A SCHEME involving inmates at Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institution is helping to keep Barney looking its blooming best for a second year.
The prison has teamed up with Barnard Castle Town Council to provide the floral displays around the town during the summer.
This includes all the beds and planters and is part of a concerted effort by officials at Deerbolt to make it the greenest prison in the country.
The floral partnership began last year when prison officials approached the town council with the idea and after being judged a success, the inmates were told to carry on planting.
The blooms are grown as plug plants in the prison’s greenhouses and polytunnels and then planted out when they are big enough.
Del Fiddes, industry manager at Deerbolt YOI, said under normal circumstances 24 inmates were allocated to the gardens department, but during lockdown restrictions, this had been reduced to a maximum of ten.
No prisoners are involved in planting out around the town.
However, farms and gardens manager Peter North said pictures of the beds and planters were shown to them as it was important they saw the results of their efforts.
Mr North said those assigned to the gardens department undertook formal training for a City and Guilds certificate in horticulture practice to enhance their job prospects on release.
Governor Andy Hudson said the partnership with the town council was part of a “huge amount of effort” going into making Deerbolt the greenest prison in the country.
Other projects include allowing an area of ground within the prison complex to lay fallow to improve biodiversity. This has already attracted nesting pairs of oystercatchers and seen an increase in wildflowers.
The project has also seen the prison adopt more environmentally-friendly equipment such as cordless strimmers and an electric-powered van for the use of the gardens section.
Mr Hudson said other ambitions included teaming up with the town for a joint entry to the Northumbria-in-Bloom competition and the Windlesham Trophy for the best kept prison garden.
“It would be great to combine those in a joint initiative,” he said.
Mr Fiddes said the prison’s floral efforts last year had attracted many positive comments, including a letter from town mayor Cllr John Blissett, praising the quality of the displays.
