Disadvantaged young people from Mansfield and Ashfield helped to design and build one of only 16 show gardens seen by thousands of visitors at the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.

The young people, who are not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), worked with supporting charity the Inspire and Achieve Foundation (IAF) and local architects Guy Taylor Associates.

The project showcased the charity and raised awareness about youth unemployment.

The young people helped design and produce a garden that represented a deprived and neglected exterior with a beacon peering over the top to inspire viewers to look beyond what they first saw.

Within its walls, the plants represented the individual bright and vibrant personality bursting out from within the confines of the young people’s current life.

One corner of a wall was broken down to show walls that stand in the way of a better future aren’t permanent — and that possibilities of a better future are visible, reflected by the view to the distant horizon.

Artwork on display within the walls and graffiti on the exterior were created by the young people.
They were mentored and taught skills by the Guy Taylor Associates team and supported by Inspire and Achieve Foundation youth workers.

Pippa Carter, director of the foundation, said: “This was an exciting opportunity for IAF to highlight the difficulties that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds face and the amazing things they can achieve with the right support and encouragement.

“The decline of local industries has hit hard and, in some cases, families have been out of work for generations.

“That can lead to low aspiration, low self-esteem, poor skills and often issues like poverty, teenage pregnancy, crime and addiction.

“We look beyond the immediate difficulties faced by these young people and work directly with them to create positive futures.

“This project alone is a great example of what young people are capable of achieving with the right help.”