Ryan Campbell writes about starting a prison garden, showing how resilience and education can flourish even within the walls of incarceration.
I’m in a program at Indiana’s Westville Correctional Complex, organized by Notre Dame University and Holy Cross College. Under volunteer supervision, students are allowed outside to a fenced-in, L-shaped garden. We grow food and flowers to donate to a food bank. The cruel rule is that we aren’t allowed to eat what we grow.
Creating a Prison Garden from Scratch
Having access to a personal plot in prison is rare. Since my arrival in 2023, I’ve been lucky to benefit from this program. Disputes sometimes break out—over tools, stolen vegetables, or borrowed buckets—but remarkably, the garden has stayed free of violence.
My plot didn’t exist before I got here. It’s the farthest from the water spout, and it was just grass when I arrived. I dug up the sod of a 60×30 area, turning it into fresh ground. From the discarded sod, I built a small hill at the garden’s edge and turned it into a flowerbed. Staff compliment me on the flowers, and in a place like this, that recognition makes me feel as if I’m representing my school with pride.
Lessons Learned Through Gardening
Starting a garden from seed is hard work. I had to set aside my pride and learn from others how to germinate seeds. That wasn’t easy. In prison, I’ve always stood alone—independent, not gang-affiliated, unwilling to get involved in anything illicit. But gardening forced me to loosen my grip, admit I didn’t know everything, and take lessons from people I wouldn’t normally trust.
Harvest and Hope for the Future
The first year, my harvest was mediocre. Now, in my second year, I’ve teamed up with a tough little old man. Together, we haul water and pull weeds like machines. Already the garden is producing food. Some of the zucchini tastes bitter, maybe a hybrid gone wrong, but I look forward to a ripe tomato. Microwaved Roma tomatoes turn into a kind of sauce—perfect for mixing into rice and beans.
Finding Freedom in the Garden
We don’t get much recreation time here. The garden is my chance to step outside, tan my skin, and sweat under the sun.
I love my prison garden. It reminds me that education can take root anywhere, even behind bars.
Also check out Ryan’s story All The Things I Learned in Prison
