43
County, youths harvest virtues
Working in the garden gives youths the chance to learn new skills.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Plans are in the works to expand a community garden near the Lawrence County Government Center this summer and make an area where county employees can sit on benches and enjoy nature during break times.
Selling vegetables raised in the garden at a local farmer’s market also is planned.
At the same time that the nature area affords a breath of nature to county workers, it also provides a way to hold juvenile offenders accountable for their actions by working off restitution, fines and community-service hours.
The 3,700-square-foot garden is located on county land next to the Krause Shelter on Court Street, a temporary shelter for juvenile offenders. All equipment, seeds and plants are purchased with a $10,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Juvenile Accountability Block Grant, according to Pat Micco, director of Lawrence County Juvenile Probation.
The money also is used to provide restitution and fine money that the juvenile works off in the garden. The department plans to apply for more funds for the project each year.
Juvenile Probation Officer Ted Memo said that last year, approximately 20 youths age 14 to 18 participated, producing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, corn and pumpkins. This year, a flower garden will be added as well as a seating area next to the garden with a grapevine, water fixture and light post.
He said that in addition to being available for county- employee breaks, the area will provide a place for youths in the Krause Shelter to have private counseling sessions or visit with their families.
Memo said the plan is to enhance the area each year, adding features that need upkeep during cold weather so as to provide an even greater opportunity for service hours.
The garden project was launched in 2005 when the department’s Community Service Liaison Jim Bertalin brought the idea back from a training session. The garden formerly was adjacent to the Central Court building but last year was moved to the Krause Shelter location.
Memo said that youths in the shelter are usually not happy at first about working in a garden. But by the end of the first day, they find they enjoy it.
“They realize that working with dirt relieves stress,” he said.
He said the reaction from the participating youths, for the most part, has been very positive. The youths always are supervised by probation-department personnel in the garden, and an additional advantage is they get a chance to interact with them informally.
Many of the youths never have done any gardening previously, and Micco said they are also learning a skill. He added that the garden also provides opportunities for youths who are too young to find a job to earn restitution.
One unexpected object lesson occurred several years ago when vandals ripped up a flower garden that the participants had planted earlier in the day. He said the youths who had worked in the garden were upset at the destruction and learned what it was like to be on the receiving end of such actions.