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Bay of Plenty Community Corrections is teaching rongoa as part of its community work sentences.
Offenders will be taught to recognise and care for a selection of native plants and gain a basic understanding of their healing properties.
The programme will run at Te Rourou, the community garden at the Tauranga Community Corrections site, with additional sessions on marae and in native bush.
District manager Pauline Moran says as well as developing useful skills, the service hopes it will create a cultural connection which can help reduce re-offending.
She says there is a high level of iwi involvement in the programme as well as co-facilitators from the Department of Conservation.
The course covers tikanga – the correct protocols for planting and harvesting rongoa, as well as plant identification and properties.
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