Gardening does so much more than produce food. At Volunteers of America (VOA), incarcerated adults participated in gardening to help in their recovery. Led by Extension volunteer and UK alumnus, Dave, over the course of the summer, sixty different people got to experience some aspect of seasonal gardening. 

About 80% of the participants had some previous gardening experience and the other 20% got to experience gardening for the first time. Working out in the garden allowed experienced participants the time and space to re-connect with their positive memories of family and friends working outside and cooking together. New gardeners got to learn from the experiences of fellow participants and from the expert volunteer. During gardening sessions, participants got to work on positive social interactions with one another, sharing memories of past gardens and exploring the science behind gardening in the hands-on classes.

With the guidance of the Extension volunteer, VOA participants learned how to test and read a soil sample; plan a garden for each season; start seeds then transplant them; then grow and harvest produce! 

The gardening program met twice a week at the men’s & women’s campus and once a week at the women’s only campus April to October. Combined, the two raised bed gardens produced over 200 pounds of produce that was used at each facility for participants to use to prepare meals. After the gardening class, the gardeners got to use the food they grew to prepare special meals like salad, BLT’s and salsa. This presented another opportunity for the participants to develop self-confidence and pride in their skills but cooking and sharing what they grew. While the gardening season is winding down now, VOA is very excited about how well the program went this year and is already planning for 2020!