Staff member says prison zeroscaping project cuts water use, reduces mosquitoes and boosts inmate pride

A staff member said a prison zeroscaping program in Utah replaced turf with rock-based designs hand-drawn by staff and executed by inmates, a change the speaker said cuts water use, reduces mosquitoes and has boosted inmate pride.

The staff member said the team "started tearing out grass and making up designs as we go," and that designers test layouts on grid paper before inmates implement them. The speaker described motifs including the state outline, Goblin Valley, Arches National Park and Spiral Jetty, and said the goal is to keep grounds looking "nice" year-round.

"It was a cloud of mosquitoes," the staff member said, adding that with the rocks "it's significantly reduced both those issues." The speaker also said tours consistently praise the designs and that "this year alone, we'll save three and a4 million gallons of water. We'll save $45,000 just on water costs." The gallons figure in the transcript is unclear and is reported here as the speaker stated it.

The staff member described practical benefits beyond conservation: inmates participate closely in placement and upkeep, and some told staff, "Hey, can I come back after I get out so I can help you finish this?" The speaker said even residents who do not work on the crew help by nudging rocks back into place.

The staff member said the project has evolved over two years and the team is "getting more creative with our designs," framing the effort as consistent with broader water-conservation work. The speaker characterized the project as well received on tours but did not state any formal administrative approvals, funding sources, or a specific facility name in the transcript.

No statutes, motions or formal actions were recorded in the provided transcript segment. The water-gallons figure as spoken in the transcript is ambiguous and is marked as unclear rather than corrected or quantified here.