Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics In Oklahoma, unused land at prisons becomes a pollinator's paradise Pollinator gardens help migrating birds and butterflies. One state on their flight path is planting habitats at its prisons. National In Oklahoma, unused land at prisons becomes a pollinator's paradise June 2, 20264:42 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From StateImpact Oklahoma By Chloe Bennett-Steele In Oklahoma, unused land at prisons becomes a pollinator's paradise Listen · 2:27 2:27 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5831502/nx-s1-9793669" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Pollinator gardens help migrating birds and butterflies. One state on their flight path is planting habitats at its prisons. Sponsor Message
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Pollinators, from birds to butterflies, are in decline because of habitat loss, pesticides and climate change. Chloe Bennett-Steele with StateImpact Oklahoma reports on a new effort to expand their habitats.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
CHLOE BENNETT-STEELE, BYLINE: It's a sunny day in Northern Oklahoma, and Walt Scott is planting a garden.
WALT SCOTT: I made that flower bed along the edge there all across the front. And we grow a few peppers and some garlic in there with it, but mostly flowers.
BENNETT-STEELE: Scott is known as the head gardener at Dick Connor Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison in Hominy. He's serving a life sentence and really loves gardening. He spends a lot of time with flowers that line the facility's sidewalks.
SCOTT: I just like them. We like to watch the hummingbirds and the butterflies come in, you know?
BENNETT-STEELE: Today, Scott has some extra help. Members of the Oklahoma Monarch Society cart in bags of fresh dirt and native seedlings to start up a new garden. It's part of a partnership between the nonprofit and the state's Department of Corrections. Unused land at four prisons is transformed into native pollinator habitats. Amanda Fitzgerald with the Monarch Society says the gardens are critical for the migrating insects.
AMANDA FITZGERALD: When monarchs come through Oklahoma twice a year, they are looking for that habitat for them to be able to complete that journey.
(SOUNDBITE OF TOOL HITTING DIRT)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Uno mas?
BENNETT-STEELE: Helping plant the habitat is Joshua Codynah, who normally works with metals at a prison factory.
JOSHUA CODYNAH: We deal with a lot of hard stuff all day as far as, you know, working and people, you know? And then to come out here to make something soft, it's just a different experience and gives you peace of mind almost, I guess you would say.
BENNETT-STEELE: Codynah is a citizen of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He's also serving a life sentence and says he misses being outdoors and watching insects interact with plants.
CODYNAH: When you're locked up in a cell most of the time of the day, getting to touch a piece of dirt is a piece of freedom.
BENNETT-STEELE: Codynah and other gardeners are installing species of milkweed, asters, black-eyed Susans and blue mistflowers. As the plants take root and grow, migrating birds and butterflies should have a few more places to land in Oklahoma.
For NPR News, I'm Chloe Bennett-Steele in Oklahoma.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MARTÍNEZ: That story was produced by KOSU's Sierra Pfeifer.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();