Best kept prison garden win for Thorn Cross
4 September 2011
Thorn Cross Young Offender Institute in Cheshire have been hailed the winners of the Windlesham Trophy 2011 for best kept prison garden in England and Wales.
RHS President, Elizabeth Banks, presented the Windlesham Trophy, a redundant ‘Green Goddess’ Fire Engine bell, at an Award Ceremony held at Thorn Cross Young Offender Institute on Wednesday 24 August. Participating prisoners were also given a certificate acknowledging their assistance.
The Windlesham Trophy was devised in 1983 by Lord Windlesham, the then RHS President and Chairman of the Parole Board, to give prisoners a sense of worth and encourage gardening excellence.
Some 30 young male prisoners look after the gardens at Young Offender Institution Thorn Cross. This includes a large conservation area which is a haven for butterflies and numerous insects and birds, a main pond that is shared by newts and ducks and an animal shelter. They also manage bedding displays and a range of polytunnels where a variety of fruit and vegetables are grown for internal use within the main kitchens, thus reducing the cost of buying food and products.
John Platt, Head of Learning and Skills for Thorn Cross, says: 'Winning Windlesham is a real achievement both for staff and prisoners, the gardens are a delight to walk around and have improved the life of the whole prison. The importance of wellbeingness is enhanced by the many different gardens throughout, adding to a safer and more positive environment for all in the prison.'
Horticulture forms an important part of the resettlement agenda at Thorn Cross, giving prisoners the opportunity to obtain industry-recognised qualifications (National Proficiency Tests Council) not only in gardening skills but also in the use and care of horticultural machinery.