Green-fingered prison staff are helping prisoners learn how to grow their own produce and plants.
The initiative has been launched at HMP Swinfen Hall, where a heated greenhouse and raised beds are used to grow herbs, vegetables and fruit.
As well as teaching prisoners at the Category C prison new skills, the project also sees food grown in the allotment used to help cut costs in the facility’s kitchen.
Sophie Castro, HMP Swinfen Hall’s industries manager, said:
“Alongside their compulsory education classes, such as maths and English, some prisoners have been given the opportunity to get involved in various horticulture projects at HMP Swinfen Hall – and there’s no doubt it’s changing lives.
“It sounds clichéd but I’ve had the pleasure of watching both the prison grounds and the prisoners bloom since they transformed this space.
“Once you join the prison service, you can get the chance to try new things within different teams or move around to different departments depending on your own interests and skill set.”
Sophie Castro
Currently there are 24 prisoners who work in the grounds department who rotate looking after the produce.
They grow a huge range of fruit and vegetables, including staples such as tomatoes, potatoes onions, as well as courgettes, chillies, pak choi, carrots, beetroot and peppers.
HMP Swinfen Hall also has five beehives that produce honey which is sold to workers and used in the staff bistro.
The prison also grows a range of flowers that are used in hanging baskets and borders around the grounds.
Laura Whitehurst, the new governor at HMP Swinfen Hall, said the outdoor space was a key part of supporting prisoners.
“A lot of the young men here struggle with mental health issues, with many finding life behind bars a difficult transition.
“Spending time outdoors, working on special projects or in the allotments is a huge benefit to them.
“We have some prisoners who had never stepped foot in an allotment before they arrived and suddenly they’re learning how to plant different types of flowers, or grow their own vegetables.”
Laura Whitehurst
