Steve Threlfall presents $5000 to Greg Noble for BlazeAid at a recent Shepparton Central Rotary Club meeting.
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Shepparton Central Rotary Club reflected on the community-led recovery after the Longwood fires at its meeting on Wednesday, June 24.
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The club heard from BlazeAid volunteer Greg Noble and owner of Trelly’s Outdoor Steve Threlfall about their contributions to the recovery efforts.
Mr Noble spoke about the role BlazeAid has played in rural fire recovery since its inception in 2009.
BlazeAid’s contribution to the Longwood recovery includes 5022 volunteer workdays, more than half of the organisation’s total of 8570 days.
The work completed by the 836 volunteers helped support 275 local farmers who registered for critical assistance.
BlazeAid’s primary focus is restoring fencing for farmers. Around Longwood it cleared 468km of destroyed fencing and rebuilt 272km.
Mr Threlfall was involved with the recovery efforts through a social media campaign that sourced 260,000 rounds of ammunition to distribute to farmers to humanely euthanise injured livestock.
Mr Threlfall spoke about the heartbreaking task and the toll that disasters could take on rural communities.
He praised the Shepparton Central Rotary Club for the truckload of hay that it was able to provide and the time the members spent volunteering with BlazeAid.
Mr Threlfall highlighted the humbling resilience of fire-affected farmers and said the locals maintained an extraordinary positive attitude.
At the end of his speech, Mr Threlfall presented Mr Noble with a $5000 cheque for the purchase of more fencing materials to help BlazeAid’s ongoing work.
Shepparton Central Rotary Club members volunteered their time to assist BlazeAid’s construction of new fences.
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