Five years on and the clearing Joe left is slowly being filled by a diverse new understory of farmers, teachers, artists, cooks, volunteers, children, weed-daters and eaters of all kinds.

The cold and wet past six weeks we’ve just had has got local tomato growers wondering if their fruit will ever ripen. But blackberries? They’re on.

Working together, taking the climate-grief we’re suffering as individuals and turning it into collective action.

On Thursday afternoon the cars began arriving at Christine and Chris Watts’ Paynesville farm. All of us have been drawn here by the desire to help out after the fires.

A shared, low-tech solution requiring a small but powerful change in the way we grow our food and fibre.

The challenge for people after the fires”, she points out, “is going to be the ongoing trauma. After all the initial attention fades people will feel forgotten – that’s why we need to keep coming together to heal.”