HOMINY, OKLA. – There is something beautiful blooming at Dick Conner Correctional Center.
Men in the prison’s horticulture program nurture a huge fruit and vegetable garden.
“I did not know anything about gardening,” inmate Devon Johnson stated.
Dick Conner partners with Tulsa Community College and Tulsa-area gardening clubs. The tools and seeds for the garden are all donated.
“They need to do something positive for themselves and the community,” teacher John Kahre said. “And it’s a job for them. These guys are in internship classes. This will translate to a grade and that grade will translate to a degree.”
Not only does it provide the inmates with fresh produce, but they also learn valuable job skills.
‘I hear that the market is thriving today,” inmate Terrell Lafayette told us. “So, I decided to put my head in it to see if I was good at it. It seems like I’m doing all right though.”
The men learn all about agriculture. But gardening can also increase self-esteem and help relieve stress.
“A lot of guys come in here broken and need something to do,” stated inmate James Clark. “A lot of them, the garden becomes therapy.”
Prison vegetable gardens like this provide inmates with satisfying work, landscaping skills and fresh, delicious produce. This year’s garden is so bountiful it’ll feed hundreds of men all summer.
“We are going to make fajitas,” Lafayette added. “We have bell peppers, onions, jalapenos. Yes, we are making fajitas.”
The garden program helps with rehabilitation which ultimately saves the state and local government thousands of dollars.
Above all else, the Dick Conner garden is growing better men.
