ENGAGING LANDSCAPE
IN CORRECTIONS:
Developing an ‘Āina-focused
CONTINUUM OF CARE
Spring 2025
Lynn L. Mayekawa
Committee: Priyam Das, Chair; Cathi Ho Schar; Judith Stilgenbauer
ENGAGING LANDSCAPE IN CORRECTIONS: DEVELOPING AN ʻĀINA-FOCUSED CONTINUUM OF CARE
A capstone design research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the Plan B requirements for the degree of MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE May 2025
By Lynn L. Mayekawa
Capstone committee: Priyam Das, Chairperson
Cathi Ho Schar
Judith Stilgenbauer
Keywords: native planting, ʻāina-focused rehabilitation, incarceration
for yoko.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mahalo nui loa…
To Judith Stilgenbauer for mapping out what a part-time plan might look like and being willing to let me take the better part of a decade to execute that plan.
All the members of these first cohorts, who have been integral to my growth and understanding of landscape architecture. What an honor to know all of you and learn together.
Matt Higa has been waiting for me to graduate since the beginning. He has helped with design thinking, expanding what it means to practice landscape architecture in this place, and primal scream therapy for all the years I have known him.
Christina McWhorter, who made me believe that group work could be beneficial and is a fabulous cheerleader in all aspects of life.
Phoebe White, an educator who willing gives and pushes to exhaustion to get the most out of a student. From the first semester in studio with you, the bar was set high and I joyfully struggle to met it now and into the future.
Priyam Das, who was there when I finished my planning degree and is now shepherding me through a landscape architecture degree.
Cathi Ho Schar for an early conversation with me about working with prisons years ago and who became an invaluable resource as I pursued this research.
To my dear, supportive coworkers, in particular Francine Uehara, Rebecca O’Reilly, Carley Shimizu, and Mary McNamara. They made working and going to school possible in ways perhaps they don’t even understand.
To my parents, who instilled in me curiosity and the gift to study whatever would make me happy. Their only expectation was that I would do my best.
And an endless sea of appreciation to Kyrsten Kidani. I will spend the rest of my life making up for all the schooling I have pursued.
My gratitude is endless and I relish sharing the new adventures ahead.
Prince Kūhiō; 1895 Charge for treason - 1 year Hawaii State Archives, Kalanianaʻole Collection, PP-97-1-032.
PRISOUN
late Old English place of confinement or involuntary restraint, dungeon, jail
PRISOUN
French captivity, imprisonment; prison; prisoner, captive
12th CENtury
Prison
Pris
Vulgar Latin taken, as in prize
PREHENSIONEM
Vulgar Latin a taking
Prize something taken by force
Figure 1. Etymological roots of the word "prison." (Etymonline, n.d.)
‘ĀINA, & ALOHA ‘ĀINA
The etymological roots of the word “prison” holds no surprises (Figure 1): it is a place of confinement, of involuntary restraint. These definitions and uses of the word stretch back to the 11th or 12th century. The root word of “prison” is “pris” or “priz” and refers to “something taken by force; to seize, to take” (Etymonline, n.d.). The collective attitude of the corrections process is generally punitive and asserts a power dynamic that can be hard to overcome. This can lead to a perpetual cycle of reoffending and generational trauma resulting in children of the incarcerated entering the same system as youth or adults.
PROCESS OF INCARCERATION
At-risk populations find themselves in difficult situations, with the over-criminalization of activities that could otherwise be treated with more robust social and mental health systems. Figure 2 illustrates this process and various points of intervention. Identifying these pivot points may help direct the types of tools a
rehabilitative process could employ in the corrections process.
› At-Risk Individual
The process might begin with someone already experiencing one of many social or economic challenges, which positions them in riskier situations. These could include houselessness, substance use disorders, incarcerated family, untreated mental health issues, household abuse, etc. One or more concerns would place this person at greater risk of incarceration.
› Aversion
Recognizing and providing interventions early and often is the best way to ensure positive outcomes. This poses the widest swath of options for interventions as an instigating event that triggers the criminal justice system has not been actuated.
› Instigating Event
This would typically be some type of recognized criminal activity.
› Diversion
Similar interventions used with aversion
At-Risk Individual
Aversion Diversion
Jail| Prison
JudicialSystem Incarceration
Instigating Event
Community Re-entry
could be applied here, particularly if the person could be best assisted with medical care (for mental health interventions or substance-use therapies).
› Judicial System
People facing the court system are being tried for a crime or crimes. This process takes time and if the defendant is unable to make bail, this is their first step of incarceration. They are placed in jail to await trial, a process which could take months. Jails are used mainly for people awaiting trial or sentences lasting no more than one year.
› Incarceration
Depending on sentencing, incarceration will place people convicted of a crime in either jail or prison. Where jails hold people for sentences less than 1 year, prisons are intended for longer sentences. Prisons may hold more long-term opportunities for rehabilitation and will be the focus for landscape interventions in this research.
noitaborP eloraP| 57%recidivate in 3years
o m ytinum noisivrepuS
› Community Supervision
Community supervision is an extension of the corrections process. This encompasses probation and parole. It is, essentially, the start of community re-entry and permits incarcerated people to finish their sentence outside of prison or jail but under supervision. This is an opportunity to incorporate workforce development opportunities.
› Recidivism
In Hawaiʻi, we see a 57% rate of people cycling back into the incarceration cycle. This is more than half of the incarcerated population with little to no experience of rehabilitation. A paradigm shift towards genuine rehabilitation, and even aversion or diversion, needs to be adopted.
› Community Re-entry
Once the incarcerated person has completed their sentence, whether in a jail, prison or on community supervision, they transition back into society. The transition from being imprisoned to community
Figure 2. Experience of criminality and incarceration in the existing system. (UHCDC 2025, OHA )
supervision to “free” can be difficult to navigate. The continuum is particularly pertinent at this point. Going from a highly structured experience to no support begs re-offending. Assuming a rehabilitative frame has been adopted, people need support to apply new ways of thinking and to see the world from this new frame.
The University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (UHCDC) has been working with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), developing a continuum of care for Hawaii’s jail population (Appendix 1). While landscape design has the potential to affect the emotional and mental health of participants, it is only one part of a complex web of needs. Figure 3 provides an illustration how an incarcerated continuum of care might operate in a jail setting—mainly an integrated approach in wellness and education, some exposure to job-training and placement, and to be released into a community safety net that provides jobs, housing, and continued support to maintain wellness.
UHCDC is now focusing their efforts on Kūlani Correctional Facility in south Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island. As a prison facility, the longer sentencing time frame means the continuum of care can incorporate a more robust focus on workforce development. The goal of this research will be to explore a continuum of care better suited to the longer time frame of prison sentences that takes advantage of the processes and products of landscape architecture. Examples of landscape processes include:
› Researching and applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge
› Prioritizing bioculture by honoring indigenous practices
› Working with community leaders to set the tone and direction of design
› Identifying and highlighting the layers of history on-site: geological, social, political, ecological, etc.
The products of landscape architecture may include:
› Site design and planting palettes
› Careful siting for design features
› Balancing ecology and human comfort/ access
› Aesthetics
One integral aspect of care community members and stakeholders identified is spiritual and cultural programming. But what if we shift cultural programming from a support service and made it the basis for how we develop care? A potential starting point to begin developing a culturally-aware continuum of care model is identify the people protagonist: the incarcerated. How do we understand their spatial experiences in both passive ways (what they look at or the place they are in) or active ways (what they can interact with, how they can interact with it—i.e., the practices of interacting with the landscape or space). The existing continuum of care model understands holistic needs of the incarcerated and creates a solid foundation in their rehabilitation. A more nuanced understanding of care could use the myriad combinations of people, place, and practice to ground the development of a continuum in place-based, ʻāina-focused processes. What if we look at people-placepractice as the incarcerated (people) and their relationship to ʻāina (place) as a way to develop Aloha ʻĀina (practice)?
