A group of jobseekers who wanted to help farmers with the enormity of the task at hand after Cyclone Gabrielle have spent the past four months fixing fences on farms around the Tararua district.

The Enhanced Taskforce Green cyclone recovery work team, established in June, will wrap up at the end of November after its period of operation was extended for farmers across the district who still needed help.

On-farm clean-up co-ordinator Simon Hales was tasked with organising a response through the Rural Support Trust, and put together groups of volunteers to work on the clean-up.

Through this, he decided a dedicated team was needed for recovery on farms in the region, and worked with the Ministry of Social Development to set this up to connect with jobseekers.

Hales said it was hard to find willing people to go the extra mile to help farmers in eastern Tararua, who were faced with the daunting task of on-farm clean-up and repairs.

Hales’ solution, the six-strong team known now as the Enhanced Taskforce Green workers, have since helped 39 farms and become a trusted part of the community clean-up.

The work has also been able to help jobseekers, through the Ministry of Social Development, secure fulltime work.

Hales has a strong rural connection - within the first week after the cyclone, he had visited over 500 affected farms - and he was able to convince those who were reluctant to ask for help.

In the beginning, the team was able to get to properties and assist farmers with debris removal on fences and in rivers.

This progressed and, under the supervision of Mike Brock, they developed their skills and are now able to complete a new fence.

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The Enhanced Taskforce Green Team (from left): Freedom Wolley, Tangiwai Martin, Jayne Tylee (Rural Support Trust), Simon Hales, Mike Brock and farmer Dave Kerr. Photo / Trudy Hales

Hales said the group had worked most days in some challenging conditions while they worked through the winter months.

”I haven’t heard them complain, and they have had to do some tough jobs,” he said.

Part of the programme involves skills training, and they will finish the programme with qualifications that will help them into a permanent job.

The workers are on each farm for two days, and Hales said they aren’t able to fix everything in those days, but more than anything, it is a chance for farmers to see people are there to help.

“It perks them up and gives them a bit of assistance,” he said.

“One of the good things that come out of the cyclone is that people are realising it is okay to ask for help. Hopefully, that will go on once we are out of the recovery,” Hales said.

He said farmers are a “stoic bunch”, and being able to support them had been massively rewarding.

“It takes some people a lot more time to accept they might need help, or some help might be beneficial or just give them a break,” he said.

Farmers are encouraged to reach out to Hales or the Tararua Rural Support Trust to get help before the end of November.

Hales can be contacted through email at [email protected] or over the phone on 027 278 042.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. Michaela covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news, and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.