Conference on Social and Ecological Infrastructure for Recidivism Reduction (2021)
There has been a growing interest in policies, procedures or practices that promote public safety and reduce recidivism. At the same time, local ecological sustainability initiatives are increasingly common in communities across the United States. In recent decades, corrections departments, community-based organizations, and educational institutions have brought these ecological and criminological fields of research, policy and practice together in new ways.
This work takes many forms, from institutional sustainability initiatives to community greening, therapeutic horticulture programs, permaculture design, recycling protocols, science courses and green jobs training. Some practitioners have been at work for over a decade growing within the walls of state prisons, county jails, or youth detention centers. Others are building links from prison gardens to land-based careers on the outside, integrating college credits with agricultural training, or working with families of incarcerated loved ones and communities impacted by incarceration.
The conference convened researchers, practitioners, community leaders, and policy makers who work at the intersection of correctional programs, community-based interventions and ecological sustainability. Notes from breakout groups in the final session of the conference (Workshop on Next Steps) were aggregated and shared with attendees as the Proceedings of the Conference on Social and Ecological Infrastructure for Recidivism Reduction.
The event was co-convened by Boston College and Yale School of the Environment with support from the National Science Foundations. Thanks to all conference attendees, presenters, and organizers!
After the event, in 2023 four participants in network published a book chapter in the American Society of Criminology's Handbook on Prisons and Jails. The chapter summarizes key insights from the conference presentations and process. It can be read at the following link: Beyond Green Corrections: An Invitation to Socio-Ecological Initiatives in United States Prisons, Jails, and Communities
