KENNETH Dunkley is busy. He spends his days running Dunkley's Landscaping, the horticultural business he's held near and dear to his heart for more than 50 years, and his spare time travelling the world and the streets of Bermuda campaigning for the good of others.

Perhaps the herculean-size bunch of bananas - about 100 in total weighing more than 90 pounds - the 78-year-old harvested this week was a reward for his efforts.

"I use natural fertiliser instead of forced," he said of the crop he has since delivered to Lindo's supermarket. "I always have. But this is the first time I've picked a branch so big. It took a couple of people to lift it in the car and two hours to chop it down.

"I've always liked being out in the open, seeing flowers and gardens nicely done. I started when I was very young, doing horticultural work, gardening and other things at Oleander Square on Tee Street at the home of Robert Aitkens and continued from there."

Despite his love of the land, the Paget resident's feet have not always been firmly planted on terra firma. "In 1941, I joined the Navy, and served on two ships - the HMS Sumar, a British patrol boat, and the HMS Gavas, a Norweigan patrol boat," he said. "We spent our time patrolling between Bermuda and the United States."

IT was after an American vessel was torpedoed in the stern and sunk that Mr. Dunkley returned to shore, working in Dockyard, tending ships. He married his wife of 50 years, Winifred, and joined the Liberty Boat fleet, transferring servicemen on "liberty" from Dockyard to Hamilton

"I became a Navy Captain of the Liberty boats, a coxswain," he explained. "We worked 24- and 72-hour watches in Dockyard. When everything at Dockyard started closing down, I went back to my trade; to working as a horticulturalist.

"Landscaping covers a vast area (of tasks) and it's something I've always enjoyed. I have a farm, a garden on Tee Street, one in Warwick, another in Crawl and I've been in Fairylands and Point Shares for 50-odd years, growing flowers, doing landscaping, taking up trees, fixing property. I've worked for some of those families for so long, they treat me as if (we're related)."

Although semi-retired, Mr. Dunkley regularly puts in a full day's work, often outperforming younger members on his staff.

"I'm in good health and I still often work harder sometimes, than (some) of my younger men. A lot of people today don't have (my) stamina. They work for four hours, and that's the end of the job. Generally I work from 7 a.m. until 2.30 or 3 p.m., sometimes into the evening. I'm lost unless I'm paddling around in the ground or helping people in some way or another."

It's that desire to improve the lot of others, Mr. Dunkley explained, that led him to devote many of his years to the Willing Workers of Bermuda, a group of which he is president. The organisation travels through prisons and homes, helping those in need.

"For over 30 years, we've worked hard trying to make a better Bermuda and a better world. We've travelled to England, Africa, the United States and all over the Caribbean islands in our aim of helping people.

"I love Bermuda and I love her people and we want Bermuda to be exposed to, and learn from, professionals who have successfully dealt with drug-related and other problems. The drug problem is hitting everybody; it affects the entire community.

"We want to help people but to do it properly, we need a permanent building from which we can base our operations. We've been trying over and over again to find a place without success.If we had such a place, we would hold classes and teach (those in need) a skill; teach them motor mechanics, carpentry, electricity - all at no cost to them."