A different kind of recreation
At Redgranite Correctional Institution in central Wisconsin, incarcerated residents spend part of the program season caring for monarch caterpillars and the plants around their habitat. Wisconsin Public Radio reported on the program on September 18 and updated its account on September 21, describing daily work that includes cleaning and sanitizing the habitat and ensuring caterpillars have enough milkweed. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the project also includes data collection and pollinator gardens. Together, those tasks make the program a hands-on conservation activity within the institution.
Recreation leader Carrie Jahnke started the program in 2025 after looking for an activity that would offer a different option from sports. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the first season began in a spare room, where 12 participants cared for monarch larvae. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the program returned this year with 20 participants and 100 larvae, up from 60 in its first year. What began as a new recreation activity has grown into a second season of shared care for the insects and the plants that support them.
Care measured in small tasks
The care work is practical. The Department of Corrections says participants check eggs and caterpillars, collect data, clean the habitat and replace leaves; Wisconsin Public Radio also reports cleaning the habitat and planting and collecting milkweed. DOC says groups of five rotate responsibility for the program’s care days. That schedule gives participants repeated opportunities to observe how the monarchs develop and what the habitat needs, while the tasks connect the insects’ changing life stages with the plants that sustain them.
A grant from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin helped the institution create a dedicated monarch habitat and pollinator gardens. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the enclosure is known as the “Monarch Mansion” and is formally named the Refuge for Growth, Change and Inspiration. The Department of Corrections says the enclosure’s open-air area includes milkweed and monarch-friendly flowers. The project is not only about raising insects indoors: planting and tending flowers is also part of the work on the grounds around the program.
The program also includes learning beyond the daily care list. The Department of Corrections says participants use educational videos and other materials about monarchs, pollinator plants and horticulture. Those resources sit alongside hands-on work such as monitoring caterpillars, keeping the habitat clean, and making sure food plants are available. Participants learn about a pollinator as it develops, and about the plants that support it. The routine combines observation, care and instruction.
A lesson that travels
The knowledge does not stay inside the habitat. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that participants share what they learn about butterfly conservation with loved ones. The station also reported that leaders from other Wisconsin prisons had visited to see the program, and that some were interested in how a similar effort could work at their institutions. Those visits show interest in the project; they do not mean the program has already been replicated elsewhere.
For the residents who participate, the work can also be a way to contribute to something beyond the institution. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that Jahnke described the program as requiring participants to work toward a shared goal: caring for healthy monarchs before their release. One participant wrote that it felt rewarding to be part of work with a benefit beyond the prison. That reflection captures the project’s scale honestly. The participants cannot control the butterflies’ long journey, but they can help prepare them for the next step.
In a September 21 update to its September 18 report, Wisconsin Public Radio said most of the season’s butterflies had been released, with a few caterpillars still in their chrysalises. The timing makes the project’s seasonal rhythm visible: months of tending and learning lead to a release window at the end of the program season. The monarchs’ migration continues beyond Redgranite, while flowering plants remain part of the grounds where people at the institution can see and enjoy them.
A program that began with the search for a more accessible alternative to sports has become a conservation project with several layers: care for living things, horticulture, record-keeping, education and a connection participants can share with their families. Its results should not be overstated; the sources describe a local contribution to monarch conservation. But at Redgranite, 20 residents spent this season doing the careful, repeatable work that a small habitat requires. Their contribution is real, and the route from a spare room to a shared garden shows how a modest idea can make room for more people to take part.
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