Extension program teaches gardening skills, brings fresh produce to East Central Arkansas Community Correction Center
Aug. 19, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Crittenden County Extension Office working with ECC on Roots 2 Reentry program
- Weekly program teaches hands-on gardening, cooking skills to women inmates
- Participants harvested more than 2,500 pounds of fresh produce for facility kitchen
(956 words)
Download photos from Roots 2 Reentry program
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — After planting their 0.25-acre garden in early March, participants in the Roots 2 Reentry Program at the East Central Arkansas Community Correction Center recently harvested more than 2,500 pounds of fresh summer produce.
The fruits and vegetables were then given to the facility’s kitchen to prepare and serve to residents. The program is a collaboration between ECC, a residential facility for female inmates, and the Crittenden County Extension Office.
Katrina Wallace, Crittenden County Extension agriculture agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said the program began this spring with help from local farmers who volunteered to bring their tractors to the facility and till the soil to prepare for the garden. Individuals, extension employees and facility staff also donated fertilizer, seed and other supplies.
Marcus Burton, corrections lieutenant for ECC, said approximately 25 women have participated in the program since it began. In weekly lessons, Wallace taught participants agriculture and gardening skills.
“They got to have hands-on experience from start to finish,” Wallace said. “We’ve gone over planting depths, direct sowing versus transplants, fertilizer, and how much water is needed each week to make sure a plant is at its full potential.
“We always have something lined up for them to do, whether it’s weeding, spraying insecticides or scouting for damage,” she said.
In the summer garden, participants grew squash and zucchini, cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, cantaloupe and a variety of peppers.
“One of the participants made a comment that they’d never eaten a tomato or a cucumber,” Wallace said. “She said she had never wanted to before — this was the first chance she got to actually have access to fresh vegetables. Taste buds have been changed.”
Burton said the program has positively impacted all residents at the facility.
“It benefits not only the ladies in the class, but it also benefits the whole compound because they’re able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of what comes in a can,” Burton said.
Wallace said participants have already started on the fall garden by planting pumpkins, cabbage and a crop of peas, with plans to plant greens, lettuce, kale and spinach soon.
“This program teaches so many life skills,” Wallace said. “There are a lot of ladies who have never gardened before. It’s like a generation was skipped; their grandparents gardened, but they never learned to, and now they’re getting back to wanting to grow their own produce.
“It’s so rewarding to see them light up and realize that with the right tools, they can do this, and they can teach their kids how to do this, too,” she said.
Lasting life skills
In feedback evaluations for the program, Wallace said every participant has said they’re going to try gardening at home upon their release.
“Through the program, these ladies can go home and say that they were productive serving their time or bring back a skill to provide for their family,” Wallace said.
Ursula Williams, program coordinator for ECC, said seeing the garden flourish from seed to harvest has been eye-opening for participants.
“This program also serves as a therapeutic outlet, because these ladies get to see something grow and see the fruits of their labor,” Williams said. “It has a positive impact for their mental health too.”
In addition to their gardening skills, Wallace said the Crittenden County Extension 4-H and family and consumer sciences agents also taught participants how to make strawberry jelly, refrigerator pickles, homemade butter and homemade ice cream.
“It’s called Roots 2 Reentry for a reason, because we want to give them skills to go back and be successful,” Wallace said.
Williams said ECC is a modified therapeutic community, which means the state of Arkansas licensed the facility to offer drug and alcohol treatment to residents, some of whom are court-ordered to complete treatment.
“We get them from every county in Arkansas,” Williams said. “We’re trying to give them job skills, life skills and the overall treatment they need to get out and be successful citizens. Ladies are here for six to nine months, and whenever they leave, they’re going to return to their communities and be our next-door neighbors.”
Extension as a community resource
Wallace said it is important to her to teach participants about the resources and programming that extension offers to every county in Arkansas.
“They’re really excited to get back home and get their kids involved and to use their extension offices as resources,” Wallace said. “Extension is one of those programs where if we can just get people to take the bait with one thing we offer, they get to see that we can be alongside them with research-based information and proven strategies and grow beside them in every walk of life they have.”
Williams said the Crittenden County Extension Office, which has conducted family and consumer sciences programming at ECC since 2016, has been a “tremendous resource to us.”
“I really value our relationship,” Williams said. “Extension helps us connect our residents to the resources they need so that when they get out of there, instead of struggling, they know how to ask for help and who to go to for help.”
Going forward, Wallace said she hopes to secure permanent funding for the Roots 2 Reentry program and help it become self-sustaining. She also hopes to grow the program and eventually provide a volunteer opportunity for Crittenden County Master Gardeners to share their horticulture knowledge with participants.
“Roots 2 Reentry is a much-needed program,” she said. “It provides a little bit of hope and shows our participants that somebody cares enough to invest in them. Seeing what it means to these women, it pushes you to try and find ways to keep it going. You’ve got to have the heart for it.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061