To begin understanding what landscape architecture can offer in the rehabilitation process, we need to understand what ʻāina is. ʻĀina is commonly translated as land and metaphorically as “that which nourishes.”
Figure 5 illustrates the ecological wellness of Native Hawaiians as defined by Davianna Pomaikaʻi McGregor and her team, nesting humans and their attendant social institutions— ʻōhana, community, and lāhui—aspects of ʻāina wellness. a part of in harmony with land and natural resources from which traditional “cultural and spiritual custom, belief, and practice” are derived (McGregor et al. 2003). The physical and spiritual nourishment from ʻāina simply does not exist without the human pilina (relationship) with ʻāina. Concepts of mālama (to take care of, maintain), kuleana (right, privilege, responsibility), and lōkahi (unity) are all used when discussing care of ʻāina and are all components of Aloha ʻĀina.
The preceding concepts of people, the incarcerated particularly, and ʻāina are the key factors of aloha ʻāina. We understand human existence impacts the world, discussions of
Incarceration, ‘Āina, & Aloha ‘Āina
D I V ERSION
J U DICIAL SYSTEM
the ‘natural’ world often remind us that humans are, too, ‘natural.’ Aloha ʻāina should have a deeply personal meaning and practice. For some people this is working with community to preserve and maintain loʻi kalo, for others it is the practice of hula, for others it is perpetuating laʻau lapaʻau (medicine) practices. All of these are personal and collective actions of aloha ʻāina that preserve ‘āina—there is no ʻāina without people.
Incarcerated spaces use land in very specific ways. The majority of access to landscape in incarceration is generally limited to a lawn experience for recreation. A figure-ground study (Figure 6) makes it alarmingly clear that landscaped space is extremely prescribed (lawn, basketball/volleyball courts) and in some cases, non-existent. The areas in white depict the type and scale of access to “nature” each of the facilities in Hawaiʻi has access to.
The notion of hard labor and imprisonment are inseparable; immediate images of chain gangs, breaking rocks, and other arduous tasks are associated with the incarceration process. In Hawaiʻi, there was an honor camp in Hilo, Waiākea Honor Camp, that was used to grade the first landing strip in Hilo that would eventually become the airport. These
same incarcerated individuals were tasked with clearing an access road through dense forest and construction of a new prison: Kūlani Honor Camp. It was the idea that hard labor would both impart marketable skills once released as well as correct any undesirable behavior in the incarcerated. Most of the labor is also treated as community service with little to no monetary compensation, leaving the incarcerated with no money once they are released from imprisonment. The transition out of incarceration can be difficult to navigate, particularly if left with minimum wage job prospects or no savings to become a functioning member of society. Whether the application of honor camps was successful is another discussion. The takeaway is the impetus to create a more holistic system that treats the incarcerated like people that will one day be released and uses imprisonment to impart practicable skills that will improve individual lives and society.
The Prison Agriculture Lab researches and advocates around the agricarceral industrial complex—the deployment of agriculture in the “criminal punishment system” (Prison Agriculture Lab 2021). They advocate and research the use of agriculture, agricultural labor, and agricultural products in the incarceration process. They
Figure 3. Illustration of the Community-Based Continuum Of Care model (UHCDC 2025)
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY REENTRY HOUSING PROGRAMS
ĀINA LĀHUI
COMMUNITY
INDIV I DUAL
Figure 4. Ho‘oulu Lāhui Aloha: Raising a Beloved Nation: Ecological Model of Native Hawaiian Well-Being
FIGURE 6. CARCERAL LAND USE: FIGURE GROUND STUDY
Figure-Ground Study highlighting lawn, the only type of landscaping accessible in incarceration. Diagram adapted from ESRI and Google Earth.
LEGEND
Incarcerated-Accessible Lawn
Building Public Lawn or Landscaping
Impervious Surface (concrete, asphalt)
Hawai'i Community Correctional Center
Maui Community Correctional Center
Halawa Correctional Facility
Oʻahu Community Correctional Center
Federal Detention Center
Kauaʻi Community Correctional Center
Incarceration, ‘Āina, & Aloha ‘Āina
Women's Community Correctional Center
Continuum of Care
FIGURE 7. AGRICARCERAL LAND USE: FIGURE GROUND STUDY
Kūlani Correctional Facility
5. Figure-Ground Study highlighting lawn, the only type of landscaping accessible in incarceration. Diagram adapted from ESRI and Google Earth.
Incarcerated-Accessible Lawn
Public Lawn or Landscaping
Impervious Surface (concrete, asphalt)
Building Agricultural
Figure
Kawailoa: Youth Community Center
Waiāwa Correctional Facility
note that often, the products of agricultural labor in incarceration are seen as value-added opportunities and exported from the prison instead of using it primarily to feed the prison population. Disparities around labor, food justice, and racial inequality are all concerns in agricultural programming meant to support and improve the experiences of the incarcerated (Prison Agriculture Lab 2021). There are three
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How might Aloha ʻĀina be used as a form of rehabilitation in the incarceration process?
prisons or community centers in Hawaiʻi that incorporate some form of agriculture in their programming (Figure 7).
› What ʻāina-focused tools, spaces, and processes can landscape architects employ and how can design be used to aid in the rehabilitation process?
› What additional support will be needed in conjunction with design?
METHODOLOGY
Developing an ʻāina-focused continuum of care that translates to landscape design opportunities requires a multi-step approach relying on historical research, literature review, precedent studies including UHCDC research, and spatial analysis. The first objective in developing care models through the lens of landscape architecture is to determine the leverage points landscape architects can manipulate that affect program and design directions. Second, start spatializing conditions in typical ways to understand how form can support programming goals, aligning with the site’s assets and opportunities. Then, determine place-based, ʻāina-focused opportunities that offer genuine pathways to rehabilitation and resilience. Finally, develop a design where spatial application supports programmatic goals.
Research methodology includes literature review on understanding indigenous relationships to ʻāina and Aloha ʻĀina,
incarceration experiences, ways in which landscape architecture engages with environmental and social justice concerns, and therapeutic effects of landscapes on health and wellness. Site analysis will utilize GIS and historical documents and photographs. Prison sites are not typically publicly-documented or publicly-accessible locations. Information about the site come from environmental impact studies; DCR social media sites, website, and annual reports; Google Earth imaging; archival news reporting from the prison site; and GIS.
Using this information will help craft an alternative continuum of care that identifies ʻāina as central to building pilina (relationships) and cultivating a practice of Aloha ʻĀina as a pathway for rehabilitation.
People: The Incarcerated
Place: ‘Āina
Practice: Aloha ‘Āina
Figure
Comparing
WHO IS INCARCERATED?
What is the face of incarceration? Hawaiʻi— with 4 state prisons, 4 state jails, 1 federal prison, 1 juvenile institution, 1 contracted private US prison, and dispersed supervised communities—ranks in the middle of all US states, with an incarceration rate of 1,646 people per 100,000 residents (Figure 8).
Minimum security jails and prisons in the state are located on the islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island. One maximum security prison is contracted for the state and located in Saguaro, AZ (Figures 9 and 10). Correctional care includes people locked up and those under community supervision—probation or parole. In Hawaiʻi, we have just over 23,000 people under correctional care (Figure 11).
We imprison a disproportionate number of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders; whereas they comprise 10% of our resident population, they make up 44% of our incarcerated population (Figure 12). The US spends $82 billion annually on incarceration (Figure 13) with families contributing $1.3 billion annually to cover the costs of commissary and telephone calls. Hawaiʻi spends upwards of $127,000
annually per incarcerated person with a daily cost at the high end of $350.
