Recognition for green-fingered young people in Rugby
Green-fingered young people working with Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service have reason to celebrate after receiving a Silver award in a prestigious gardening competition.
The group of under-18s has been maintaining the grounds and planters of Newton Hall, where the Youth Justice Service is based in Rugby, as part of their Reparation Orders.
Their efforts were entered in to the 21st annual Rugby in Bloom contest –organised and judged by Rugby Borough Council - and have now been awarded Silver in the ‘Community’ category. They will be recognised at a ceremony at Blooms Garden Centre near Rugby on Wednesday 22 September.
Organisers have said that ‘the judging process this year has again been very hard with the standard very high indeed’.
Heather Shilling, Operations Manager for Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service, said: “We’re really pleased that the hard work has paid off. The young people have created something they can be very proud of because it adds to the overall appearance of Rugby and benefits the whole community.
“Projects like this form part of our Reparation Directory, which give young people working with us the opportunity to repay the community for a crime they have committed.
“It also helps them develop skills and learn about growing vegetables and flowers as they contribute towards the Youth Justice Service’s allotment. Their produce is regularly donated to a day centre for older people, helping to bridge the gap between the generations.”
Reparation orders – part of Restorative Justice – can include mediation between victims and offenders and their family, or community conferences.
The restorative approach confronts and disapproves of offending and supports the young person to make amends while realising the effects of what they have done.
Currently there are around 40 projects in the Youth Justice Service’s Reparation Directory from helping with the upkeep of allotments and clearing graffiti, to conservation and citizenship.
For more information about Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service or for details of other projects in the Youth Justice Directory, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/yjs.