A team of eight Primary Industry students from Manilla Central hit the road to Tingha on a mission to mend fences, as well as emotions alongside the BlazeAid team.
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The team of Year 12 kids, along with teacher Justin Connors, spent five days rebuilding fences on private properties that were severely impacted by the Tingha bushfires last February.
The group was split up into teams alongside locals and other volunteers, with the eight of them collectively replacing over one-kilometre of fencing over five days. However, the excursion was about a whole lot more than that, according to Mr Connors.
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"We only might have changed a little bit of the physical environment, but we changed a lot of the emotional environment and made some really valuable connections," he said.
"The kids learnt about volunteering, community and exactly what disaster is, and what it looks like.
"The farmers need a lot more than fences, but we helped get them started and back on track, and that interaction really rubs off on the students."
Along with the life lessons, also came some valuable curriculum lessons, with the Primary Industry students easily completing the 70 hours of work placement necessary for the HSC, as well as ticking off subject aspects like fencing competency and electric fencing competency.
"We were really welcomed and appreciated by the Tingha community, and were put up by Gilgai Public School as well," Mr Connors said.
"It was a really good trip for this group of students - they learnt a lot."