A garden created by a group of young offenders at the Hampton Court Flower Show has reaped success with a little help from Sovereign.
50 young people aged 10-18 were involved in the project, which included the planning, design, construction and maintenance of a garden that demonstrates how vegetables and plants can be grown and tended to by residents in a local neighbourhood.
Sovereign lent a hand in the project with the creation of CAD designs to bring the hand-drawn designs of the garden to life. The team then supplied materials, such as timber for the construction of planter boxes, and provided a van and driver to help transport the garden to Hampton Court. Once transported, youngsters got hands on with the garden’s construction and during the days of the show, even took part in maintaining the exhibit.
Andy Humphreys, Operations Manager at Sovereign commented: “This was a fantastic project to get involved with. As a local company, we are committed to supporting the community in which we work, so when we were approached by Southend Youth Offending Service and its Youth Offending Team, we wanted to offer our support.”
The aim of the project was to enhance the skills and employability of young people by giving them the opportunity to get involved with a hands-on, high profile project. Andy commented: “The gardening project has given these youngsters the opportunity to learn in an outdoor environment, which has many benefits to young people, including the development of personal and social skills.”
Young people who took part in the project received a Hampton Court Flower Show participation award. The garden has now been transported to Southend Council-run Parks Nursery to allow the community to see the outcome of the project.
