Green on the inside

By Andy Winfield

At the end of May this year, my colleague Nicola Rathbone (aka Froggie) and I together with Maisie Brett, a demonstrator from the School of Biological Sciences who has an expertise in the lives of pollinators, went to visit HMP Eastwood Park. We were to meet someone called Gary Stone who, since 1996, has been running horticultural activities with prisoners. In recent years Gary and his group have developed an interest in attracting pollinators and working with nature rather than against it. The visit was inspiring; what they’ve done there was wonderful, and nature was responding.

HMP Eastwood Park sits on the edge of the Severn Vale and the town of Falfield sits close by to its north. Out of a total of 117 UK prisons, Eastwood Park is one of only 12 for women; it includes young offenders and a mother and baby unit. As we arrived, three women were leaving, one after 5 years inside, bags packed, plans made, loudly excited.

Gary met us once our ID was checked, our phones left in the van, my watch scrutinised for smart capabilities. the first thing we was encountered a pond; water ran at different levels, water lilies and Iris were flowering in the shallows, and we discussed how hoverfly larvae live in places like this. Pristine, weed free pots were placed in front of the pond, each with a neat black label displaying their Scientific names. Among the pots were various Tulbaghias, then Gary told us they had the National Collection, and they were in the process of applying for National Collection status of Agastache. It began to dawn on us the level of horticulture we were dealing with, and so began our three-hour tour of the grounds of the prison.

We walked around the site passing blocks built in different eras, and there was fresh expansion in the offing with pipework and heat pumps imminent, spray paint on the ground showed where the planned construction was to be done. In and amongst these blocks were areas of ground converted to planting areas, from sweeping herbaceous borders, to meadows punctuated by the white bark of birch trees and log piles. We asked Gary how he creates these planting areas; he said he uses no dig, ordering a truck load of compost from the council and barrowing it onto cardboard placed on areas of grass. Some of the displays we saw had only been in place for one year but looked established to us. Weed free they were full of interesting plants; Salvia, Monarda, Amicia, Echinops, all inscribed on labels made and supplied by another prison. Other areas were left to seed, and swaying poppies, comfrey, and daisies were attracting the attention of a diverse number of pollinators. Maisie noticed a variety of carder bees, parasitic bees, and a bumblebee mimic hoverfly.

Nothing is wasted; when pruning is done, the wood is used to build things, like bee hotels, dead hedges, huegel beds, and a brilliant leaf heap that looked like a Swiss chalet. Gary was worried about the number of voles digging around the leaf heaps, until Maisie pointed out that some species of bees use vole holes to nest. In the recreation area a basketball court was surrounded by grass; this grass has become a meadow, and as it extends around the site, bee orchids have been growing, and we saw a twayblade. Then there is the poly tunnel with large, raised beds growing various crops and plants for outside, and a run with furry legged chickens bustling around.

We met two of the women who garden in the prison, they’d just finished a stint weeding and pottering. Most days Gary has 11 people who weed and plant, move compost, sow seed, create new areas, chop wood, water the plants, and look after the chickens that come running after a magic word.  Watering is done with a watering can, and the pots are all over the site; this is a job that the women enjoy as they get a good number of steps in. Without doubt this horticulture improves wellbeing in the prison, for the people undertaking it and for those who just move amongst the plants and pollinators.

After our tour we had a chat over coffee and the biggest slice of cake in the world. Gary is truly dedicated to this, passionate about building skills, enhancing lives, and teaching about working with nature. He says he’s learnt many horticultural skills from the women who work with him, each with their own stories, and each with a shared understanding of the benefit of plants.

As horticulturists we all know the benefit of contact with plants and the soil, and this is borne out at HMP Eastwood Park. There is a concern that this endeavour is becoming side-lined, and as we left the prison, we wanted to do what we could for them. So, if you’re in horticulture and would like to donate plants or expertise (they particularly want to learn propagation skills), drop me a line (Andy.Winfield@Bristol.ac.uk) and I’ll put you in touch with Gary.