The impacts on families and social structures can be devastating. In the US, nearly 2 million people are incarcerated currently (Figure 14). Over 79 million people have some kind of criminal record and 113 million adults have been directly affected by a family member being incarcerated. This can lead to a number of fractures in family security. Figure 15 identifies several systemic stressors that many incarcerated experiences as young people. These include insecure housing, disrupted family settings including parental incarceration or entry into the foster care system, low-income experiences, over 60% did not receive a high school diploma, and youth arrest and incarceration. Hawaiʻi is failing to meeting mental health needs, with the highest level of untreated adult mental illness in the US, 69% are unable to get the appropriate care (UHCDC 2025). Additionally, more than 80% of people entering Oʻahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) need some form of substance use treatment (Figure 16).
State Prison
State Prisons
Federal Detention Ctr
State Jail
2,850 Miles
State Prison
Figure 9. State of Hawai‘i prisons and jails. Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Arizona
Eloy. Pinal County, AZ
sAGUARO CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR
Population: 936 [Male]
› Private, contracted, medium-security prison
› Owned and operated by CoreCivic
› Prison population from Idaho, Hawaiʻi, and Montana
Youth Community Center leGeNd Lihue
Federal Prison
State Prison
State Jail
KAUAʻi COMMUNiTY CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR Population: 93 Male + Female
wAiAwA CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY Population: 143 Male
OʻAhU COMMUNiTY CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR Population: 917 Male + Female
FedeRAl deTeNTiON CeNTeR
Population: 327 Male + Female
Pacific Ocean
Oʻahu
Honolulu
Waipahu
Kauaʻi
Niʻihau
Figure 10. State of Hawai‘i prisons and jails–locations across islands. Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Aiea
hAlAwA CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY
Population: 800 Male
Kailua
wOMeN's COMMUNiTY CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR
Population: 143 Female
KAwAilOA COMMUNiTY CeNTeR
MOlOKaʻi
lāNaʻi
Maui Wailuku
MAUi COMMUNiTY CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR
Population: 218 Male + Female
KahOʻOlāwe
Hilo
hAwAiʻi COMMUNiTY CORReCTiONAl CeNTeR
Population: 299 Male + Female
KŪlANi CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY
Population: 80 Male
11. Composition of Corrections Care populations. (Prison Policy Initiative)
12. Comparison between Hawaii's Resident and Incarcerated Populations (Prison Policy Initiative).
Figure
Figure
Diverting people needing mental health and substance use services instead of directing them into incarceration would reduce the economic burden on the state. Long-term addiction treatment costs of $70/daily or wrap around services—comprehensive, personalized services addressing multiple complex needs— costing $150/daily are a fifth to half the cost of incarceration and would address the deeper issues these individuals may be facing.
Figure 13. Annual costs in the US for mass incarceration and annual costs locally.
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an ‘Āina-Focused Continuum of Care
Figure 14. Social impacts of incarceration. (Prison Policy Initiative)
113
Figure 15. Systemic Sources of Chronic Stress for People Incarcerated. People that are incarcerated have
Percentage of adults in HI needing–but unable to get–mental health care 69%
Estimated number of incarcerated at OCCC annually identified as Severe & Persistently Mentally Ill 2,088
Percentage of incarcerated people needing some form of substance use treatment 86%
COMMUNITY
Figure 16. Social impacts of incarceration. (Buckley and Hobro 2025, UHCDC 2025)
HI has the highest rate of untreated adults with mental illness in the US
Development of land prioritized plantations, military bases, hotels and tourist sites, cities, and urban sprawl
We can look to health care and social science to identify a network of support, often referred to as a Continuum of Care, to assist people trapped in a punitive justice system cycle or those in danger of ending up in the cycle. The Continuum of Care concept is a successful tool used in healthcare, housing access, and other arenas where the goal is to move affected populations through multiple steps to ensure the highest rates of success in achieving maintaining the intended goal. Early healthcare literature defines this concept as “…involving an integrated system of care that guides and tracks patient over time through a comprehensive array of health services spanning all levels of intensity of care” (Evashwick 1989). The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also adopted a Continuum of Care strategy to address houselessness. A HUD (1994) training document states:
The Continuum of Care is a community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
In outlining the continuum steps, it is important to also recognize the connected services and functions that need to activate simultaneously for effective intervention to take place, requiring a framework that can adapt to various needs. Additionally, the opportunities to prevent houselessness and strategies, whether onetime interventions or consistent services, would be a component of the continuum (Department of Housing and Urban Development 1994). Ultimately, continuum of care is about providing the actual services needed, helping people more effectively while reducing the economic
The indigenous people of the islands makes up a smaller proportion of the population than it should (Kaʻopua et al. 2012). Despite this, according to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) (2018) Final Report of the HCR 85 Task Force on Prison Reform, “Native Hawaiians continue to be disproportionately incarcerated and disparately impacted.” They additionally cite the negative impacts of a western system of punitive justice on Native Hawaiian families, particularly cultural trauma and intergenerational incarceration (OHA 2012; Keahiolalo-Karasuda 2010). Understanding the pilina (relationship) between the concept of ʻāina and Kanaka ʻŌiwi (native people of Hawaiʻi), cultural practitioners have been incorporating ʻāina-based programming to create resilience for all the people of Hawaiʻi. OHA (2012) findings support this path:
The HCR 85 Task Force…strongly recommends that Hawai‘i adopt a new
vision for corrections and repatriate traditional Hawaiian cultural practices that can restore harmony with ‘ohana (family), community, akua (spirit), and ‘āina (land). Only by supporting intrapersonal healing can we successfully reintegrate pa‘ahao (prisoners) and break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration. (OHA 2012)
Hawaiʻi has an inordinate number of extinct and endangered species both flora and fauna (Winter et al. 2023). Kanaka ʻŌiwi have brought back cultural practices despite concerted efforts to eliminate them (Winter et al. 2023). The threat facing endemic species has led researchers and community leaders to work on the preservation of functions, processes, and integrity of natural resources. This movement to preserve cultural practices embedded in the land is often identified as Indigenous and community-conserved areas (ICCA) as Community-driven
processes for should be, and once was, a shared responsibility.
Stress derived from lost cultural connections, particularly with the lost connections to ʻāina, can be particularly detrimental to Native Hawaiians. Luciano Minerbi (1994) sums up various thoughts on the “cultural loss and stress” felt by Native Hawaiians. For a while, colonizing forces altered or forbade cultural practices, leaving any preservation of these practices to family units (Keoni Nunes cited in Minerbi 1994). Furthermore, Minerbi introduces Alan Howard’s (1974) research findings that some affected Native Hawaiians may experience reduced feelings of self-esteem and develop “less effective coping strategies” (Minerbi 1994, 96–97). Concluding that “knowledge and pride in ethnic heritage is an important if not critical element for the development of social competence among contemporary Hawaiians” (Howard 1974, 225–26). While there are tremendous successes had by the Native Hawaiian community and the robust gains made through the Hawaiian Renaissance, a segment of the demographic participates in coping strategies that may be more selfdestructive and leave them in precarious positions with law enforcement. Once any person falls into the corrections cycle, it is difficult to transition out of it:
For the last two centuries, the criminal justice system has negatively impacted Native Hawaiians in ways no other ethnic group has experienced. The findings in this report are concerning as it tells the story of how an institution, fueled by tax payers’ dollars, disparately affects a unique indigenous group of people, making them even more vulnerable than ever to the loss of land, culture, and community. These racial disparities begin with the initial contact of a punitive system that creates over-powering barriers in changing the course of their lives and are exponentially increased as a person moves through the
system. (Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) 2012)
“Throughout history, the Hawaiian people have maintained a deep abiding faith in the land and its power of providing physical sustenance, spiritual strength, and political empowerment” (McGregor et al. 2003).
