A class from Garden Time’s Green Reentry Job Training Program, including Victor Sanchez, participant, far left, and Kate Lacouture, cofounder and executive director, second from left. All photos courtesy of Garden Time.

When Victor Sanchez returned home after being incarcerated, he wasn’t necessarily looking for a career in arboriculture. He was looking for a way to avoid repeating patterns he had worked hard to leave behind.

“I come from an environment where, when you get out, you’re around people that push you toward negative situations,” Sanchez explains. “At 37 years old, I didn’t want to repeat that cycle.”

For many people reentering society after incarceration, that moment is decisive. Employment can offer stability and structure, but access to steady, meaningful work is often limited by stigma, lack of training and unclear pathways into skilled trades. At the same time, tree care and other green-industry businesses continue to face persistent workforce shortages, particularly among small and midsize companies without formal hiring pipelines.

Standing at that crossroads, Sanchez learned about an organization named Garden Time. Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Garden Time’s Green Reentry Job Training Program prepares people returning from incarceration for careers in the green industry, while also supporting employers who are seeking reliable, motivated workers.

Trainees spend a day climbing with an arborist employer partner, encouraging teamwork while assessing comfort with heights.

Shaped by the people it serves
Garden Time was cofounded in 2011 by Kate Lacouture, a landscape architect, licensed arborist and gardener. While running gardening programs inside Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions, she began to see how difficult it was for people returning from incarceration to find work that offered long-term opportunities.

Lacouture explains that the Garden Times training model grew directly out of conversations with the people she was working with inside those prison walls.

“We’ve always been very careful to listen to the people who actually need the help – the people with this lived experience that my cofounder and I do not have,” she says, noting that the prison system doesn’t do a good job preparing people for reintegrating into society. Participants nearing release were already thinking ahead to life outside. “They were saying they needed a landing pad, a job training program.”

Those conversations shaped the structure of Garden Time’s reentry program. Rather than operating as a placement service, the organization built a workforce-development model designed to give participants skills, structure and support before they ever meet an employer.

“We started thinking about ways we could train them, pay them and give them support in a way that lets them get on their feet,” explains Lacouture. “That was really important to us.”

The result is a rigorous eight-week program grounded in the belief that green-industry work is skilled labor – and that long-term success depends on understanding both its physical demands and professional expectations. By the time participants begin interacting with potential employers, they’ve already been exposed to the pace, realities and challenges of job-site work.

“They’re doing classroom learning and hands-on work,” says Lacouture. “We’re covering basic landscaping skills, tree planting, communication, job-site expectations – all of the things that help someone succeed once they’re hired.”

Employer partners teach Green Reentry trainees basic chain saw and chipper safety protocols.

A working partnership
Lacouture emphasizes that the program’s success depends on sustained employer involvement, particularly from small businesses that make up much of the green industry. Garden Time prioritizes relationship building before any hiring takes place, recognizing that many employers may have little or no experience working with people who are formerly incarcerated.

“We have a small but mighty network of employer partners,” says Lacouture, adding that they’re invited to spend time with participants early in the process, in settings that are intentionally low pressure. Employers may visit to talk with the class about their work or offer hands-on demonstrations, giving both sides a chance to interact.

“They can come in and talk to the class about what they do or hold a demonstration like tree stump grinding – whatever they want,” says Lacouture. “We start off easy so people can get comfortable.”

Employers are treated as valuable partners in the program, and their input directly shapes which workplace skills participants focus on. “We are so responsive to employer needs,” says Lacouture. “As we were developing our curriculum, we reached out to industry employers to ask, ‘What is it that you look for in an employee? What can we teach them that would be helpful to you?’” The response, she says, was consistent; while technical skills can be taught on the job, employers want people who show up reliably, work well on a team and demonstrate genuine interest in the work.

That two-way communication is maintained even after someone is hired. Garden Time remains involved as a resource for both participants and employers, helping to address issues when they arise. “We offer to be a resource to employers as well,” says Lacouture, “even if that means something like conflict resolution, since a lot of our employer partners are smaller businesses that might not have HR departments.”

Trainees build foundational skills by learning about essential climbing knots.

Benefits that extend beyond hiring
Dylan Harley, owner of Rhode Island Tree Care, first connected with Garden Time as a volunteer – a low-stakes way to engage while he was still building his business.

“It’s been about three years now,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to connect with people and share what I love about being an arborist, while teaching the trainees what the trade is all about.”

Harley recalls that what stood out from the start was the level of commitment participants showed. “I could tell they had tremendous work ethics and gratitude for being out and learning,” he says. “We all end up in tree work for different reasons, but it’s not easy work. And I think these people bring resilience – not giving up when it’s hard and shitty. That’s huge, because attitude counts for a lot.”

Volunteering influenced an eventual hiring decision. “Last year, I hired somebody from the reentry program,” Harley says. “It felt like a better fit for me than just posting a job and hoping for the best.”

The experience also pushed Harley to think more intentionally about what it meant to grow his own company. Hiring his first employee marked a shift from subcontracting to taking on the responsibilities of running a business – including providing steady work, mentorship and opportunities for growth. Being involved with Garden Time, he says, helped clarify his next steps and reinforced the importance of investing in the people he brings onto his crew.

Proper pruning isn’t guesswork – it requires training, patience and skill.

Making good on a second chance
For Sanchez, his experience with Garden Time not only provided him with new skills, but also with stability and a sense of belonging.

“I would have never gotten a job without this training,” he says, explaining that when he was fresh out of jail, he didn’t believe anyone would give him a chance – until he interviewed with Lacouture.

“Kate tries to get to know you as a person, to see if you really want to change your life,” Sanchez says. “I told her it’s now or never. I have a kid, 17 years old, and he looks up to me. I need to show him that I won’t make the same mistakes I did in the past.”

Sanchez is clear that the program does not overlook accountability, but it also refuses to define people solely by their past.

“Not everyone who gets out of prison is a bad person,” he points out. “There are people who want to change their lives, who want to work. Kate makes sure you’re a fit for the job. She gives you a laptop. She helps you build a resume. She gets you work boots. Tools. She goes above and beyond. I’m very, very grateful.”

That investment has helped Sanchez transition into steady tree care work – and into a workplace where he feels valued. “I’m now working at a place where I feel like I belong,” he says. “They treat me with respect.”

For tree care companies, nurturing that sense of belonging has tangible effects. Workers who arrive prepared and supported – and who feel invested in their roles – are more likely to stay, continue developing their skills and contribute over time, outcomes that directly affect safety, productivity and retention.

Conclusion
Garden Time’s Green Reentry Job Training Program offers a practical hiring pathway for tree care companies willing to engage beyond traditional job postings. By emphasizing preparation before placement and maintaining communication after hiring, the program reduces risk for employers while opening doors for people ready to work. Just as important, the process is designed to shift how participants are seen – not as liabilities defined by past involvement with the justice system, but as individuals with motivation and the capacity to grow.

“These are well-supported candidates for employment,” Lacouture says of those who make it through to graduation. “They’re awesome – come meet them, you’ll agree.”

Esther de Hollander is the director of editorial & content strategy for TCI Magazine.