation

If you work at the intersection of plants and prisons in the Northeast and want to join the regional conversation, email info@thenewgardensociety.org with LISTSERV in the subject line.

SLIDING SCALE WORKSHOPS & TALKS

Over the years we’ve given dozens of talks and workshops, sharing our experiences gardening alongside incarcerated students. Invite us to your community group, garden club or student organization to shine a light on this vital work happening in prison yards just outside Boston. We discuss prison gardens and greenhouses as tools for healing, expanded healthy food access and skill-building for our incarcerated neighbors. Talks and workshops are offered on a sliding scale. Reach out to info@thenewgardensociety.org to learn more.