Landscape architecture is poised to assist with environmental justice and highlighting the biocultural connections people have to ‘āina.
To understand the scientific practicality of appropriately assigning value to ʻāina, we can look to cultural ecosystem services, the term to describe benefits derived from human-environmental interactions (Pascua et al. 2017). The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2003) starts to identify the interconnectedness of landscape to people within many indigenous cultures: The dependence of humans on ecosystem services reflects directly the profound coevolutionary processes that underlie the origins of Earth’s biosphere. The biosphere and its ecosystems provide life support to all species... Further, the biosphere is itself the product of life on Earth. The composition of the atmosphere and soil, the cycling of nutrients through waterways, and many other ecological assets are all the result of living processes—and all are maintained and replenished by living ecosystems.
The act of cultivating and maintaining the earth, as well as the interactions of all flora and fauna, influence and create the our biological world. Further, scholars state that the current conception of human interaction with land is based not only on recreation and scenic beauty but the “spiritual values, cultural identity, social cohesion, and heritage values” attributed to land by indigenous cultures is not well represented. Therefore, many proposals for natural resource management cannot reflect the full value of “places where
groups share stong cultural ties to land based on place-based, multi-generational connections” (Pascua et al. 2017). Therefore, local researchers developed a Hawaiʻi-based Cultural Ecosystem Service Framework, which includes ʻike (knowledge); Mana (spirituality), Pilina Kanaka (social interactions), and Ola Mau (physical and mental well-being) as the key concepts in Aloha ʻĀina, the “reciprocal environmental kinship in Hawaiʻi” (Pascua et al. 2017).
Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻopua (2012) writes about aloha ʻāina, recognizing the literal translation as “love of the land” but expounding on the understood meaning:
Aloha ‘āina expresses an unswerving dedication to the health of the natural world and a staunch commitment to political autonomy, as both are integral to a healthy existence. Although it is often imperfectly translated to ‘love for the land’ and ‘patriotism,’ the aloha part of this phrase is an active verb, a practice rather than as merely a feeling or belief. (32)
Honor Camps
One course of correction for the penal system came in the early 20th century, when a new concept of incarceration was devised: the honor camp. Honor camps were based on the honor system, essentially laxed security and noteworthy privileges bestowed on those recognized for “their good behavior or superior intelligence, or for other less meritorious reasons, are designated by the superintendent to carry out his instructions and occupy positions of trust and responsibility in the management of the institution” (Bates 1922, 109). It was assumed that the incarcerated would, on their honor, not try to escape or abuse their privileges. Moreover, their impetus for honor camps resonates with desires to rehabilitate:
…we are proceeding on the further assumption that the best protection to the community is a reduction in the number of criminals, and we are discussing how criminals in an institution can be turned out better men, with less desire to prey upon the public, and thus indirectly, and, we submit, more efficiently, we do have in mind the ultimate aim of the administration of the criminal law, to-wit: the protection of society. (Bates 1922, 110)
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Many arguments are made to the benefits of health and wellness. There is also a subconscious association with plants and places, creating a sense of place. Ultimately, plants for indigenous cultures are the source of history, culture, and sustenance. Julia Watson’s (2020) premise on indigeneity posits traditional ecological knowledge “…as an evolutionary extension of life in symbiosis with nature” (19). Therefore, we can assume that the relationship of land and stewardship is key to the health and well-being of indigenous societies. This biocultural heritage is about land management and understanding the uses of plants as medicine, materials, food, aesthetics, way-finding and more that create the foundations for civilizations to thrive. We can assume that ʻāina is about physical space and human stewardship.
Continuum of Care
We can look to health care and social science to identify a network of support, often referred to as a Continuum of Care, to assist people trapped in a punitive justice system cycle or those in danger of ending up in the cycle. The Continuum of Care concept is a successful tool used in healthcare, housing access, and other arenas where the goal is to move affected populations through multiple steps to ensure the highest rates of success in achieving maintaining the intended goal.
Early healthcare literature defines this concept as “…involving an integrated system of care that guides and tracks patient over time through a comprehensive array of health services spanning all levels of intensity of care” (Evashwick 1989). The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also adopted a Continuum of Care strategy to address houselessness. A HUD (1994) training document states:
The Continuum of Care is a community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximum selfsufficiency. It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.
In outlining the continuum steps, it is important to also recognize the connected services and functions that need to activate simultaneously for effective intervention to take place, requiring a framework that can adapt to various needs. Additionally, the opportunities to prevent houselessness and strategies, whether one-time interventions or consistent services, would be a component of the continuum (Department of Housing and Urban Development 1994).
Using these examples, a continuum model can start to emerge for the cycle of incarceration.
United
Incarceration
Figure 13Comparing US and Hawai‘i incarceration rates per every 100,000 people to Founding NATO Nations (Prison
Alarmingly, the US—among its founding NATO allies—is exponentially more likely to incarcerate its citizens. What lessons can be gleaned by looking globally at how imprisonment is treated in countries with lower rates of imprisonment? A host of alternative models for prisons span the globe. In the Philippines, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm touts no fences and open-air access for visitors. Iceland has such a low incarceration rate that of the five small prisons in the country, only two are in operation. Norway has some of the most innovative approaches to prisons including Bostøy Prison, aiming to be the first ecological prison in the world.
For design elements, we will look at existing prison programs that center some part of care on the landscape, whether as passive viewers or active participants in plant development and care. In studying the following precedents at Halden Prison in Norway, Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony in Italy, The Greenhouse on Rikers Island in New York, and Kawailoa in Hawaiʻi we can develop some takeaways that make programming with the landscape an importanst aspect of rehabilitation and reducing recidivism.
The development of restorative and rehabilitative landscapes for the incarcerated cannot rely solely on design. For programs I will review The Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco for their job training and Men of PAʻA: Positive Action Alliance in Pāhoa, Hawaiʻi that focus on care along various point along the continuum, from diversion through skills-development.
(architecturenorway.no, n.d.)
DESIGNER
Asplan Viak AS [Landscape Architect]
Erik Møller Architects & HLM Arkitektur AS [Architects}
DATE COMPLETED
2010
75 Acres
OVERVIEW
Halden, Østfold, Norway
$252 million
Halden Prison is a maximum security prison has been touted as a more humane prison setting with landscaping incorporated into the prison campus and more autonomy over activities. Programmatic aspects of the prison include guards who are trained like social workers, extended visitation options for families, ability to wear , The design has been described as an open prison:
The main intention and concept for the project rests in the mutual dependency and contrast between “hard and soft”. The “hard” represents the forcible removal of the freedom of an individual, and the “soft” is the aim of rehabilitation. The prison authorities aim to prepare the prisoners for life outside the walls. (architecturenorway.no, n.d.)
Norway utilizes a system of small, community-based correctional facilities that focus on rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Adapted from Google Earth
› Social, moral, practical
› No prison uniforms
› Focus on life after prison
› Skills-building: 40% increase in employment post-incarceration
› Prisoners = human
› Primary focus is rehabilitation
› Landscape incorporates narrow trunks and high canopies to address security issues
› Incorporates borrowed view of surrounding areas
LESSONS LEARNED
AGRICULTURAL PENAL COLONY
DESIGNER DATE
19th Century Italian Penal Reform + Italian Ministry of Justice, structures likely design by 1869
543 acres (100 inmates)
OVERVIEW
“WORKING IN NATURE PAYS OFF—IT GIVES YOU STRENGTH.” Carlo Mazzerbo, Prison Director
Italy had a series of agricultural penal colonies, Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony is the last remnant of these institutions. Located 23 miles off the nearest coast in Livorno makes the access of the island complicated, weather changes quickly and can prevent reaching or leaving the islet. This may mean prisoners or visitors may not be able to cross or may be stranded on the islet.
