Gardening behind bars – prison staff visit Eden for ideas
Staff from South West prisons took a special tour of Eden’s gardens yesterday to get inspiration for running their own therapeutic growing schemes with prisoners.
Representatives from institutions including Devon’s Dartmoor prison and Dorset’s Guys Marsh spent a day with our team to learn more about the practicalities of gardening and composting – as well as the benefits they can bring to people behind bars.
Eden has been working with prisoners at HMP Dartmoor for several years, giving them the opportunity to create fruit, vegetable and healing gardens in the bleak environments of their disused exercise yards.
Prisoners who discover their green fingers in these little havens also have the satisfaction of knowing that produce grown there is delivered to local people and schools in nearby Princetown, itself a marginalised community.
What started out as a simple gardening project in one resettlement wing has now grown into the wider Growing for Life programme across several prisons, which focuses on developing skills that will be useful on leaving prison.
Participants from Growing for Life have gone on to develop some fantastic projects together with Eden’s horticulture team, including two silver-medal-winning plots at the Chelsea Flower Show and a special garden currently on display at the South Bank Centre as part of the Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations.
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- Horticulture, Inspiration, society, south west
8 responses to Gardening behind bars – prison staff visit Eden for ideas
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What a great day we had here at Eden with the staff from 7 prisons across the south west. Thanks also to our gardening team who helped inspire them and show them what’s possible with a little bit of passion for the green things!
Firstly can I thank you Eden for your hospitality yesterday words cannot express what a great day it was.
I found you and all the staff I met an inspiration!
Just a quick note to say thanks for a great day yesterday. It was both interesting and inspiring to see what Eden has achieved, and to hear what our colleagues in other prisons are doing.
A massive thank you to everyone at Eden for their hospitality and inspiration. As your “newest babies” from HMP Dorchester, we very much look forward to working with you in the near future. Our plans, as discussed, are starting to show progress already!
What a great day, thanks to all the Eden staff and prison visitors for making the event so successful and interesting. Great to hear all the projects that are underway at different establishments and to see how enthusiastic everyone is.
Just wanted to say thank you for organising such a treat!! We all had a great day, much discussing between ourselves and across other establishments. Would fully support an annual gathering…
wow what a usefull day, i have returned with loads of more ideas. I thought that the day was great with loads of help and advice given by all at eden. It was great to hear that we are all working to achieve the same thanks to all of you for your advice and wish you all the best in your gardens look fowrad to talking to you all again soon all the best portland
Sorry I couldn’t get back to you guys sooner, nasty virus in my email account, which I did not want to spread. A wonderful day at Eden and personally quite surreal at times. Great to see that it’s not just prisoners who can move on from their old ways and instead make a positive difference. To Jo, as I said to you at the time, it is wonderful to see the changes that can be made through enthusiasm and sheer hard work. The age old disease of apathy and inertia which riddled the prison estate for decades is at last being shaken off…like the lotus flower rising above a still, stagnant pool, change is always possible, even beauty, given the right conditions. Terry.