Milton Keynes prisoners are putting food on the table after being taught how to plant, prune, and pick their own produce by staff inside the prison.
A huge range of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers are grown by hard-working staff and prisoners in the gardens of HMP Woodhill, the Category B men's prison based in Milton Keynes.
Gardening behind bars allows prisoners to learn about various plants and landscaping techniques, whilst food grown in the allotment helps the prison cut costs in the kitchen.
Josh Durrant, 32, joined HMP Woodhill as a prison officer in 2017 before moving into an instructor role in 2021, working in the prison’s horticulture area. He said, “I initially saw the prison service as a stepping stone to becoming a police officer, but I enjoyed my job so much that I decided to stay.”
Josh continued, “The instructor’s role is all about helping to support prisoners’ rehabilitation by equipping them with the skills to develop and learn which will allow them to progress outside of prison. The prisoners really enjoy working in the garden areas and being outside helps their mindset. They take real pride in growing produce for the prison.”
HMP Woodhill’s horticulture area includes gardens, polytunnels, and even duck ponds. Instructors help the prisoners grow vegetables that are used in the prison kitchens to maintain the duck ponds.
Trees planted are used outdoors around the prison. HMP Woodhill is also developing a qualification that will enable prisoners to work in a horticultural setting after completing their sentence.
Josh has recently progressed into an industries manager role - overseeing a range of prison workshops, including waste management, laundry, and industrial cleaning.
He added, “The job can be testing so you need a real resilience and determination about you. You also need to be a good people person and be able to see things from other people’s perspective.”
“We are not here to judge - as an instructor you end up being trusted by the prisoners so we can play an important role in pointing them on the right path, which will ultimately ensure they don’t return to prison after they are released”, Josh concluded.
Statistics show the number of ex-offenders who have been successfully steered into jobs within six months has more than doubled from 14% to 30% since April 2021.
As well as benefitting from a better work-life balance, prison industry work supports prisoners’ rehabilitation, helping them learn valuable new skills they can use when they return to their communities.
The focus of HMP Woodhill’s work is to keep the prisoners and the public safe, and staff help by being role models for prisoners and someone they can talk to. It all helps to break the cycle of crime.
All horticulture staff are trained to work safely and effectively with prisoners and can also study for an apprenticeship.
Prison industry roles also promise more stability, with staff benefitting from greater job security and a public sector pension. Applicants also need good communication and teamwork skills and want to develop others.
To take your career in a rewarding new direction you can apply or find out more by visiting here.
