Inmates home on farm

PLYMOUTH - Aaron Fernandes works on a farm and nursery in Plymouth seven days a week, rising just after dawn to feed and exercise the horses and goats, haul bales of hay, and tend to the greenhouses.

But what makes Fernandes different from the traditional farmer is that after a long day's work, he goes back to his jail cell at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, where he is serving time for selling drugs in a school zone.

He is among a handful of minimum-security inmates at the county jail chosen, based on good behavior and their criminal records, to run the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department's Horticultural Center, 90 acres that also include cornfields and vegetable gardens.

While the program is designed to teach the inmates a good work ethic and give them a sense of pride, it also has become something of an unconventional community tourist draw. Close to 100 visitors show up daily, prison officials say, to buy flowers and herbs this time of year and to feed cows and pigs year-round at the petting zoo.

"It's not that often that a recreational program at a jail becomes a tourist attraction," Sheriff Joseph McDonald said. "We're not showcasing inmates, but people really respond to the fact that we're combining our resources, and they're happy with the way that we're using this land."

This weekend marks the annual corn harvest, when inmates cut the stalks and husk corn ears to feed to the livestock. The farm stays busy year-round selling pumpkins in the fall and Christmas trees in the winter.

Jail farms were common a century ago as a source of food for inmates. Some still exist, but not many are as popular or profitable as the one in Plymouth, according to Gina Honeycutt, executive director of the National Correctional Industries Association.

Work at the 98-year-old farm, on Obery Street across from the county courthouse, was suspended briefly in 2002 because of budget cuts, but McDonald restored it when he became sheriff in 2005. It now has a collection of donated chickens, sheep, an African tortoise, and a 500-pound pig, and brings in about $150,000 in revenue during the spring and fall, its busiest seasons. That money goes into a fund for recreational, educational, and substance-abuse programs at the jail.

Wearing a plain red T-shirt, blue jeans, and work boots, Fernandes watered tomato and basil plants yesterday as correction officers watched nearby. He and the other inmate workers are not allowed to approach visitors, but can answer their questions about the plants or the animals and, in doing so, often interact with families.

"I never thought I'd be gardening or doing farm work," said Fernandes, 26, who is from Carver and has served 21 months of a two-year sentence. "But it's great to get outside, and I love spending time with the horses. Plus, it really feels good when I leave every day, like I did something good."

Jennifer McNeely of Bourne often brings her 2-year-old son to the year-round petting zoo, and came yesterday to see the farm's new litter of piglets.

"When I first heard about this place and who is working here, I thought, 'I'll never bring my son there,' " McNeely said. "But it's such a great environment, and you can see they're so proud of what they have here. We never feel uncomfortable."

Ginny Pocius of Pembroke said she likes to see the inmates while shopping for plants.

"I like to buy my flowers from the jailbirds," she said.

The program is not meant to train inmates for farming, but rather for life, said Captain Dan Callahan, who supervises the farm.

"It's great because it gets them in the habit of waking up early and getting into a routine," Callahan said.

"And it gives them a sense of accomplishment. Some of these guys have never had that."