Thursday, 23 February 2017 09:55

Farm volunteers dig in for quake victims

Written by  Nigel Malthus
The founder of the NZ Farming Facebook page and instigator of its volunteer relief effort, Tyler Fifield, in a well on a farm near Kaikoura. The volunteers were trying to deepen the well by hand shovels after it dried up. The founder of the NZ Farming Facebook page and instigator of its volunteer relief effort, Tyler Fifield, in a well on a farm near Kaikoura. The volunteers were trying to deepen the well by hand shovels after it dried up.

Three months after the earthquake ripped through the Kaikoura area on November 14 there is still no shortage of tasks for volunteers helping the region’s farmers to repair the damage.

On the day of the quake, Blenheim builder Tyler Fifield, founder of the NZ Farming Facebook page, took a couple of his mates in a ute loaded with tools and supplies and headed south to see what help they could provide.

When their efforts went viral, the page almost inadvertently became a default clearing-house for matching volunteer workers with farmers needing help.

A page administrator, Duncan Humm, says they arranged work for about 50 volunteers in January alone, mostly in the Clarence and Kekerengu areas, north of Kaikoura.

Repairs to farm tracks, fencing and stock water systems – mostly uninsurable farm infrastructure – are still the most common tasks.

Humm says the mid-January weather bomb that brought heavy rain and gale winds to much of the country caused more work for one volunteer team, which switched from repairing quake damage to clearing trees blown over the track on a Kekerengu farm.

“We’ve had two professional fencing teams up in the Clarence for a couple of weeks now and I don’t think they’re short of stuff to do,” he told Rural News. “We’re still trying to find experienced fencers and builders who can come and help.”

Humm said they were now trying to help several families with accommodation, including one project to convert a shed into temporary living quarters for a farm family living in a caravan.

In the first days after the quake, the NZ Farming page had also acted as a contact point for farmers and families trying to confirm everyone was safe. Humm says that became a 24-hour operation, with a page administrator in Germany able to take on the nightshift.

Humm also thanked those who came onboard during the second phase – supply runs by air while the roads into the worst affected areas were all blocked.

He says Marshland School, Christchurch, collected supplies with help from Andrea Roberts’ ‘Andrea’s Angels’ Givealittle page, Contact Energy donated gas bottles and Ngai Tahu Farming provided trucks and drivers to take goods to

Culverden, where Young Farmers and Lions and other volunteers loaded them onto aircraft provided by private owners and Aerowork.

Anyone willing to help with the NZ Farming volunteer effort can find contact details on their Facebook page.

More like this

'Far-reaching' reserves feared

Farmers in the Kaikoura and Conway flat regions claim more than 45,000ha of private land has been caught up in three mātaitai reserves declared in the region.

Lessons learned from Kaikoura Quake

Following the Kaikoura earthquake two years ago, the people impact was the greatest priority for the Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ management team.

Resilience for NZ wine

A New Zealand Winegrowers’ research project, funded by MPI, is hoping to take the lessons from the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake to build a more resilient industry for the future.

Featured

National

NZ-EU FTA enters into force

Trade Minister Todd McClay says Kiwi exporters will be $100 million better off today as the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement…

Machinery & Products

Factory clocks up 60 years

There can't be many heavy metal fans who haven’t heard of Basildon, situated about 40km east of London and originally…

PM opens new Power Farming facility

Morrinsville based Power Farming Group has launched a flagship New Zealand facility in partnership with global construction manufacturer JCB Construction.

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Cut with care

OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.

Bubble burst!

OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter