Beautifying the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and supplying better, organic, more affordable food at the same time.

The Future We Are Creating

The Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail is, by the jail supervisor’s own words, an “eyesore”.  The small amount of ground cover there is on the grounds is brown and dried out, stifled by the claylike soil.  Furthermore, the food at the jail is generally of low quality and bland – I’ve tried it out myself.  However, dealing with farms and the like tend to be beyond the budget of the jail.  These are all problems that I plan to fix through this venture.

How We Are Creating It

I’ve decided creating an herb garden at the jail, as well as planting ornamental native plants, vegetable greens and certain saplings.  This can help create a healthier environment, through both nutrition and aesthetics, for the inmates, as well as the employees who work there.  Additionally, the plants would require an extremely low amount of upkeep once introduced, meaning that after the initial investment of time, money, and materiel, the jail does not have to spend more money on maintaining the project, and indeed may save money through it.

Our Story & Why You Should Support Us

Kelvin Yao is a freshman at the College of William and Mary.  He has an interest in both the environmental sciences and more anthrocentric work.  He is rather excited about the idea of using gardens in order to educate and uplift individuals, as gardening has helped him stay positive through a number of health problems that kept him bedridden throughout most of his middle and high school years.  When he is not in school, he lives in New Jersey, where he hopes to create similar suburban gardening programs.  He’s also been rather passionate about jail reform for quite a while, and the jail supervisor he is currently dealing with has been extremely interested in his ideas.  

Comments