Skinner and Snyder became master growers through the Ohio Nursery and Landscaping Association and also hold landscaping and garden certifications.

Through working with Tom Ramsay, the director of the Horticulture program at the prison, they developed a 195 question pre-test about a year ago, before Ramsay retired.

Their goal was to help other inmates struggling through the certification process and before long the Ohio Nursery and Landscaping Association learned about the test the two inmates had developed.

“They liked the way it was working in preparing the students for the certification tests,” said SCI Warden mark Saunders. “They started using it for other students across Ohio who were training to prepare for the test. Now it’s used statewide.”

These programs are designed to train inmates in professions they can use once they get on the outside.