Deerbolt Wildlife Community Engagement Hub

MammalWeb has partnered with HM Prison Deerbolt, a Young Offenders Institution, to support the creation of the Deerbolt Wildlife Community Engagement Hub in the visitor centre.  In turn, this supports Deerbolt’s ambition to be Britain’s Greenest Prison. 

‘The Greenest Prison’ project aims to embed a culture shift amongst staff and the prison population, towards environmentally sustainable behaviours.  The strategy was not only created to have a positive impact on the environment, but to create a project on which both staff and the young men in Deerbolt's care can work together as a ‘joint enterprise’ and also learn new skills. For example the workshops within the prison could have involvement through manufacturing the camera trap housings, and also designing and implementing our habitat management within the prison grounds. There are also additional benefits which increasing our contact with nature, and improving the local environment can have on improving everyone’s mental health wellbeing, within the environment of a very challenging Young Offender establishment. We hope the project will have a substantial positive impact on all individuals who work and reside at HMP & YOI Deerbolt.

This project will re-purpose the Visitor Centre into a dual function Visitor Centre and a newly created ‘Deerbolt Wildlife Community Engagement Hub’, engaging with Durham University, NEPACS and the Local Town Council as part of the development.  An interactive MammalWeb touchscreen information source in the visitor centre allows visitors to classify camera trap images taken in the habitat around the prison and so learn about local wildlife.  Nesting boxes with cameras will also provide footage to a TV in the centre, as will cameras focussing on a the pipistrelle bat colony in the visitor centre roof.  Collectively we look to provide an enriching experience to visitors to the prison.

Deerbolt visitor centre