By Cass Rains
William S. Key Correctional Facility will be providing something much needed in northwest Oklahoma — shade.
The Fort Supply prison, which houses 884 inmates, according to a February census, began the tree farm about five years ago, Rick Cullins, public information officer, said.
It began with about 10,000 seedlings, Cullins said, which were given to the prison by Wheatland Resource Conservation and Development. The prison’s inmates take care of the seedlings, raising them until the trees are old and strong enough to survive transplanting.
“It gives meaningful work to the inmate population,” Cullins said of the tree farm.
He said the tree farm covers about an acre of land, with the seedlings planted in buckets.
“We’ve probably got about 30 different varieties of trees out there,” Cullins said. “They go to a variety of different places.”
Some of the types of trees being raised include green ash, lacebark elm, hackberry, shumard oak, native pecan, Austrian pine, eastern redbud and black walnut.
The trees grown must go to a community, school, tribal land or other public facility, but cannot be given to individuals.
“We can give them to churches, which we’ve done,” he said.
Cullins said some of the trees have been planted at local schools and other county, city and town locations by authorities who have asked for the trees.
The prison received another batch of 10,000 seedlings to care for in the fall of 2005, but Cullins said the farm is mutually beneficial.
“We nurture and water them and put the compost on them,” Cullins said. “We’ve got a place to put them, so it works out well.”
Cullins said a team 25 to 30 inmates cares for the trees at one time, depending on the tasks that must be completed. Watering, he said, typically claims the lion’s share of the care the trees need.
The tree farm is a way for the inmates to repay their debts to society.
“We’ve got them doing something, and (the inmates) trying to give something back,” Cullins said.
Deputy Warden Terry Martin supervises the tree farm at the facility, but Cullins said Warden Randy Parker also sees the benefits of the tree farm.
“Our warden, he’s really into Arbor Day,” Cullins said. “He’s the real catalyst behind it.”
