Lynne Mowbray|
Bellingen resident Garry Glover had never heard of the Blaze Aid volunteer group until he saw a friend’s post about the group, on Facebook.
Garry said that he has always done his bit to support and donate to those affected by the drought and fires – but somehow it just didn’t seem like enough.
“After seeing the Facebook post, I decided to give it a go,” Garry said.
“I messaged the Blaze Aid camp co-ordinator John Lillico (who was in charge of the Blaze Aid work at Nymboida following the fires), and his response was ‘please, come along – you’re most welcome’.
“So, I packed up my tent and some gear and drove up to the Nymboida Canoe Centre and set up camp.
“Before heading out the next morning there was a muster (of the Blaze Aid volunteers) at 7am, where John went over the safety issues and the do’s and don’ts once again.
“We were divided into teams of three or four with a team leader and sent off to (help out) a property owner nearby.
“Several of the jobs start with ‘clearing of the line’ – cutting up fallen trees and dragging them off the fence line, cleaning up old broken, rusted and brittle wire, cutting off burnt wooden posts and pulling out old star pickets.
“Many times, the property owners would provide morning tea for us and they were just so grateful for our help,” he said.
Garry said that there were many who felt ‘guilty’ about receiving their help, when there were others who had lost a lot more than them.
“Those who still have a home expressed guilt that their home had survived, when other residents had lost theirs,” Garry said.
“I sat with one man who told me that (as the fire approached) he had evacuated, only to return home to find his home, his mansion, gone. He was in tears.
“He told me that he walked over the top of the ridge (on his property) to find that his steel shed was untouched and inside it was his car and tractor – he still had somewhere to live.
“He told me that he took himself to the pub and bought himself a beer to celebrate because he’d won the lottery!
“Now that’s resilience!
“I think that just by being there and listening, is an important part of the volunteer job.
“Before I retired, my career had been in education, so I was not used to farm work.
“With Blaze Aid I’ve been with team leaders who have guided me in developing new skills with wire strainers, star picket pullers, petrol powered star picket drivers and chain saws – boys and their toys – I love it!
“We built some fences – several fences.
“It was very satisfying and empowering for both the volunteers and the owners.
“It was a symbol of optimism and rebuilding!
Blaze Aid are about to start up another camp in the village of Glenreagh. If you’d like to volunteer or receive more information about Blaze Aid, contact: John Lillico on 0484 145 732.
