After months of bushfires ravaging the landscape of Australia, some newly emerged photographs are bringing hope.
Whilst fires rage on, a woman from New South Wales, Australia, has visited an affected area not far from where she lives and has noticed new signs of life.
Mary Voorwinde from Kulnura, took a trip to woodland just 5km away from her home that was recently burned badly and noticed shoots of fauna sprouting from charcoal black tree trunks that look dead from fire.
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Mary, 46, felt urged to explore charred landscapes with a friend after the wildfire had passed to see the impact and was pleasantly surprised to see signs of life.
She calls it a message of hope from nature that all is not lost.
The fires, which have been burning since September, have killed at least 24 people so far and burned 6.3 million hectares of bush, forest and parks, according to the BBC, thanks to hot droughts and strong winds causing rapid spread.
Heartbreakingly, an estimated 480 million animals have also been killed in the blaze
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Mary claims her own home was just 5km from being burned and has had to deal with the impacts of smoke inhalation for months.
But while things look hopeless, Mary, has had her spirits raised to see nature fighting back even in such devastating circumstances.
Her pictures show pink leaves beginning to shoot from singed trunks, while others show trees looking virtually untouched by the fire despite being surrounded by burned branches.
Mary commented: "I was overwhelmed in the way I saw nature just come to life after about three to four weeks. It was actually a sense of hope that I felt.
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"There was one particular image which has all the charred bark on it and you can see the growth and the red bark which sits underneath it.
"It's almost like a shell. That to me is a powerful image because that conveys nature's resilience. In any catastrophe we build resilience. It was a message of hope.
"We spent hours on this photographing and exploring. We have been overwhelmed because not far from where we live have been all the fires.
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"We haven't been directly impacted by them but we've been dealing with the smoke for the last three months.
"It's certainly been around and very close to us and our community.
"It's close to work, in the city. It's everywhere."
She also added that Christmas hasn't been very celebratory this year, when so many lives had been lost throughout the country.
"All we wanted to do was convey hope in the face of months and months of tragedy and heartache and sadness," she added.
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"Nature is sending us a message that there is hope after such a devastating event."
If you'd like to help support those affected by the fires, there are a number of charities and organisations you can donate to, including the World Wildlife Fund, the Australian Red Cross, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Wildlife Warriors.
Chris Hemsworth recently donated £520k ($1million AUD) to the cause.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: Life, Real Life, Australia, Nature