The agricultural penal colonies were meant to rehabilitate incarcerated through hard work. There are strict conditions for being at Gorogna and any infraction leads to permanent removal from the institution. A 5-year program is meant to rehabilitate participants but many arrivals are serving out less than 5 years, leaving some question on whether rehabilitation is achieved. Still, Gorgona touts a 20% recidivism rate versus 80% with their traditional prison counterparts (Bertolucci 2023).
Gorgona Islet, Italy
Images: (Bertolucci 2023, Soil and Sol 2015)
Adapted from Google Earth
LESSONS LEARNED
› Tending to animals is one therapeutic activity on the islet
› Partnerships lead to skills-building and production of value-added products:
› 2.5 Acres of vineyards owned by Lamberto Frescobaldi
› 1,000-Tree olive grove produces Bianca di Gorgona
› Apiary produces honey
› Animal products used to make cheese
EMERGING CONCERNS
› Rikers Island is slated to close in 2026
› Limited number of participants: 2% of the 11,000 incarcerated are able to participate
BUILD SKILLS AROUND IDENTIFIED INTERESTS
GreenHouse is a restorative justice program available to the 11,000 incarcerated people. (Robinson 2015)
DESIGNER
DATE
Horticulture Society of New York & NYC Department of Correction 1996
Rikers Island, New York City, New York
2 - 2.5 acres (230 inmate volunteers)
OVERVIEW
$250,000/yr from the Hort, DOC provides 2 guards
A restorative justice program established by the Horticulture Society of New York, called “the Hort,” in conjunction with the NYC Department of Correction:
The GreenHouse gardening program was born in 1996, as part of the Hort’s mission to “sustain the vital connection between people and plants.” While the DOC supplies the land, facilities, tools, and maintenance, the 113-year-old society brings stability — offering fiscal and organizational support when city funding fluctuates. (Robinson 2015)
Participant transformation and healing that occurs in the process of nurturing plants include eating what they produce, joining community gardens, sharing with friends and family in process, encouragement to pursue education in horticulture, and personal growth while incarcerated. (New York Horticultural Society, n.d.)
LESSONS LEARNED
› Social, moral, practical
› No prison uniforms
› Focus on life after prison
› Skills-building: 40% increase in employment post-incarceration
› Prisoners = human
› Primary focus is rehabilitation
› Landscape incorporates narrow trunks and high canopies to address security issues
› Incorporates borrowed view of surrounding areas
› Community partner dedicates 2 staff members to the program
EMERGING CONCERNS
› Rikers Island is slated to close in 2026
› Limited number of participants: 2% of the 11,000 incarcerated are able to participate
A. The GreenHouse on Rikers Island occupies approximately 2 acres. (Google Earth)
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUTH ACTION HI
Images: wearekawailoa.org
DESIGNER
RYSE: Residential Youth Services + Empowerment; Kinao ʻEha; Partners in Development Foundation: Kupa ʻĀina Farm; Department of Education: Olomana Youth Center, State of Hawaiʻi, Office of Youth Services – Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility
DATE COMPLETED
SIZE LOCATION
OVERVIEW
BUDGET
“The Opportunity for Youth Action Hawaiʻi (OYAH) hui is a unique collaboration of nonprofit agencies at the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center that works in close collaboration with State partners. Together, alongside our State Partners, we are creating a puʻuhonua, or place of peace, safety, and healing. OYAH formally organized in 2020 under the common purpose to transform punitive modalities of treatment and incarceration with effective therapeutic community-based programs rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices. In this place, Hawaii’s youth can learn to become healers in their own lives, in their families, and their communities.
Kawailoa translates to the long waters, describing an ecosystem of youth resources and supports that drive this transformative Indigenous initiative to replace youth incarceration with cultural and therapeutic services that empower youth and strengthen community.” (Kawailoa n.d.)
2020 Kailua, Oʻahu, HI
LESSONS LEARNED
› 82% reduction in youth incarceration
› Serves 300 families and not just participants. the whole ʻōhana unit is part of the rehabilitation process
› Cultural Piko as anchor
› Weaving the partners together in an ‘aha (cord of strength) redesigning institutional connections
› Establishing a hālau (school for collaborative learning and sharing).”
OTHER KAWAILOA PARTNERS:
› Native Hawaiian and community-based organizations
› Hawai’i State Department of Education Public Schools
› Law Enforcement
› Hawaiʻi State Judiciary
› Hawai’i State Office of the Public Defender
› Hawai’i State Department of Health – Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division
› The Hawaii-Pacific Foundation
› Harold L. K. Castle Foundation
› The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
› Kamehameha Schools
› Liliʻuokalani Trust
› Nā ʻŌiwi Kāne
› UCLA Asian American Studies Center
› University of Hawaiʻi
› The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
Adpated from Google Earth
Images: Kirisu International, Inc. (www.kurisu.com)
DESIGNER
Kurisu International, Inc.
DATE COMPLETED
2004 -2006
20 acres
OVERVIEW
Rockford, Illinois
$10 - 50 million
"The healing garden at Rosecrance, a substance abuse rehabilitation center, is an integral part of the character and functioning of the facility.
Designed to support and enhance recovery for Rosecrance's young patients, their families and program staff and administrators, the healing garden provides a setting for many purposes such as guided meditation, group therapy, family visits and individual counseling.
Thoughtfully placed benches and intimate coves throughout the garden provide gathering spots for more private meetings, and a viewing deck invites contemplation of the reflecting pond, its colorful koi fish, and the views beyond."
Adpated from Google Earth
LESSONS LEARNED
› Variety of spaces that offer more private gathering spots for small groups or individual contemplation
› Courtyards designed for group activities that immerses participants in the landscape
› Water features provide distraction and/or focus
› Led participants to develop an affinity with the landscape, plants, and the outdoors
› Healing gardens provided inspiration in other aspects of participant's lives
PROGRAMMING INCLUDES:
› Physical space reflects social, psychological, and wellness support provided by the center
› APIARY
› OLIVE TREE GROVE
› VINEYARD
› FOOD PRODUCTION GARDENS
› ANIMAL FACILITIES
› STAFF FACILITIES INCLUDE A BAKERY, COMMISSARY, BAR
The takeways could be separated into a few distinct categories:
FRAMING THE INCARCERATION EXPERIENCE
Talking about the people in the incarceration process means understanding the experiences of the incarcerated as well as the training of the staff that interact with those in the prison. The takeaways to note:
› Treat the incarcerated like they are going to be released into society again. This frames the work those incarcerated need to do as inherently rehabilitative. And allows them to develop the habits and skills around a life that contributes to society.
› Understand the training for guards and administration as part of the rehabilitative process. Acting more like social workers than as corrections officers will be more collegial and cooperative.
› Ensure visitation as often as possible to develop or heal familial linkages, the support network they will need when transitioning out of prison
EXPERIENCE OF LANDSCAPE
The landscape is perhaps the second protagonist in these inc arceration experiences.
› Loose ties to ʻāina happen with passive viewing or recreation. This allows for the potential to make new connections and expand current ways of thinking.
› Depending on the activity and the personal effort one may want to exert, stronger ties to ʻāina could be developed if they lean in to spiritual or cultural practices.
› Developing competencies in landscape maintenance, agricultural production, livestock farming, making value-added products, etc. are landscape-based drivers of workforce development
› Plants and animals are non-judgmental. They thrive because of the care they receive; the relationship of people to plants or animals can improve overall wellness.
