Offender Pathway to Employment Programme (OPEP)
Year 1 Report
www.moortrees.org
OPEP is a partnership between the woodland charity Moor Trees, HMP Dartmoor and Duchy College
(now Bicton College).
AIM
OPEP aims to reduce re-offending by building offender employability through the provision of a high
quality volunteering, education & training programme focussing on the land-based sector, in the context
of environmental conservation. The programme offers a portfolio of accredited courses, partly
developed through dialogue with major employers from within the sector to identify skills shortages and
therefore increase employment opportunities on release.
OBJECTIVES
1. Provide experiential learning opportunities via practical conservation projects, including:
a. Tree nurseries on the farm and in the main, VPU and RSU areas;
b. Woodland creation / biodiversity activities on the farm and across wider Dartmoor.
2. Work in partnership with accredited education provider to provide a portfolio of accredited
education & training.
3. Work in partnership with the University of Plymouth to:
a. Host PhD research into carbon uptake by trees;
b. Provide a new research programme studying the benefits of the OPEP approach.
4. Build an employer network and mentoring service.
Moor Trees is a charity (No. 1081142) and company (No. 3716434) limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Registered Office: The Old School Centre, Totnes Road, South Brent, TQ10 9BP. T: 0845 456 9803 . E: [email protected].
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Offender Pathway to Employment Programme (OPEP)
Year 1 Report
www.moortrees.org
Year 1 achievements, to end December 2009.
1.0 Accredited Learning
OPEP engaged Duchy College as accredited learning partner for the period February 2009 to July 2009. This
enabled the delivery of NPTC-accredited short courses to suitable offenders.
Moor Trees (MT) negotiated £40,000 from Duchy to fund the training.
Course
Industrial Masted Fork Lift
Telescopic Handler
Tractor
ATV
Grass/Brushwood Strimmer
Wood Chipper
Dry Stone Walling
CS30 Chainsaw
CS31 Chain Saw
Mower (5 categories)
Industrial Dumper
Pedestrian Controlled Tractor
360 Digger
Turf Maintenance
Total
Certificates Awarded
16
15
40
7
13
7
4
1
1
21
18
1
11
8
163
Course enrolments and purchase orders were handled by the MT Director, working 2 days p.w. in the farm office.
The end date for the Duchy partnership was 31.07.09 due to reductions in their own allocations of Learning &
Skills Council funding.(New funding has now been secured from Bicton College).
Training continued during the autumn, some accredited through NPTC.
Accredited Training
Supervised Training
Aug
3
15
Sep
4
22
Oct
5
24
Nov
6
20
Dec
nil
44
Total
18
125
Remarks
18 certificates awarded
The Level 2 programme and continuing availability of short courses builds a strong case for an increasing number
of offenders to be offered the opportunity. This is due to the focused, outcome-driven activities of the ALP
leading to increasing employability through qualifications and work experience on. This has been confirmed by
the HPMD governor who is highly supportive of OPEP.
Moor Trees is a charity (No. 1081142) and company (No. 3716434) limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Registered Office: The Old School Centre, Totnes Road, South Brent, TQ10 9BP. T: 0845 456 9803 . E: [email protected].
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Offender Pathway to Employment Programme (OPEP)
Year 1 Report
www.moortrees.org
2.0 Employer Engagement
Activities for Year 1 have focussed on the setting up of the tree nurseries, conservation work, and the
development and delivery of the ALP. The ALP took an unexpected amount of time, in particular due to the high
demand and the necessity for the MT Director to directly manage and administer the programme. The 163
enrolments, however, provide a very positive return on investment, with the ALP now set to grow during Year 2.
Off-site placements have been delivered at:
Peeke Hill Farm, Princetown
Morwellham Quay
Buckland Abbey
YHA Bellever
Tavistock Tool Hire
Forestry Commission
ROC Construction site at Princetown
Dartmoor Hardwoods
Dartmoor Garage
3.0 Tree Nurseries
OPEP is creating four tree nurseries - one in each of the Farm, Main, RSU and VPU areas. The aim of the nurseries
is two-fold: to provide experiential learning opportunities through working on a ‘live’ conservation project, and to
grow native trees for conservation benefit.
Offenders are involved at every stage. From the creation of the building blocks, to the carpentry for the raised
beds, the delivery of the top soil, and the sorting and sowing of the seed.
3.1 Farm Tree Nursery
The farm tree nursery was designed and built by offenders under the guidance of MT and prison staff. The
nursery provides a ‘live’ project for offenders to work on, both as volunteers and whilst taking short courses such
as Digger, Dumper, Tractor, Fencing and Strimming.
The nursery has approximately 30 seed beds and is currently full of 7,000 one-year-old Oak saplings donated by
Hampton Court via The Tree Council. Many of these trees will be transplanted into the other OPEP tree nurseries,
with some also going to MT’s Dartington Estate site.
The tree nursery hosts a University of Plymouth PhD researching the photosynthetic efficiency and carbon uptake
of seedlings in the evergreen Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) and the native deciduous Pedunculate Oak (Quercus
robur).
Offenders measure growth parameters such as seedling height & diameter and leaf measurements for conversion
into leaf area estimates.
Moor Trees is a charity (No. 1081142) and company (No. 3716434) limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Registered Office: The Old School Centre, Totnes Road, South Brent, TQ10 9BP. T: 0845 456 9803 . E: [email protected].
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Offender Pathway to Employment Programme (OPEP)
Year 1 Report
www.moortrees.org
3.2 Vulnerable Prisoners Unit (VPU) Tree Nursery
The VPU nursery has been built and is awaiting saplings and seed. The VPU is the smallest of the tree nurseries,
though two volunteers have been recruited to lead on the project development and ongoing management. This
will ensure a coordinated and focused approach, with various ALP Level 2 opportunities being developed,
primarily in horticulture.
3.3 RSU and Main area nurseries
The RSU nursery is currently under construction.
The plan to have a nursery in the Main prison has been hindered by security issues, but discussions are on-going
and we would hope that this will still be deliverable.
4.0 Conservation
The creation, restoration and natural regeneration of native broadleaved woodland in and around Dartmoor
National Park is central to MT’s work.
As per MT tree nurseries, it provides volunteering and experiential learning opportunities, as well as biodiversity
and wider environmental benefit. It also provides individuals with the opportunities to meet and network with
other, like-minded people, plus potential employers such as BTCV, Dartmoor National Park Authority, the Forestry
Commission and the University of Plymouth.
Through winter 08/09 MT worked with offenders to plant approximately 1,300 trees on the farm and is on course
to do a similar number 09/10. MT is also forming an offender work group to work on a MT planting site where
there are approximately 5,000 trees to plant this winter.
Woodland management will also bring new ALP and work experience opportunities, with thinning, improved
access, coppicing and invasive species removal all planned for the coming year.
Pond Restoration Project
Known as the Pond Restoration Project, or PRP, plans are under way to restore the old pond, located adjacent to
the road and opposite the main prison entrance. It has a cobble stone bottom and is on average 4ft deep. It was
created many years ago as reservoir for the prison baths so has cultural and heritage significance. It is, however,
now redundant and heavily silted.
In the first year we achieved a Stage 1 habitat survey and are in the process of draining the pond so that a leak
can be fixed and it can be de-silted.
A total of 1,788 man –days have been delivered by prisoners ‘in training’ on the land surrounding the prison.
Moor Trees is a charity (No. 1081142) and company (No. 3716434) limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Registered Office: The Old School Centre, Totnes Road, South Brent, TQ10 9BP. T: 0845 456 9803 . E: [email protected].
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