Volunteer Spotlight: Dave Ilett Belfast Give & Take Volunteer and Grow-A-Row Extraordinaire

With the 2023 Give & Take season coming to an end, we want to spotlight the incredible work of Dave Ilett, one of our many volunteer coordinators who kept the sites going all season long.

Dave started assisting at the Wales Park Give & Take location in 2023, and he has made a huge difference! He donates produce from his home gardens in Belfast and Boston, and he and fellow volunteer Alexa Clifford helped to establish a section of the Wales Park Community Garden as a dedicated Grow A Row plot that grows produce for the site.

If you’ve visited the Wales Park Give & Take shed this year, you’ve likely seen a wide variety of fresh produce that Dave helped to grow, from black eyed peas to watermelon. How he manages it while dividing his time between three gardens is beyond us, but we are so grateful!
 
Dave is originally from England, where he says the idea of growing food for yourself and your neighbors has a long history rooted in “victory gardening,” a kitchen gardening concept popularized during World War I and World War II.

“Back then,” says Dave, “the government determined the right size plots to feed a family and installed them alongside buildings throughout many areas of the city. They are still used today.”
 
Dave and his partner plan to move full-time to the Belfast area in the coming years. Please join us in celebrating their amazing contributions to the Give & Take Program and community!

Please consider volunteering to support the Give & Take Program so we can set up even more share sheds in Waldo County in 2024!