› Landscape interaction can be in the form of ability to view nature from any point in the prison space (from inside or outside), programming, or borrowed views
PLACE-BASED CONNECTION
Rooting people in practices that remind them of where they live is one way to create a sense of belonging and feelings of kūleana. Having purpose is a clear way to improve outcomes.
› Hawaiʻi is best cared for when we understand the needs of ʻāina and people.
› Building community partnerships is integral to successful funding and programming
› The whole family needs to be involved— ultimately the whole community—in healing and growing
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an ‘Āina-Focused Continuum of Care
ĀINA LĀHUI
COMMUNITY
THE VALUE OF PLACE-BASED INTERVENTIONS
AlOhA ‘āiNA [is] A ReCOGNiTiON, COMMiTMeNT, ANd pRACTiCe sUsTAiNiNG The eA – OR liFe bReATh – beTweeN peOple ANd OUR NATURAl eNviRONMeNTs ThAT ResUlTed iN NeARlY 100 GeNeRATiONs OF sUsTAiNAble CARe FOR hAwAi‘i. we ReCOGNize ThAT iT is beCAUse OF The AlOhA ‘āiNA pRACTiCed bY NATive hAwAiiANs OveR MANY CeNTURies ThAT we CAN eNjOY The hAwAi‘i we hAve TOdAY.
—NATive hAwAiiAN plACe OF leARNiNG & KŪAliʻi COUNCil
“leARNiNG TO ThRive iN hARMONY wiTh This lANdsCApe, TO sTewARd ANd leARN FROM The FOResTs ANd wATeRwAYs, ANd TO eNACT lOve FOR OTheRs
All COMbiNe iN AlOhA ‘āiNA, The ACTive devOTiON TO ONe’s plACe ANd The CONCeRN FOR The well-beiNG ANd shARed wisdOM OF ONe’s peOple ANd hOMelANd.”
—MAUReeN K. pORTeR & NiC CRisTObAl
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an ‘Āina-Focused Continuum of Care
Realms of Wellness Emotional Needs Met
Meaning Sense of Connection Volition
COMMUNITY
Community Connection
Meaning Sense of Self Volition
Attention
Intimacy
Security
INDIVIDUAL
Privacy
Sources: Mark Granovetter, Gillian Sandstrom, McGregor et. al., 2003
Example of Landscapes
That Support Wellness
STRONG TIES TO ʻĀINA
Pā Hula
Laʻau Lapaʻau Garden
Strong ties to ‘ āina refer to activities that are dependent on the social and/or ecological relationship to the physical place
Forests
Loʻi Kalo
Loko Iʻa Conservation
Backyards
Open Space Recreation
Therapy Gardens
LOOSE TIES TO ʻĀINA
Loose ties to ‘āina refer to activities that need to be or are enhanced by being outdoors but are not socially, ecologically, or otherwise connected to a particular place.
AddRessiNG phYsiCAl ANd MeNTAl heAlTh, ReseARCh shOws The pOsiTive eFFeCTs OF lANdsCApes ON well-beiNG.
pROspeCT & ReFUGe:
Therapy gardens need areas for individual contemplation
Need FOR pRivACY
MATeRiAl Use:
Consideration toward materials used on pathways or furniture
plANT desiGN:
Layout trees and plants to create areas of refuge and sense of calm
sTRATeGiCAllY plACed seATiNG
wATeR FeATURes: Therpay gardens often incorporate water features and the sound of water
LANDSCAPES OF ‘OHANA WELLNESS: BACKYARD
Ties wiTh ʻōhANA ARe esseNTiAl TO CReATe A seNse OF seCURiTY ANd develOp deepeR bONds OF ATTAChMeNT. ReCReATiONAl ACTiviTies wiTh ʻōhANA ARe ONe wAY TO CUlTivATe These bONds.
FOOd pROdUCTiON:
Backyard food production increases ʻohana-level food security
seCURe hOUsiNG
Physiological security is a key part of overall wellness
iNTeRGeNeRATiONAl bONds
ʻOhANA sTAbiliTY
plANT seleCTiON:
Encourages varied levels of interaction
OUTdOOR ACTiviTies:
Hawaii’s weather permits many outdoor activities, including picnics
ReCReATiONAl ACTiviTies: Recreation improved when located outdoors
LANDSCAPES OF ‘OHANA WELLNESS: ANYWHERE
ACTiviTies ThAT sUppORT ʻOhANA wellNess hAppeN iN A vARieTY OF lANdsCApes`
plANT pAleTTe:
Contributes to sense of place
MANY ReCReATiONAl ACTiviTies CReATe CONNeCTiON TO plACe
FORMAl FeATURes:
Formalizing spaces for activities can build community and lead to positive feelings of place.
seATiNG:
Whether formal or informal, highlight landscape features and offer opportunities to linger or for recreation
Multi-use connections
OpeN spACe:
Spaces such as parks, forests, or undeveloped areas, in public or private control, provides opportunities for recreation, supports habitat for wildlife, and other ecological functions.
ACh:
Multi-use landscape, introduces different connections to place
NURSERIES
NURseRies pReseNT A TiMe-bAsed expeRieNCe OF CARe ANd COlleCTive eFFORT TO lARGeR-sCAle iNTeRveNTiONs.
COlleCTiNG seeds–biOdiveRsiTY: Sourcing the proper seed stock for conservation, reforestation, or commercial efforts
pROpAGATiON–GReeNhOUse: Seeds collected in the field are propagated for plant and seed stock
sAles & shippiNG: Plants are prepared for sale or transport to retailer/contractor
iRRiGATiON: Water is integral to greenhouse and nursery operations
sTART TO CONNeCT The beNeFiTs OF
edGes: Fencing or hedgerows/windbreaks may be necessary for optimal growing conditions
OUTplANTiNG: Plants ready for field installation
shAde hOUse: Gradual hardening off of plants to outdoor conditions before transplanting
FURROws: Outdoor fields for plant stock
FeeliNG OF seCURiTY AT The ʻOhANA level iNspiRes belONGiNG iN COMMUNiTY–As bOTh exTeNded FAMilY OR GROUp AFFiliATiON–ANd iNCReAses peRsONAl desiRe TO pReseRve iNTeGRiTY OF ʻāiNA
GReeN iNFRAsTRUCTURe:
ReFOResTATiON:
Forests serve an important role in ahupuaʻa functions, helps return these functions in disturbed and cleared
COlleCTive ACTiON
Implementing nature-based systems that reintroduce ecological functions to the landscape
functions, reforestation cleared areas.
wildliFe hAbiTAT:
Ensuring wildlife habitats supports recreational activities such as birdwatching and perpetuates cultural knowledge
biOswAles:
One green infrastructure intervention is bioswales, a means of managing flooding, stormwater, erosion, and aquifer recharge.
