People carrying out unpaid work as part of a community sentence have been helping to develop an NHS community garden in Morningside.
The City of Edinburgh Council’s justice services have teamed up with the Cyrenians charity so that people carrying out a community payback order (CPO) can learn how to care for the garden.
Councillor Tim Pogson, Chair of Edinburgh’s Community Safety and Justice Partnership, said: “We have been exploring innovative ways to support those who have committed offences to repay the community for their crimes while at the same time, giving participants the opportunity to learn valuable skills and work as part of a team.
“Through joining forces with the Scottish charity Cyrenians we’ve been able to support the environment through the development of a community garden project offering placements to people completing unpaid work as part of a CPO.”
Cyrenians delivers the project in a supportive environment, delivering learning, while providing help to those on the project to access additional supports they may need to be reintegrated into their community and become contributing members of society.
The project has proved to be a great success with participants saying how working in the garden had improved their mental health and led to a renewed appreciation of the outdoors. Many have enjoyed contributing to a wider project team while being supported by Cyrenians through a low point in their lives to move on from their crime to a more positive space and a crime-free life.
A supervised team of people work together on the garden woodland and orchard, including landscaping, planting, pruning and composting. Participants learn how to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers and develop skills in making garden furniture.
Hannah Macrae, Community Gardens Service Manager at Cyrenians, said: “We have loved working in partnership with community justice services, to offer placements to people completing a community payback order.
“Our community gardens provide a lot of solace to people and we are very grateful to those who have come on placement for all their efforts to maintain and improve this special space. Many of the people who come really enjoy the time working in the garden and we hope that they take away a new set of skills and a sense of pride in what they have achieved.”
A number of areas across Edinburgh have been transformed by people carrying out a CPO and previous projects have included fencing and decking work at Dr Neil’s Garden in Duddingston and supporting garden maintenance at Inverleith Park.
More than 11.6 million hours of unpaid work have been completed across Scotland since CPOs were introduced in 2010 – with around 1.4 million hours recorded benefiting communities for the reporting year 2023-24. There were 15,086 CPOs imposed by the courts – a three per cent increase on the previous year.
There are various projects highlighted in the new annual CPO report 2023-24 by Community Justice Scotland. It shows that the number of CPOs imposed has increased and how people have been held to account and supported to reconnect and contribute to their communities.
Catherine Dyer, chair of the board of Community Justice Scotland, said: “Community payback orders allow people to repay locally for the harm they’ve caused and access support to services, such as addiction counselling, to tackle the behaviour which led to their offending.
“The increase in the number of CPOs imposed by courts shows the confidence of Sheriffs in community-based sentences which can help reduce the risk of reoffending compared to short-term imprisonment.
“Unpaid work has transformed areas across the country, making a meaningful impact on communities such as improving school playgrounds, painting and gardening for local organisations as well as helping individuals who need work done.”
- Edinburgh is seeking the public’s views on unpaid work and suggestions for new projects. You can complete the short survey online here at the City of Edinburgh Council’s website (until 8 September 2025).