Eighty-three year old farmer Wendy Bowman returned to the Hunter Valley this week after just winning the international Goldman Environmental Prize!
Wendy won this global prize in recognition of her victory against Yancoal’s proposed South East Open Cut coal mine, which would have cut open rich farmland, including her farm, and put downstream water users at risk in the Hunter region of New South Wales.
Wendy refused to sell her farm to Yancoal, and the mine has not been able to proceed as a result.
I wanted to share this lovely video of Wendy’s acceptance speech for the prize last week, and let you know that I’ll be heading out to visit and congratulate her in person soon. Would you like to write a short message for me to take out to her?
I wanted to share this lovely video of Wendy’s acceptance speech for the prize last week, and let you know that I’ll be heading out to visit and congratulate her in person soon. Would you like to write a short message for me to take out to her?
I’ve known Wendy for more than ten years and she has been a tireless defender of the rich alluvial soils of the Hunter Valley and the farming communities that thrive here.
Wendy has not only drawn a line in the sand to protect her own place, she is an incredibly generous matriarch in our region and always supports other communities that find themselves in the path of destructive coal mines.
I will be printing all the messages out and giving them to her in person next Saturday, 13th May.
It’s a great pleasure to see Wendy rewarded for her commitment to protecting land and water. It reminds us that one person can have an enormous impact, and that when we all work together, anything is possible.
Let’s take Wendy's win as an inspiration to redouble our efforts to defend our communities and the natural environments we depend on.
Thanks very much,
Steve Phillips
Hunter region coordinator
Lock the Gate Alliance
Lock the Gate AllianceHunter region coordinator
Lock the Gate Alliance
http://www.lockthegate.org.au/
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