LANDSCAPES OF LĀHUI WELLNESS: PĀ HULA
peOple’s KUleANA TO ʻāiNA is diReCTlY ATTAChed CUlTURAl well-beiNG. The heAlTh OF The lANd
biOCUlTURAl pRACTiCes:
Plants are often associated with hula practice. Cultural health biodiversity and the health of the environment. Hula is one
OUTdOOR leARNiNG spACe:
Develop spaces for dialogue and sharing ‘ike and manaʻo
pā hUlA: Hula mounds, generally earthen and raised, are surrounded by rock walls
Significant cultural heritage related to site.
hed TO TheiR spiRiTUAl, eMOTiONAl, phYsiCAl, ANd d hAs A diReCT CORRelATiON TO peRsONAl well-beiNG.
health and practice is intrinsically tied to one of the primary examples of walls or other fortification.
pUle CiRCle: Honoring protocol for indigenous practices
DESIGN APPROACH & OBJECTIVE
WELLNESS NEEDS
REVISE CARE MODEL
FORTIFY PROGRAM LINKAGES IDENTIFY
DESIGN NEEDS
DEVELOP INFORMED SPATIAL PLAN
INTRODUCE ʻĀINA-CENTRIC CONTINUUM OF CARE
INCREASE REHABILITATION & LĀHUI WELLNESS
‘ĀINA-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING
HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAMS
FAMILY SERVICE PROGRAMS
PEOPLE
CULTURAL & SPIRITUAL PROGRAMS
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PHYTOREMEDIATION STORM WATER MANAGEMENT WATER CATCHMENT
AGRICULTURE/FARMING CONSERVATION
DRY ROCK EDUCATION ENTREPRENEUR FOREMAN
INSTALLATION IRRIGATION JOURNEYMAN MANAGEMENT NON-PROFIT
NURSERY/GREENHOUSE
HOʻOPONOPONO
LAʻAU LAPAʻAU
MAKAHIKI
KILO
MOʻOLELO ʻŌLELO HAWAIʻI ʻŌLELO NOʻEAU
NĀ ANAHULU HULA
BIOCULTURE
BOTANY
ECOLOGY
ETHNOBOTANY
HORTICULTURE
HYDROLOGY
PLACE
EXISTING CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS:
Soil Science & Conservation
Horticulture & Hydroponics
Greenhouse Design & Construction
Sustainable Food Production For Small Farmers
Small Business Basics For Micro Farms
MANAGEMENT
FOREMAN LEADER SUPERVISOR TRAINER INFRASTRUCTURE
AGRICULTURE/FARMING
CONSERVATION WORK ROCK STACKING EDUCATION ENTREPRENEUR
PRACTICE
INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE
IRRIGATION DESIGN & INSTALLATION
JOURNEYMAN
MANAGEMENT
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
NURSERY/GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT
‘ĀINA-FOCUSED CONTINUUM OF CARE
At-Risk Individual
Instigating Event
PLACE
HOUSING PROGRAMS
R A N S I T I O N
COMMUNITY REENTRY
R
CONTINUING EDUCATION
WORKFORCE SUPPORT / ALOHA ‘ĀINA
T
A N S I T I O N
T
9 EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Give & Receive Attention Community Connection
Sense of Autonomy
Privacy Sense of Achievement Meaning & Purpose Security Sense of Self Emotional Intimacy
Spiritual Reconnection
Ritual & Practice
Making & Makana
Sustainability & Resilience
Learning & Working
Restorative Landscapes
KŪLANI
DESIGN NEEDS
Reforestation
Phytoremediation
Hydrological Management
Wastewater Treatment
Therapy Garden
Family Garden
Sta Garden
Recreation
PLANT SERVICES
Biocultural
Ecological
Biophilic
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCE
BIOPHILIC ECOLOGICAL
SPIRITUAL RECONNECTION
KEIKI TO KŪPUNA
ECOLOGICAL BIOCULTURAL
LEARNING & WORKING
RESTORATIVE LANDSCAPE
MAKING & MAKANA
Top Row-Inmates from Waiākea Prison Camp were used to clear ‘ōhi‘a and hapu‘u forests (Hawaii State Archive), View Kūlani Cone (Don Musel, Google Earth; Middle Row-Prison grounds from the guard tower (Civl Beat); Bottom Row: Quonset hut housing workforce development trade shops (HII News Now); Original prison camp constructed with prison labor (Hawai‘i State Archive)
Applying a place-based mentality to site analysis, we will review the layers of history on site that can inform what defines Kūlani. There are social ecological ways to understand site and Kūlaniʻs function in the ahupuaʻa. Primarily used as a bird-catching site, this site falls in Wao ʻEiwa (the name once used more frequently on Hawaiʻi Island, commonly referred to as Nāhele) (Handy 1972, Mueller-Dombois 2007). This is the forest zone, where preservation and maintenance of the native plant stock started. This likely also served as a buffer between the preserved sacred forest of Wao Kele (aquifer recharge) and Wao Akua (cloud forest) and the intercropping of native and non-natives necessary for human needs in Wao Lāʻau (timber zone, or as Winter has said, the Home Depot zone). Introduction of canoe and other plants were kept to lower elevations where human habitation was more extensive and they could have access to the materials they were planting. As travel higher into the ahupuaʻa was more taxing, and harvesting logs or other materials was a more community endeavor, uses of plants was for very specific purposes. The reverence for bird feather and preservation
of bird habitat is key at this elevation. The symbiosis of Wao Kele, Wao Akua, and the mountain was preserved and revered as the process that recharged aquifers.
This aligns with the direction of focusing design efforts on support landscapes that encourage and require Mālamaʻ Āina, as determined from the previous section.
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an ‘Āina-Focused Continuum of Care
LAND DIVISIONS
MOKU
0 10 20 Miles
AhUpUAʻA wATeRshed
The Three Mountain Alliance is comprised of the three youngest, active volcanoes on the island of Hawai‘i–Hualālai, Mauna Loa, and Kīlauea. They are dedicated to work together to support and preserve their cultural histories and coordinate conservation efforts. Partners include:
› Hawaii Department of Public Safety
› Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
› Kamehameha Schools
› National Park Service
› The Nature Conservancy
› US Fish and Wildlife Service
› USDA Forest Service
› US Geological Survey
› USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
› Office of Hawaiian Affairs
› Hawaii County Department of Water Supply
Pacific Ocean
leGeNd
Hualālai Volcano
Mauna Loa Volcano
Kīlauea Volcano
Sources: ESRI, HI GIS, Three Mountain Alliance
Kailua
Mauna Loa
huaLāLai
Mauna
KohaLa
Kaʻu
Hāmākua
Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park
Hilo
Pāhoa
Kūlani KīLauea
Mauna Kea
Pacific Ocean
Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI. Handy 1972, Mueller-Dombois 2007
Kailua
Mauna Loa
huaLāLai
Mauna
KohaLa
Kaʻu
National Park
MAUNA lOA sOUTh FlANK: eCOlOGiCAl zONes
Hilo
Pāhoa
Kūlani
KīLauea
Mauna Kea
Hawaiʻi Volcano
Hāmākua
Continuum of Care
MAUNA LOA SECTION: SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL ZONES
LONO
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an
MAUNA LOA Mokuʻāweoweo
WAO AKUA CLOUD FOREST
Sacred forest; perpetual source population for endemic biodiversity
WAO KELE AQUIFER RECHARGE
Untended native forest, associated with core watersheds
Maximize native-dominant
MAUNA KEA + 13,679 + 13,803 KŪLANI CF ~5,250'
## (cite)
PLACE-BASED INFORMED DESIGN
Discuss criteria to determine site
Discuss state institutions
Why Kūlani?
##. xxxxxxx. Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Historic Lava Flows
Figure
WAO ʻEIWA FOREST
Figure
ʻEIWA
[WAO NĀHELE] FOREST ZONE
Maximize suitable habitat for birds; native-dominant plant community
WAO LĀʻAU TIMBER ZONE
Native & introduced plants
WAO KĀNAKA AGRICULTURAL ZONE
Field agriculture, aquaculture, habitation, recreation, temple worship
KAHAKAI COASTAL ZONE
Understanding Geological Layers of Site
Mauna Kea
INCARCERATION
DanielK.InouyeHighway[SaddleRoad]
Kūlani CorreCtional FaCility
MaunaLoaAccessRoad?
