I was born and schooled in the Upper Derwent Valley, so your could easily consider me a lifelong resident of the area.

During my career as a rural nurse I had the honour of working for and with my community for four decades. My husband and I are now retired and keep ourselves busy enjoying our favourite things – walking, bird watching, exploring, travelling, reading, gardening and just being home.

I love sharing my life with him and all our kinfolk.

I am a step-granny who cooks yummies, tells stories, is a scaredy-cat on slides but likes adventures.

As bush kids supported by the rabbits our father caught and the small acreage his parents had settled in the 1800s, we were introduced to reading by our ex-schoolteacher mother and made socially and politically aware.

I was deeply touched by the American civil rights movement. From that time on I have admired anyone, famous or unknown, who has had the courage to say no to injustice, bad motives or poor judgement.

It is an awesome privilege to stand in a forest which has evolved and grown and renewed and survived through centuries of changing seasons.

It is almost unbelievable to realise that it has been known by countless generations of the human race, and that they kept it safe so that in our brief lifetime we could share it too.

It is daunting to realise that all future generations are depending on us to keep it safe for them.

It is shocking to realise that humans have become so powerful and so arrogant that they can in a few short days reduce such a place to a muddy wasteland.

I feel it is essential for ordinary people to stand up for what they know is important. I hope that one day Tasmania will have wise and farsighted management so that its citizens will no longer have.