Prison gardens foster rehabilitation and healing for incarcerated men, according to a study funded by The Canadian Institute of Health Research, reported on in 2019. Many agriculture programs in the correctional system focus on the financial benefit of offsetting institutional costs, but in Canada, a prison garden program engages incarcerated men to grow vegetables, and also to donate the subsequent harvest to nearby economically vulnerable communities.
Therein lies the benefit for prisoners—building of self-esteem and self-worth with support from giving back to the community and participating in meaningful work.
In 2021, CBC produced the documentary Prison Farm, exploring the revitalization of two Ontario prison farms and “how farm work and rehabilitation go hand-in-hand” (available on CBC Gem). I urge you to watch it. It is evident in the film, as the men participating in the documentary shared their stories, just how vital the farm program was in their healing and recovery journey.
As they work in the community garden, gathering sap for maple syrup, tending bees and extracting the honey, caring for calves, these men were transformed. “Taking care of these animals is taking care of my guilt,” said one man.
Prison farms were in operation in Canada for more than a hundred years. By 2009, 600 inmates worked in milk production, poultry, fruit and vegetables. The goal of these operations was to provide an opportunity for inmates to care for the animals, which is essential for inmates’ well-being. Further, skills were learned to benefit those after release.
But in 2009, the Conservative government under Stephen Harper closed all six, seeing them as financially unsustainable. I wonder what dollar value we would put on having inmates able to lead productive lives and contribute to a community after they served their time.
The public made their voices heard to reinstate these valuable farms. In 2016, the new government examined the feasibility of prison farms, engaging in public consultation where there was overwhelming support for reopening the farms. In 2019, the penitentiary farm programs at Collins Bay and Joyceville in the Kingston, Ont. area were relaunched with dairy herd rebuilding; crops of corn, soybeans, barley; creating organic fields; beekeeping and greenhouse work; restoration of farmland; partnering with local food banks; and vocational training, which would provide certifications and skills in future employment.
There has been concern expressed by activist groups about the importance of holding true to the therapeutic benefits of animal-care strategies of the old prison farms, strategies that clearly demonstrate rehabilitation, which is or should be the goal of all penal systems. The risk of exploiting prison labour and the animals if the focus veers from the benefits of mental health to the measure of financial gain is a concern.
As the abovementioned study published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation clearly revealed, correctional agriculture is linked to mental health with the reduction in the sense of isolation, development of emotional well-being through caring for animals, opportunity for personal reflection and processing feelings of failure that is inherent with prison time, restoring a sense of humanity and dignity that isn’t possible while being incarcerated in a cell, and allowing for personal growth.
There is a mentality that believes “bigger is better” and “out with the old and in with the new”. But sometimes in that process, the core of what is right gets lost. Research and testimony clearly showed that early farm prisons were able to reduce stress and anxiety for inmates who were then able to regulate their emotions; they had an increase in their sense of self-esteem and purpose; they created strong social connections.
Newer prison farms are leaning toward an industrial operation with less opportunity for nurturing animals and creating time for reflection and self-motivation. Critics claim these farms are more like factory labour, and though skills are acquired and the structure and routine can be of benefit to some inmates, the overall purpose of prison farms is lost.
The old farms were transparent and involved community oversight with public tours and volunteer involvement. The new farms have limited public access, and the corporate partnerships are not fully disclosed. There is an ongoing controversy over labour ethics. Commercial goals lose sight of what the farms were created to provide.
We need to be reminded of our humanity, our responsibility to one another, whenever we are developing strategies and policy, to ensure we stay on the right path, putting people ahead of monetary gain. I fully understand that providing our social programs in Canada requires tax dollars, but we so often measure the success of our programs by the return on the dollar, while many of the benefits can’t be measured in dollars and cents, but the research is clear. These men are still someone’s son, someone’s brother, and many are someone’s father.
There is good in all of us; making a mistake doesn’t change that.
