For months Jani Klotz has been trying rebuild her and her children’s lives after fire exploded in the gully beside her dream Tathra home.
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The dirt where her home once stood has been left dry and devoid of any moisture or life, with the threat of erosion further damaging her and her neighbours’ properties.
Ms Klotz’s rebuild began this week with the planting of more than 1000 native plants to help heal the burnt soil.
“It’s taken a long time to reestablish our daily lives,” Ms Klotz said.
“Nurturing our home back to life is the beginning of the next phase.
“It feels so exciting.”
More than 1000 plants of various native species were planted in just a few hours on Tuesday, with the help of Tathra Lions Club members and volunteers.
It was the club’s first job of the rebuilding process to not involve clearing debris.
“It’s terrific, but it’s just a start,” club member Rex Kermode said.
Ms Klotz said her new home will be built using the same design used 25 years ago, except steel rather than timber will be used.
She spent hours attempting to save the uniquely built home from flying embers on March 18, before the immensity of the blaze sank in and a red glow appeared over the hill of Tathra Reserve behind her property.
“We’ll bring back some of the rainforest plants, this is the first stage, just to stabilise the ground,” she said.
“I know this will all grow back and it will be a beautiful rainforest again.”
Ms Klotz sifted through the dry dirt with her daughter Lexie, reorienting themselves with what used to be, and trying to identify oddly shaped pieces of metal left where her home once stood.
It has been a testing time for the entire town, she said, as people plan their futures and slowly overcome the traumatic experiences they all share.
“When it was all rubble and tourists were coming and looking, it was difficult,” she said.
Also helping was friend and landscape gardener John Plumb and his colleague Corey Mitchell.
“It’s an emotional moment, because there’s some negativity around what’s been lost, it’s like a hill she’s been climbing,” Mr Plumb said.