River Cottage 2009 Growing goodness behind bars

Date Published:

12/06/2009

After her appearance with Hugh on River Cottage, Portland Prison horticulturist, Wendy Grayston, discusses the goodness that can grow from a prison veg patch

How did you get involved with the project at Portland Prison?

I got involved with the project because I deliver horticulture at HMYOI Portland and I have always believed in horticulture as a means of initiating change in people's lives - from the therapeutic aspects to the practicalities of being able to grow food for yourself. Mr Holland [the prison governor] spoke of the opportunity to develop an allotment within the prison, and I realised that this would be the chance to offer my learners the practical skills of how to support themselves and their families through growing fruit and vegetables.

How do you become a prison horticulturist? What's your background?

I've worked as a college lecturer delivering horticulture for over 10 years to a variety of learner groups, but my core belief is that horticulture offers solutions to a range of problems. For my current group of learners horticulture is a set of skills that they can gain employment with; it's a means of providing food or an income and the seasonal aspects of the work provides structure and routine to their lives.

What are the high points of a job like yours?

The best part of the work I carry out with my learners is when they get to eat what they have grown. The processes involved with preparing the ground and sowing seeds, caring for the crop and harvesting; it is always received with disbelief. Many of my learners come from urban areas of the South East, where the connection between growing food and eating it is not made. Every one of my learners who cultivates their allotment plot, sows some salad vegetables and eats what they themselves have grown, is a success story for me.

The most significant part of the allotment project was the chance for the lads to have some chickens. The learners have access to caring and nurturing for animals that play a major part in an allotment's success. The learners have access to fresh eggs and use the manure for the compost heap. They're also developing an understanding of welfare issues regarding the production of eggs (and ultimately chicken meat - although not with our hens!).

How did High's visit go down in the prison?

My initial thoughts on Hugh's visit were positive; the learners needed to be able to speak to a celebrity who champions the cause of people and communities being engaged in what they eat and how it is grown.

Hugh encouraged the learners to assemble a chicken house as part of the development of the allotment area and explained how the addition of the hens to the project opened up additional possibilities in terms of self-sufficiency for allotment holders. I think Hugh was impressed with how the lads took to the idea of keeping chickens; their care of the chickens is commendable and forms an integral part of their daily routine. The 'girls' are certainly thriving on the care they receive, producing eight eggs every day.

What was the lads' reaction to Hugh's visit?

Hugh's visit was eagerly anticipated. The lads didn't know whether their preparation of the chicken enclosure and the building of the hen house would be sufficient to allow them to have the chickens, so to be able to find out from Hugh when he visited was something the lads were looking forward to. I think they would have liked a whole day cooking with Hugh, but the time they spent with him has given them an insight that will stay with them for quite a while.

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