EXERCISE yards at Dartmoor Prison have been transformed into areas of which even Alan Titchmarsh would be proud. Four yards within the old punishment block on the resettlement unit have been turned into raised beds for growing fruit and veg. The innovative idea was conceived by an officer on the unit, as a way of getting the inmates involved with putting something back into the local community. Two years ago officer Ivan Judd was kicking around the idea of prisoners producing fruit and veg with the aim of donating the produce to local schools and residential homes. To get the idea from vision into reality, he turned to Business in the Community, which put Ivan in touch with the Eden Project. Staff from the project came to the prison and came up with the idea of turning the yards into raised beds, and supplied plans for the areas. For financial assistance the unit and the Eden Project sought help from the Bromley Trust, a charity which helps people disadvantaged in work get back into work. The trust agreed to help. The prison?s ?Eden Project? was then born. But to get each 50ft squared exercise yard to contain around eight raised beds, the prisoners got to work. More than 20 of them worked on constructing the areas, which involved carpentry, bricklaying, setting up the raised beds which are timber built, and building walls ? taking around 18 months to complete. Then four months ago the prisoners started work on their allocated beds. Ivan said: ?The prisoners have been involved all along the way. They have all been enthusiastic and the project has put to good use their manual skills. ?We are trying to grow many varieties of fruit and veg, then when it is ready we box it up and stick our label onto the side.? The sticker was designed by a prisoner. It has the title ?Resettlement Unit, HMP Dartmoor, but the main creative idea is a pea pod with two peas sticking out of the top, which says ?peas release me? and ?grown with convict . . . tion?. The bonus for the prisoners on this project is horticultural qualifications. One prisoner has just gained a diploma after he sought funding to complete the course, linked with the project. Ivan is overseeing the project but the day to day maintenance of the site is the responsibility of around half a dozen prisoners. He said: ?I?m there if they want me, and if we need something the prisoners will tell me and I will send an email to the Eden Project of what we require. The resettlement unit helps introduce prisoners slowly into the working world and help reduce offending behaviour in order for prisoners to benefit from their time in prison and lead useful lives on their return to the community.