LEGEND
County jail or police department
State Jail
State Prison
Federal Prison
Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
KīLauea
Honoli‘i
Kapue Stream
Kolekole Stream
Umauma Stream
KŪlAN CONe Mauna Loa
Mokuʻāweoweo
Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park
Wailuku River Honoli‘i Stream
AlenaioStream
Ka‘ahakiniStream WailoaRiver
Stainback Highway
Hakalau Stream Kea‘auStream
Hilo Bay
MAUNA lOA sCAle
Hilo
Pāhoa
Mauna Kea
DanielK.InouyeHighway[SaddleRoad] MaunaLoaAccessRoad?
Figure ##. Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Umauma Stream
Kolekole Stream
Kūlani CorreCtional FaCility
Honoli‘i
Kapue Stream
KŪlAN CONe
Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park
KīLauea
Mokuʻāweoweo
Mauna Loa
Stream
Stream
Hilo Bay
River
AlenaioStream
Ka‘ahakiniStream WailoaRiver
Path: StainbackHighway
Evacuation
MAUNA lOA CONTexT: GeOlOGiCAl hisTORY
Wailuku
Hilo
Pāhoa
INCARCERATION
DanielK.InouyeHighway[SaddleRoad]
Kūlani CorreCtional FaCility
MaunaLoaAccessRoad?
LEGEND
Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Honoli‘i
Kapue Stream
Kolekole Stream
Umauma Stream
KŪlAN CONe
Mauna Loa
Mauna Kea
Mokuʻāweoweo
Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park
KīLauea
Stream
Stream
Hilo Bay
River
Ka‘ahakiniStream WailoaRiver AlenaioStream
Stainback Highway
MAUNA lOA CONTexT: CONseRvATiON AReAs
Wailuku
Hilo
Pāhoa
INCARCERATION
DanielK.InouyeHighway[SaddleRoad]
Kūlani CorreCtional FaCility
MaunaLoaAccessRoad?
Mauna Loa
Mokuʻāweoweo
LEGEND: DATE OF LAVA FLOW
LEGEND
Figure ##. Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park
KŪlAN CONe
KīLauea
Honoli‘i
Kapue Stream
Kolekole Stream
Umauma Stream
Mauna Kea
Stream
Hilo Bay
MAUNA lOA CONTexT: ANNUAl RAiNFAll (iNChes))
Wailuku River
Hakalau Stream
Hilo
Pāhoa
1 2 3 5 9 10 4 7 8 6
100" annual rainfall
6 million gallon
5 acre catchment reservoir
326,000 gallon water storage
646,000 gallon water storage
2008 supply pipes replaced 2-8,000 gal water tankers to haul water
2006 wastewater renovation
30,000 gallon daily capacity
3 aerated ponds
leach field, cleaned by contracted
LEGEND State Jail
Sources: Hawai‘i GIS, ESRI.
1 2 3 5 9 10 4 7 8 6
KŪlANi CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY siTe plAN
22.9 Miles TO hilO
KŪlANi CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY siTe plAN: iNCARCeRATed
22.9 Miles TO hilO
22.9 Miles TO hilO
KŪlANi CORReCTiONAl FACiliTY siTe plAN: visiTOR CiRCUlATiON
Documented Fauna Near- or on-site; Historic bird trapping site
DESIGN PROPOSAL
AreaReserve
Mauna Loa
Puʻu MaKaʻaLa naTuRaL aRea ReSeRVe
SECTION A:
NALO MELI MAOLI–‘ĀHINAHINA KĪPUKA
SECTION A: EXISTING
SECTION A: PROPOSED
SECTION B: RESOURCE & WELCOME CENTER
SECTION B: EXISTING
SECTION B: PROPOSED
SECTION c:
PROPAGATION LAB & HYDROLOGY
SECTION C: EXISTING
SECTION C: PROPOSED
SECTION D: SERVICE CENTERS
SECTION D: EXISTING
SECTION D: PROPOSED
SECTION E: EXISTING
SECTION E: PROPOSED
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an ‘Āina-Focused Continuum of Care
Depth of Relationship to Place as a Function of Time
HAOLE
MALIHINI
foreign to Place
new to or visiting Place
KUPA ‘ĀINA
ONE HĀNAU KAMA‘ĀINA KULĀIWI
Sources: (Winter et al. 2021)
permanent resident of Place
born in Place raised in Place
ancestors buried in Place
ancestral indigeneity to Place
People of Place
The discussion of rehabilitation through a practice of Aloha ʻĀina is not a discussion solely for incarceration or indigenous communities. The practices of Native Hawaiians in this place is a story of ʻāina momona (abundance), resiliency, and the ability to thrive through keenly understanding ecological and scientific cues. It is a road map of what everyone living in this place should participate in to ensure future generations can also thrive. Kawika Winter (2021) has proposed a flowchart to the left, introducing the "concept of ‘hoa ‘̄aina’ is an example of Indigenous agency in Hawai‘i that emerged in the 19th century to encompass all relationships to Place under a unifying term that conveyed a sense of shared kuleana (responsibility) to Place, regardless of social class." The work to devise a continuum of care and the design elements that could support that care are translatable across any discipline or demographic.
Moreover, the continuum is not complete without long-term planning for community re-entry. One of the benefits of prescribing a landscape-based ʻāina-focus is the practical skills that can be developed. Myriad trades can be associated with landscapes: nursery work, conservation, design, construction, installation and maintenance, dry-rock stacking, heavymachine operation, irrigation installation and maintenance, lawn care, pruning vegetation, and so on. There are pathways to leadership roles, being foreman who can lead a more humane landscape maintenance program, journeyman level expertise sensitive to landscape design, and even pursuing higher education. The Landscape Industry Council of Hawaiʻi encourages certifications for landscapers: Landscape Industry Certification, Arboriculture Certification, Pesticide Restricted Use License, and Landscape Architect Licensure. These
are program pathways for those working toward rehabilitation that can lead to marketable skills and training. They can also become trainers in the landscape field, creating the momentum to develop landscape maintenance colleagues that are collaborators in the landscape design process. Having people vested in the perpetuation of native landscapes is a vital ingredient to caring for our native plants. Particularly since Hawaiʻi has a mandate to install Hawaiian plants—native and canoe plants—in publicly-funded new or renovated landscapes in Hawaiʻi.
The state mandate, HRS § 103D-408, to increase the percentage of endemic, indigenous and canoe plants (referred to as “Hawaiian Plants” in the statute) used in new, publicly-funded landscapes. In 2015, the state Legislature passed Act 233
to establish benchmarks and timelines for ensuring an increase in the use of Hawaiian Plants (Allen 2018). One of the primary concerns in landscape installation is the challenges we face in caring for native landscapes versus the care for conventional landscapes. The same best practices for conventional landscapes do not apply to Hawaiian Plants. How can we improve the rate of success for our inimitable native plants?
Urban Landscapes Forestland [Conservation]
Total Area Considered 4,679 acres 35%: 1,638 acres
422,862 acres 50%: 211,431 acres
Cost per Tree 2" caliper: $800 large dibble: $6
1 acre of planted trees 30'x30' spacing: $38,400 [48 trees]
spacing: $2,610/acre [435 trees]
Estimated Total Investment $64 MILLION tree + installation $1.3 MILLION tree only
Engaging Landscape in Corrections: Developing an
At-Risk Individual
PREVENTION
D I V ERSION
J U DICIAL SYSTEM
Instigating Event
PRACTICE
PLACE
COMMUNITY REENTRY
HOUSING PROGRAMS
CONTINUING EDUCATION
WORKFORCE SUPPORT / ALOHA
APPENDIX 01
Appendix 1. UHCDC-developed Community-Based Continuum of Care incorporates all the necessary services to support holistic support and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals.
Appendix 2. Design elements gleaned from community and stakeholder meetings.
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Incarceration, ‘Āina, & Aloha ‘Āina
