Meet our volunteers
Dale Farm volunteers are our ‘life’s blood’, without them we would be unable to undertake many projects around the farm that have helped support the trust. Every one of our volunteers brings different skills to the farm, but all are kind, friendly and patient, which are the main characteristics we look for in our volunteers. If you would like to join our team of volunteers, please fill in our volunteer form and we will get back to you very soon.
Here are a few of the volunteers who kindly give up their time to support us.
Jim
Jim is the Chairperson of the Dale Farm Trust. Jim files the reports to the Charity Commission and is heavily involved with trust and its running including applying for funding.
Having worked in the Parks and Leisure department, Jim had contact with the trust during his career, which is how he came to know about and came to give his time to the farm after he retired.
As well supporting the trust itself, Jim enjoys working with people across the farm and imparts knowledge and skills he gained throughout his career. As with all our volunteers Jim has patience, warmth and heart, which are the most fundamental qualities required to be a volunteer at Dale Farm.
Allie
Allie, is the designer of our sensory garden, is one of our trustees and is on the farm’s development team. She has a huge love of plants and design. Allie worked alongside staff, other volunteers, and people we support to create a sensory garden that is accessible to everyone. Through her love of gardening and plants Allie has created a planting scheme that can be enjoyed through, sight, touch, hearing, smell and in some cases even taste.
Allie used to work in an office in London, where she only had a small garden. After some soul searching Allie decided to move and started volunteering at Dale Farm.
Allie is warm friendly and talks of the work at Dale farm with such enthusiastic energy; she is one of the farms most knowledgeable plants people.
“I just love the place.”
Colin and Coral
Collin and Coral have been volunteering at Dale Farm for 5-6 years, they get involved in everything on the farm from educating students to repairs; they tackle everything with good humour, energy and have amazing patience and warmth.
After retiring from teaching, they both decided to volunteer at Dale Farm. As previous pastoral leads they have the ability to put everyone at their ease and know how to make everyone they meet feel valued.
Coral and Colin have always enjoyed working with people and said that they find working at Dale Farm humbling, challenging in terms of meeting individual needs and said that no two days are the same.
“Working at Dale Farm is humbling”.
Coral
Michelle and Kev
Michelle is one of our volunteers, she is unable to work now due to severe back problems. Michelle has been working on rebuilding our website with her husband Kev.
Due to her problems gardening with larger plants, she started looking for smaller plants to garden with and got interested in Alpines and Snowdrops.
“Dale Farm is a rare place, where you are seen for your abilities and not your disabilities”.
Michelle
Ian
Ian has been volunteering on the farm for five years, he has done some incredible work since being at Dale Farm including supervising and working on the installation of our workshop.
Safety in the workshop is always Ian’s first priority; Ian enjoys creating, engineering, woodworking and electrics and works across the farm on both small- and large-scale projects. Ian has built up a vast knowledge through working as a tradesman and is happy to help and advise anyone in the community who is undertaking a new or existing project.
We are blessed that we have so many people like Ian that are happy to give their, time, technical knowledge, and tutoring skills for free. Without people like Ian and all our other volunteers we would not be able to undertake such large-scale projects.
Arne
Arne has been working with, advocating for and researching in the field of disabilities all of his working life. Arne’s doctorate was done on an intersectional study on disabilities. As one of Dale Farm’s Trustee’s, Arne pushes through ideas, helps makes decisions, works closely with staff and volunteers and is passionate about the people we support being the most important members of our farm community.
When talking to Arne you feel that working with people with disabilities is a vocation rather than a career. Arne has found time to volunteer as he now only works part-time.
Arne has travelled and lived around and lived in many different places; he is open, friendly, funny, relaxed and humble and easy to talk too, as with all our volunteers he is a huge asset to the farm.
Arne referred to the people we support as “Everyday Life Heroes”. Never has a truer statement been said.
Arthur
When Arthur talks to you, he makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world. He shows patience, understanding, kindness, humility and humour when working with everyone on the farm. When you arrive at the farm you will never get a warmer welcome than from Arthur.
Arthur came to volunteer with us in Christmas 23 after chatting to Colin (another volunteer); like many who come through our doors, Arthur had not worked supporting people, but has never looked back.
Arthur has some gardening experience and reflects working on hospital gardens and on his dad’s veg patch when he was a lad. Since being on the farm he has worked on projects from lining ponds to log splitting; you just never get two days the same.
Dave
Dave joined us a couple of years before Covid and helped us through the pandemic by working three days a week. Dave continues to volunteer with us two days a week, he is super friendly, open, funny and clearly loves the farm and cares deeply about the people we support.
Dave started to help out on the farm after retiring and leaving his job in banking. Like many people we support he had no real previous gardening experience or of supporting people with needs, but wanted to give something back to his community.
The farm shop is David’s baby and he helped us revamp and improve our farm shop in recent years. He helps out with everything and anything around the farm and particularly enjoys the fulfilment from building relationships with the people we support.
Rob
Rob has been volunteering on the farm for several years and is one of our trustees and is part of our development team. As with many of our volunteers he first came down the the farm to buy some of our products and left as a volunteer.
Before retirements, Rob’s background was in school and community education along with other stressful roles. So when he came to the farm it was nice to change to more relaxed seen.
It is obvious that Rob is a real people person. He gets involved in decision making for the trust and around the farm and works hard to ensure that the farm is always forward thinking.
“Its great to work with such a great bunch of people whilst having fun and having a laugh.”
Bernd
Bernd is literally the perfect gentleman and a true egalitarian. Bernd is the founder of the Wirral Older People’s Parliament (WOPP) and spends time writing to politicians to ensure equality and fairness, especially on issues relating to pensioners.
Bernd has been volunteering on the farm for 16 years, he is a trustee and part of our development team, helping make important decisions on behalf of the trust. Bernd is a member of the Rotary Club of West Wirral and became a volunteer at Dale Farm after a fellow member was asking for volunteers for the farm.
He is smart, considerate and you can’t help but like the guy and respect his values and principles. It is obvious that he cares deeply about the people we support, their wellbeing and like all of us sees everyone for what they can do and not for what they can’t.
Arthur
Arthur looks after Michelle, one of our volunteers. Arthur loves nothing more than coming to the farm for a cuddle and some fuss. He is very partial to a belly tickle and some love and happily wonders around the farm looking for someone to say hello to.
Although he has four legs, he is a very good listener and is happy for anyone chat to him about their problems as long as he is getting attention in return.
Arthur’s favourite pass times are chasing squirrels and birds and trying to look cute in hope of getting a treat or two.