Halloween comes early as Lanarkshire Restorative Justice team help grow pumpkins for kids

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Halloween came early to children at a Wishaw farm as people serving community payback orders saw their work come to fruition with a bumper harvest of pumpkins being provided to local youngsters.An innovative project setup by North Lanarkshire Council’s Restorative Justice Service has given individuals serving court issued payback orders to work the land on the banks of the River Clyde and grow fruit and vegetables to be distributed to local children and residents in sheltered housing complexes.With October 31 approaching, local children, under the supervision of the placement team, were invited to pick pumpkins from the growing fields and carve them ahead of Halloween.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The young people also got to paint them, ‘dook’ for apples, pick other fruit and vegetables including carrots and kale and enjoy fresh pumpkin soup.

Jim Curtis, placement manager with NLC, told Lanarkshire Live : “The children, service users and placement team had a great day harvesting and decorating. “Those carrying out payback order can make a real positive difference in our communities, and this is a great example of one of the many projects we are involved in.“A number of years ago we agreed a partnership with local farmer Wilbur Hall, who sadly passed away last year, to develop an area of his