This Sunday, Brenda Warner will talk with us about how the Carter County jail is onto something progressive that falls in line with restorative, as opposed to punitive, justice. The project is a vegetable garden, maintained, and harvested by inmates for use by the prison system. The project is the brainchild of the combined efforts of the Carter County Commissioners, the City of Elizabethton, the Waste Water Treatment Department, UT Extension Office, State of TN Rehabilitative Services, State of TN Health Department, Carter County Tomorrow, and volunteers.
Three-quarters of an acre was planted in 2011 with a resounding success, yielding approximately $15,000.00 worth of vegetables. 2012 looks to be even bigger. Approximately 3 acres will be planted. Although the prison system is indeed saving money there are a lot of additional benefits to this project. The inmates learn new marketable skills, gain a sense of self-confidence in themselves, contribute to the betterment of the County.
Brenda was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio on a farm. She graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelors in Natural resources - an interdisciplinary degree in Matural Resources. She spent two years in Tunisia as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and she's worked numerous public agencies in several states on projects related to environment, enforcement and justice. Brenda says that "A lot of this project is personal, and as is so often, events play themselves out and only later do we realize why things happened as they did."
Please join us. We'll be happy to see you. Loving childcare is provided.
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