$25,000 bushfire grant will get kids back in play

Residents in a small town southwest of Sydney are planning to rebuild their school playground with a $25,000 bushfire grant.

Rory Boys, Lawrence Coyte and Georgia Hale lead fellow Buxton Public School students celebrating the school’s $25,000 playground grant. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Residents of a bushfire-ravaged town thought it was a miracle when their school was spared from last summer’s intense bushfires — only for its singed buildings to be vandalised within days of the firestorm passing.

Residents in Buxton, a small town about 100km southwest of Sydney, are planning to rebuild after the Buxton Public School’s playground was incinerated in the Green Wattle Creek blaze.

President of the Parents and Citizens Association Natalie Boys said many “devastated’’ students lost their backyards and play equipment in the fire, including her own, Ella, 8, and Rory, 6.

“It was devastating for the kids going through the fires at home, but then they had to cope with the fires at school and the vandalism as well,” Ms Boys said. “They had been practising fire drills — it was on their minds.’’

They have received a helping hand in their quest to rebuild the beloved playground, after $25,000 was donated to their cause by the News Corp Bushfire Fund and Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.

The school is one of 21 community groups across Australia awarded a share of $1m to help bring back their “spirit” through local projects and “move on as a stronger community”.

Ms Boys said the grant would be used to build a “bigger and better” playground, equipped with boardwalks, rope climbing and stepping logs. “It’s an eco-friendly playground and, where we’re placing it, it will blend in with the surrounds. There will be walking logs to balance along and spider climbing ropes, it’s quite big. We are a rural school so it really fits in with the environment.”

She said the funding would help the school complete the playground about three months ahead of schedule.

“It’s something to look forward to after loss,” she said. “It’s not just for the kids now, it’s for the kids in the years to come to enjoy the playground.”

More than $350,000 was awarded in the first round of grants announced to not-for-profit and community groups in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

News Corp Australia’s community ambassador Penny Fow­ler said the grant relief money would help locals recover and create stronger communities.

“Communities in regional and rural Australia have been hit by so much devastation this year,” Ms Fowler said.

“We are delighted to provide some hope and bring the spirit back into communities with these bushfire grants. These projects will go a long way towards helping locals rebuild, recover and move on as a stronger community.”

The Black Summer bushfires burned 35 million hectares, killed 33 people including three volunteer firefighters and destroyed more than 3000 homes.