Farmers impacted by bushfire have continued to share their common experiences as they work towards recovery.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
Three years on from the Kangaroo Island bushfires - and two years after a similar tour through the Pinery fire ground - a group of farmers from throughout SA have met on KI for the SA Farmers Recovery & Reconnect KI Tour.
A touring party of 38 SA farmers, impacted by the Pinery fire in 2015; Eden Valley in 2013; Cudlee Creek in 2019 and Yumali/Netherton and Freeling in 2020, had the chance to view the recovery efforts on farms and small businesses along the North Coast Road to Stokes Bay and western KI.
Rural Business Support chief executive officer Brett Smith said the tour came about at the request of the KI farmers who had previously toured the Pinery fire ground in 2021.
"They identified that an important ongoing step in their recovery was a reciprocal tour where they could share their unique challenges - and learnings - as they rebuilt after the fire," he said.
"The courage of farmers like Jo and John Symonds, Sam and Helen Mumford, Rick and Annie Morris, Ben and Sabrina Davis, Steven Childs and Simon Kelly was inspirational -ordinary people who have overcome often extraordinary challenges."
Ben Davis said his family originally joined the 2021 Pinery tour to see what people had done following a disaster, what changes they had implemented and where they were at five years on.
"I didn't expect to have such profound conversations around insurance and take-home incredible learnings that normally aren't mentioned in official bushfire recovery communication," he said.
"We chose to be involved in the KI tour 2023 because we got so much value from our visit and believed someone else could benefit from hearing about our journey.
"Even years on, you can see how much of an effect a disaster can have and still has on people.
We are all experiencing a similar range of emotions and more needs to be done to help people and deal with the psychological impact."
Sabrina Davis said the chance to see Pinery, five years on, came while they were "in the depth of disaster recovery" and was a chance to get away.
"The experience gave us great hope and confidence that we can work through challenging times individually and as a community and come out stronger at the other end," she said.
"Affected farmers opened their properties and homes to us with welcoming arms.
"They authentically shared their lived experience, inspiring many of us from KI to follow suit with some amazing projects.
"It was very important to KI people to return the favour and give back in a way that could uplift others and connect to other disaster-affected communities."
READ MORE:
David Fatchen was involved in the Pinery fire and said the tour was a "wonderful experience".
"It was valuable to all of us to share and see evidence of improvement in approach and response to these unfortunate occurrences," he said.
"We will continue to be inspired by the stories and people we met."
Kangaroo Island Council mayor Michael Pengilly said the tour was a powerful step in the continuing work to rebuild their farming communities.
"By bringing South Australian fire impacted farmers together in a safe space to share their experiences, RBS has raised awareness of the impact of long-term trauma and the need for ongoing community connection and mental health support," he said.
Funding for the tour was provided by grants from the NAB Foundation and the State Emergency Relief Fund, together with PIRSA and the Red Cross.