On the 2nd of November members of our community met with David Thiele, a coordinator with Rural Aid.
Rural Aid had been approached by Breanna Pollock, the Central Coast Council Emergency Management Coordinator, to review the needs of our farming community with the view to determine if a suitable support program could be offered to farmers in the Mountains District.
How Rural Aid Helps:
Rural Aid Coordinators organise teams of volunteers to carry out tasks to assist farmers. There are a vast range of tasks that can be accommodated including fencing, cleaning debris, mustering, yard work, spraying, gardening, vegetation clearing, repairing buildings & equipment, small scale construction, sowing, operating machinery, repair & install irrigation lines, road repairs, farm house repairs, Counselling and Wellbeing, Financial Assistance, Fodder, Rural Transition Services, Educational Resources and more.
Rural Aid Coordinators check the requirements of the farmers and the facilities available and prepare a work program.
Teams consist of about 20 to 40 volunteers who come from all over the country. Volunteers are mostly self sufficient, having their own vehicles and caravans or tents. Rural Aid provides food but a suitable location is required to set up a base.
The teams work in properties in the designated area for 5 working days, arriving on the preceding weekend and departing on the following weekend.
Established in 2015, Rural Aid’s vision is to safeguard farming and rural communities before, during and after natural disasters.
Check future issues of the Community News for further developments.
Keith Aranjo
