Gardening now among offenders' community projects

In addition to cleaning up graffiti and picking up cigarette butts and trash in parks, Cape Girardeau juvenile offenders are adding gardening to their list of community service projects.

The Community Gardening Project, in the back yard of the Cape Girardeau County Juvenile Center, teaches the youths more than just gardening skills.

"In reality, it's teaching them how to be self-contained as far as self-discipline, self-involvement and self-well-being," said Tim Rabey, community services project director.

About five to 10 youths are involved in the gardening daily, he said, and they average seven hours a day about three days a week.

One worker, age 15, is gardening for the first time through the project.

"It's not for lazy people," she said, explaining that it keeps her out of trouble and gives her something to do. "I think I've had more exercise in the last week than I've had in the last month."

She has been working off her 80 hours of community service for two weeks.

"I was dreaming about gardening after the first week," she said.

Alex, 13, said he still doesn't like gardening, though he sometimes helps on his uncle's farm.

"Yesterday, I had to dig up a bunch of potatoes, and I didn't like that, and I had to do hoeing, and I didn't like that," he said.

He started working off his 50 hours of community service for nearly two weeks.

"It's kind of fun," he said. "I'm not getting in as much trouble as I used to."

On Wednesday, the youths yielded their first big harvest, Rabey said. Already bagged and in a refrigerator are 100 pounds of potatoes that will be donated to the House of Hope on Ranney Avenue. All other crops were affected by either rain or heat, yielding less or nothing at all.

The project, initiated by Randy Rhodes, chief juvenile officer, began in a greenhouse in March and moved into the backyard plot in April. The youths are learning how to plant and maintain the vegetables of the season, as well as herbs, Rabey said. The vegetable gardening will last through September at the latest. Through the fall and winter the youths will grow flowers in the greenhouse. The gardening will be an annual project.

Rabey said he hopes to plant the flowers in public gardens in Cape Girardeau, such as in front of the Courthouse and around the Cape Girardeau welcome sign.

jmetelski@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 226