EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: The Master ‘Community’ Gardener

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —  Folks all around the Cape Fear have gardens that are about to start bearing all kinds of food. WWAY’s Daniel Seamas introduces us to our Extraordinary Person of the Week who helps build gardens to help communities in need.

“That’s what I wanted to do in my retirement was give something back to the community, I never knew it would be gardening,” David Brenner told WWAY’s Daniel Seamans.

David Brenner is a master gardener. He is also a master of community gardens.

“It started as just an idea in 2014 and then in 2015 we put in 2 gardens, this being the first one,” David said. “It’s kind of near and dear to my heart. Next year two gardens, this year two gardens in the same day.”

His non-profit ‘Wilmington Green‘ builds these gardens where there is a community that has a need. David organizes it, local businesses and groups help fund it, and then volunteers maintain it.

“I have one garden at St Johns on Independence,” he said. “They are going to give half of the food to the Good Sheppard Center or food bank. I have a garden at the hospital this year. They are going to try to use the food in the family house kitchen, in the out-patient Heart Center kitchen, or give it to patients or staff.”

Some of his support even comes from local cows, like Buttercup, who helps supply GMO free fertilizer for the gardens and he teaches what he’s been taught.

“You put 12 of these seed potatoes in the box,” David said as he demonstrated one of the ways to grow vegetables in small areas,” when the potatoes get 12 inches tall on the vines you add another board and you keep going around that box adding soil until you get the potatoes up to this level. Then when you get through you take all the screws out and let it fall in a heap and rake out 100 pounds of potatoes.”

David Brenner you are growing something special in our communities something that builds unity and experiences that blossom into much more than just a garden and that is one of the many reasons you are….Extraordinary.

If you’d like more information on ‘Wilmington Green’, check out their Facebook page here!