24 Comments

This was a true inspiration. Thank you. I learned so much about prairie ecosystems, and how everyone benefits from bringing incarcerated people into this kind of program.

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Thank you, thank you, Mary!! I so appreciate you reading and commenting. :)

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This is just soul nourishing to read about, I'm so grateful you shared it and for all the work that the Institute for Applied Ecology is doing (side note: I know Stacy's boss and my partner worked with him early on in his career--love their work). Prison abolition is something that needs to be talked about more, and hearing the work Stacy and others has done to improve inmates lives while doing something to restore the land...it's just beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing. 💜

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Thank you, Freya! How very cool to hear about that connection.

And yes! Prison abolition is for sure something we need to talk about and move toward. The brutality of some of the aspects of modern life that have been normalized is stunning.

Thank you, thank you for reading and commenting, Freya.

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Feb 24Liked by Holly Starley

I had no idea about this project! I appreciate that working with plants inspires creative expression-the poem is great. I work on a production team here in Wisconsin where we have our own stupid, staggering prison statistics. It’s called Human Powered: Humanity Unlocked and it explores the power of creative writing for people who are incarcerated. Thanks!

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Right?

Oh, soooo cool to hear about this writing project with people in custody. A dear friend of mine does counsel in prisons, and I plan to interview her one day. I’d love to reach out to you and learn more about Humanity Unlocked one day if you’re up for it.

Thank you, thank you for reading and commenting!

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Feb 25Liked by Holly Starley

Wow thanks for sharing this, Holly! Adam Nathan shared recently about a program to write letters to inmates in solitary confinement, and it really opened my eyes to the conditions and suffering - not to mention I'm finally watching "Orange is the New Black" which, of course, is comedy, but there are some parts that ring true. There's got to be a better way - Sagebrush in Prison sounds like a step in the right direction.

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Thanks, Troy! Looking forward to finding Adam's piece on letters to solitary confinement.

Yeah, for sure there has to be a better way. The current system is beyond broken.

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Feb 24Liked by Holly Starley

Thank you Holly and Stacy for this inspiring info and the beautiful writing.

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♥️

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What a cool story. My kid dream was to be an ornithologist so the sagebrush grouse mention sucked me right into this post. Thanks for sharing Stacy's prison project---it's a sustainable legacy for birds and humans!

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Thank you, thank you, Jules! I much appreciate you being here and reading and commenting. And what a fantastic kid dream ;)!

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What a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing!

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Thank you, Karli! So appreciate you being here and reading more.

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What a beautiful story. Thank you.

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Thank you! I so enjoyed learning about this program and was way excited to share it!

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This was an incredible read. I am so interested to delve deeper into SPP, thanks for the wholesome introduction Holly. Your life as a slowmad is the source of so many unlikely stories that I'm grateful to read up <3

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Thanks, Amara!! Yeah, the connecting with people doing cool stuff in the world is one my favorite things about slowmading! :)

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This was beautiful, Holly. Stacy’s idea is so lovely :)

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It is, isn't it? ❤️

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I’m always so happy to find out about programs like this for the incarcerated. I teach as a volunteer in a men’s maximum security prison and one of the many terrible things about their lives is not being able to be alone with their thoughts or outside where there’s some quiet. Imagine never feeling the wind blow. Thanks for this!

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Elizabeth, thank you for sharing! It is very hard for me to imagine life without wind, birdsong, the scent of pine.

Would love to hear more about the work you're doing.

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I’d love to chat about it! It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life, the kind that is life changing.

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Wonderful!

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