The damage caused by the Black Summer Bushfires was so widespread that the million dollars in state government funding to BlazeAid (announced last November) was merely a drop in the ocean of what was needed to properly mend fences in NSW.
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In December, even before the South Coast was alight, BlazeAid had been overwhelmed by requests for help, and had to rescind its voucher system for posts and wire.
"From this point forward it is intended that BlazeAid may provide some fencing materials on a case by case basis and will continue to offer BlazeAid teams to clear fence lines and reconstruct fencing at no labour cost to you," the Macksville BlazeAid Camp Coordinator wrote in the Guardian News on December 3.
But some property owners in the Nambucca Valley lost tens of kilometres of fencing - even with the support of voluntary labour, the costs of rebuilding were exorbitant.
Thankfully there has been some very generous financial help offered through local organisations and individuals since then.
The most recent of these donations was by the Nambucca Heads Lions Club.
The Nambucca Lions applied for funding for their community through the Australian Lions Foundation (ALF) Disaster Grant and were awarded $15727.05 which they used to buy fencing materials to rebuild 7.5km worth of boundary fencing to three separate farms.
"As the work was being completed a fourth property requiring a further 5km was identified," Nambucca Lion Bill Shepherd said.
A further $10281.85 was released from the District's disaster funds. In all, 12km of fencing at a total value of $26008.90 was completed.
Bill said the partnership between the Lions and BlazeAid has been incredibly beneficial and helped their donation go further than it would have otherwise.
"As Lions Clubs do not have the capacity or skills needed to complete the work, contractors would have to have been employed and the cost per kilometre would have tripled," he said.
On Wednesday, Lions Club members got to visit the property owners and view the outcome of their donations; not only were the fences mended and stock safely secured, but an emotional load had been taken off the farmers themselves.
"(One of the goals of this grant was) to assist farmers and their families and ensure their health and wellbeing, by reducing the stress that they are under during this recovery period and showing them that there are people who care," Bill said.
"Each farmer, and their families, has expressed their appreciation to ALF and the Club. This is one area where the saying 'Where there is a need, there is a Lion' is a great example."
But Bill and his fellow members know the job is far from over.
"As this project is completed we are arriving at our 12-month anniversary of the fires that caused this disaster," he said.
"We the members of Nambucca Heads Lions Club understand that we are in a marathon situation and there is a lot more to be completed to assist those most affected."
They've since received additional requests for assistance and are now working towards securing more funding for the people in need in our community.
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Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
