UKIAH, CA., 7/1/25 – A group of men and women incarcerated at the Mendocino County Jail earned college certificates in landscaping this week, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.
The students are participants in the jail’s Inmate Services education program, which partners with Mendocino College to offer educational opportunities to inmates at Mendocino County Jail.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, participants completed the hands-on Landscape Maintenance course, taught by garden manager and instructor Joshua Sternberg.
To earn their certificates, students had to complete weeks of coursework and assignments as well as present a final project.
The jail/college partnership offers a myriad of courses for students. Courses range from adult literacy with the goal of earning a GED to college courses like regenerative agriculture. Other programs offered at the jail include recovery programs such as Alcoholic and Narcotics Anonymous, substance use disorder treatment, and parenting courses.
Amanda Chapman, Tara Hill, Soyria Ramos, Andrew Riffle, Jason Vigil, Matthew Williams, Oscar Bernal, Christopher Ashurst, Ernest Salo, Antonio Lopez and Hugo Muniz all received recognition of achievement from the Sheriff’s Office and Mendocino College.
“These individuals have taken meaningful steps toward personal growth and embraced restorative practices during their time in custody,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “We commend these individuals for their effort, resilience, and dedication to creating a better future.”
This is such a good idea. I am so proud of the college taking on such a task. Mendocino college has an outstanding agriculture program. There is so much opportunity in our community. We purchase 39 million dollars of produce, fruit and nuts for our population size not counting tourism. With the prices of production, fuel and inflation it is a ripe time to be in agriculture. Landscaping is just another form of agriculture. It is not uncommon for market gardeners to make 100k per acre and use their employees year around and include landscaping. Landscaping alone is a viable career, especially on the coast where it is so moist. I feel like the college really hit it out of the park on this one.