Have your say
Squirrel relocation and prison gardening
I agree with your reader
Russell Hood ( Have your say,
January issue), who responded to the Over the fence
( December issue) debate on whether gardening should be part of government policy. Let gardening remain as it is – an activity in which we can lose ourselves; be free to plant, weed, water, sow and grow to achieve a sense of peace and health. We do not need gardening to be put ‘in a box’ and we certainly don’t need it to be politicised. Your magazine provides us with a wealth of knowledge. ‘Home Rule for Gardens’ – now that is something to vote for! Linda Nykamp, Warwickshire I currently manage a successful gardening project that is part of the Drug & Alcohol Recovery Team at HMP Rye Hill, Warwickshire. My experience of gardening as a therapeutic intervention within a prison environment has been extremely positive. We have built partnerships with Garden Organic and the Natural Bee Keeping Trust and our work is supported and funded by the local council on behalf of the NHS. There have been men with poor personal wellbeing and no desire to associate with others or seek any employment, who, within weeks of working on the garden project, are the first to arrive at the gate, happy and keen to participate. This has resulted in an almost immediate, positive impact on their behaviour. After a hard day’s work in the garden, I regularly hear comments from them such as, “I slept the whole night through last night – it’s the first time I have done that in years.” Watching their delight as they sample, for the first time, tomatoes or strawberries that they have grown themselves is very rewarding. The government should be aware of the therapeutic benefits of gardening, however I think it should be the local authorities that oversee service providers, to ensure that these measures are monitored and the outcomes recorded. If you pair a therapeutic gardening intervention with the appropriate support mechanisms, it can provide valuable skills in lifestyle management and personal wellbeing – enabling individuals to become pro-social within their communities. Paul Evans, DART Strategy Manager, HMP Rye Hill, Warks I wanted to share feedback on my views, from my side of the fence, about whether gardening should be part of government policy ( Over the fence, December issue). I spoke on a similar theme in a recent debate on prison reform, in which I cited gardening as a useful tool in tackling a range of issues, including mental health. I received one very positive response from an inmate of a Cambridgeshire prison who wanted me to provide him with contacts for setting up a unit for conservation/wildlife. I hope to be able to follow up this theme in a Westminster Hall debate on prisons and mental health. Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane