David

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

Wanting to experience what locals love to do and to immerse myself in their culture.. I enjoy spending time in the outdoors and learning new skills. I definitely want to explore this beautiful world!

Description

Hi there, my name is David I’m 30 years old and I live in London.

Currently I am on sabbatical from my full time job as a Gardener.

During this time I would love to Travel more, offer out my gardening services to those who are in need of a helping hand, work on enjoyable and productive projects, take the time to relax in a productive way and most importantly to consider the meaning of my life and the impact I aspire to make.

Over the past 7 years I have worked for a number of different individuals and families. I have helped people develop and maintain various varieties of gardens, from young couples/students/professionals looking after their first garden, to experienced, retired folk, who can no longer keep up the rate of work they have put into their garden.

In 2013 I embarked on a Royal Horticulture Society course. Studying a range of topics over 3 years.

The course helped me enormously, improving how I cared for plants and gardens. It enabled me to help clients identify the right plant for different aspects in the garden as well as identifying plants that either didn’t belong or were better suited for different conditions. I have experience in establishing plants and boarders from propagation to pruning.

The biggest enjoyment that I get out of gardening is ensuring the overall health of plants. Whether that being a Rose Bed, Vegetable patch or orchard. I love giving the right care for each individual plant ensuring that it has a healthy life bringing joy to all who see/smell or even taste it.

I hope I’m able to bring my passion for gardening to many others, helping anybody who is in need of a hand.

Many thanks, David

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent

More details about my language interests
I would love to learn a new language. I always thought that it would be best to learn a language whilst living in the country where it is spoken. I would be very happy to teach English.

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Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Eco Projects

DIY and building projects

Life at a Farmstay

Animal Care

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

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Some knowledge of:  

Charity Work

Being an elderly companion

Babysitting and creative play

General Maintenance

Helping with Computers/ Internet

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Able to teach about:  

Gardening

More details about your skills

From the age of 16 I have loved photography. I started by taking and developing black and white photographs for school projects. I studied photography for a year at an Ravensbourne Arts and Design College in London. After which I worked for various different clients both in the studio and on location. I’m experienced in formal and family portraits as well as capturing events such as weddings and parties.

I have also worked as a picture framer. Measuring wooden frames, cutting to size, glass and mounts and then assembling these bespoke frames for clients.

I really enjoyed my time as a photographer and as a picture framer, but I realised I wanted to do more with nature and in the great outdoors!!

Whilst working as a photographer and picture framer I joined a team of tree surgeons. This opened my eyes to the possibility of working outdoors for a living. Because of the sheer number or tree surgeons in the area and the lack of gardeners, I decided that gardening was the path for me. I took on board and learnt a lot from being with professional arborists day in day out, both in pruning and passion for the overall care for plants.

Throughout the different periods of my life I have always enjoyed looking after and helping those that are in need. In my early teenager years I enjoyed helping out at various summer camps for students and families. I found it really enjoyable to look after and befriend those both older and younger than me but especially those that are in extra need or care. From the ages of 13 - 17 I enrolled each summer with my siblings to help look after babies and young children during the mornings and afternoons to give respite for their parents and carers.

Since working as a gardener, I have been in touch with a large number of elderly people, some of whom have needed a lot of care. I have been eager to help where I can, focussing on their individual needs. A lot of the time this meant chatting over a cup of tea, enjoying a trip down memory lane or simply being somebody to sit with, whilst they watched their favourite programme. Sometimes it has meant helping them with their computer, changing lightbulbs, replacing batteries, taking them to garden centres, doing their weekly shop and even going with them to live music events. I also made sure to visit clients in hospital and when possible be with them in their last remaining days. In particular I helped my grandmother who was suffering form vascular dementia move from her home of 40 years into a care home.

Age

31

What else ...

I'm interested in anything practical. I would often maintain my gardening tools from petrol lawnmowers, cordless powertools to simple pruning sheers. I would love to learn about anything that I could turn into a hobby, like wood work, fishing, cooking etc.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements