There can be five tramping fatalities every year in New Zealand. For those who attempt to save people or recover bodies, it’s part of the job, but the scars can be lasting.

Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) national health, safety and wellbeing advisor Nicky Hansen said two programmes to protect its 3500-plus volunteers’ mental health already existed: a member wellbeing course included within training, and regular wellbeing checks through an outside counselling service.

“Members have their own resilience training, then we have professional help at the other end, but we didn’t have anything in the middle,” Hansen said. “So we’re setting up a new peer support network. We have a bunch of people keen to be support leaders – they’ve been out on searches and understand what the members are going through.

“There’s a huge range of experience from the people who have put their hand up. It’s about people knowing that there is somebody there who is going to listen to them and who understands.”