Fencing for Farmers Nambucca Valley (Bushfires)
City Australians we need your help.
We are farmers in the Nambucca Valley (half way between Sydney and Brisbane) and recently bushfires blazed through our farmland and forests and left cattle stranded, starving and traumatized.
61 of our local folk have had their homes destroyed leaving some cattle without on-site owners, and the grass was torched, along with infrastructure on the farms to support their livelihood (water tanks, troughs, pipes, sheds, it goes on).
BlazeAid have come to our community with a 6-month commitment to get us back on our feet. They coordinate volunteer fence builders and have brought in donations of timber rails, posts and wire. But they also need a bulldozer on-site for 6 months to clear away debris, ruin, fallen tree trunks and branches.
This is where we need your support: to fund a full-time bulldozer for 6 months. Yes, council is applying for grants. While we wait we are asking for you to donate a small amount so we can get the bulldozer to work.
100 properties are already registered and waiting for this help.
They run businesses with cattle farming, blueberries, hobby farmers, native plant nurseries, and other areas of business integral to our local economy and food reaching you in the cities.
BlazeAid have the single priority of getting fences rebuilt, getting cattle back onto farms, getting farmers back on their farms, and getting people’s livelihoods back on track with real support, at the end of the day greatly assisting in mental health and trauma recovery.
Help our community rebuild fences with a bulldozer and 2 volunteers each. Cost per day is around $1,400 so we are aiming for:
Week 1 target: $6,000 (help 4 farms)
Week 2 target: $6,000 (help another 4 farms)
Week 3 target: $6,000 (help another 4 farms)
Council is applying for funding grants and your donations will help us get started Immediately and continue this work right up until council take over with the monetary supply. We may need to go on raising funds for Week 4 and beyond.
About us:
Joanna and Tim Becker are local business owners in the Nambucca Valley. For 5 years we’ve helped establish fence lines, dams, rural driveways, firebreaks/access tracks, horse arenas, shed pads, and much more with our bulldozer, loader, tipper truck and tractor. Through friendship with our clients we have seen the grief, shock, trauma, and anxiety about the work ahead caused by the recent bushfires. We are doing what we can to help our friends and clients. When the bushfires began, Tim was recruited by the RFS to actively defend our local communities with our bulldozer. One month later, Tim is still on the frontline with the firefighters and RFS actively creating firebreaks and preventing the spread of bushfire. In the first 3 weeks after the bushfires Joanna bought a new 10,700L potable water container and fit it in to Tim’s tipper because our locals were afraid they wouldn’t access the council’s free water supply before it was switched off. In 9 days Joanna and her brother Pete delivered over 428,000L of council’s free drinking water to 40 properties. We are currently making arrangements to bring into the area another bulldozer and truck to dedicate our full-time bulldozer and operator to BlazeAid’s fencing volunteer work for 6 months whilst we carry on serving clients and working with the RFS.
Please note: We promised we would find a way to help our clients get their properties cared for at no cost to them whilst covering the costs of our machinery, diesel, insurances, repairs and maintenance, and fair driving wage for the bulldozer/truck operator. This fundraiser donates money directly to BlazeAid specifically to fund the bulldozer we are allocating to the bushfire rehabilitation work. BlazeAid are an existing not for profit organization with existing fundraising campaigns. You can support BlazeAid in funding fence posts, wires and tools by visiting their website http://www.blazeaid.com.au or volunteer your time by building new fences on-site with their crew.
Do you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of BlazeAid Inc and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
