Life in prison is hard. Inside, there are people beyond guilt. Prison serves to pay for one’s guilt, protect those outside, and also allow those who have made mistakes to think, reflect, and understand their mistakes and emerge with a new perspective. Greenery can help.

Disseminating awareness of these positive initiatives is essential for them to become common and widespread practice, and only the people outside, the citizens—YOU—can understand them and, perhaps, implement them in collaboration with prisons.

Cascina Bollate nursery

Over the past twenty years, the Cascina Bollate nursery has been featured in numerous articles in major gardening and news publications, but it’s never talked about enough. It’s worth sharing, through the founder of the Cascina Bollate non-profit organization, how the idea was born and how Susanna Magistretti managed to create this incredible nursery inside the prison.

The determination of Susanna Magistretti

As often happens, it’s the determination of a single person that can move mountains. Susanna Magistretti wasn’t born into the world of greenery. Her studies are historical, and her work encompasses other fields. But, at a certain point, she decided to dedicate herself entirely to gardens, opening a gardening school in Milan that was highly successful.

This school, while bringing results and satisfaction, did not dampen Susanna’s desire to go further. Having come into contact with people who could help her, she decided to embark on this adventure in the Bollate Prison, which had been open for a couple of years—and therefore new—and was run by people who wanted to make it a model prison, “progressive as well as progressive,” as Susanna puts it.

Interview with Susanna Magistretti

You’ll hear in the interview that every aspect and decision made by Susanna and the prison had to be made through Rome, and therefore organizing everything was no walk in the park.
Even though we only spoke to Susanna Magistretti on this occasion, we got the feeling that she’s a free person and woman. Free to think for herself, free to do so outside of established and limiting superstructures. A person who has always found herself fighting, but with a practical approach, trying to achieve results without arguing too much, but also arguing when necessary.

The importance of competence and preparation

It’s also clear that she has developed considerable expertise and preparation in the needs of prisons wishing to develop a similar sector, because she points out how often the same initiatives developed in other prisons aren’t at all similar, remaining superficial in a discussion that requires much more detailed analysis.
So, enjoy the experience, and we hope you enjoyed this initiative of ours.

We thank Mrs. Magistretti for her availability and kindness.

Now, let’s get to work! Our wonderful new outdoor space is about to be born!

GOOD WORK and…if you have any questions, please write to info@mondodelgiardino.com

Image sources: Thanks to Cascina Bollate, Agricoltura Sociale Lombardia, and Cooperare.legacooplombardia.it.