Inmates at Hunter Correctional Centre are working with Hunter Valley Landcare to find their green thumbs.
Under the guidance of staff, 20 maximum-security inmates have grown more than 500 native seedlings for the Hunter arm of Landcare including Blakely’s red gums, spotted gums, callistemons and she-oaks.
Corrective Services Industries overseer Jai See said the partnership provides inmates with an opportunity to learn new skills while doing something beneficial for the community.
“This project is an opportunity for inmates to focus on achieving something that’s not only pro-social and providing them with new skills and knowledge, but it’s great for the environment and something they can be proud of too,” Jai See said.
“Since establishing the kitchen garden and plant propagation programs inmates have learned how to prepare soil for seedlings, weed and care for the plants to ensure they’re pest-free and healthy.”
The partnership with Hunter Valley Landcare was initiated in 2019 after volunteers reached out to a staff member looking for a suitable location to help grow native plants.
In addition to the nursery of native trees, the centre has a semi-commercial garden spread across six beds that supplies an on-site café with fresh produce, where staff purchase meals and inmates are allowed a monthly buy-up as a reward for good behaviour.
Hunter Correctional Centre has recently been provided a fresh batch of seeds to propagate which they hope will produce 750 seedlings from Landcare.