LIKE the rest of the residents in Wingecarribee shire, I received a newsletter from the council last week asking about my vision for the Southern Highlands in 2031.
IN 2031, all being well, I will have lived in Wingecarribee Shire for 81 years and, unlike a few grumpy people around town, I still reckon we live in a mighty fine district.
Sure there have been a lot of changes, but the old Berrima District has always been a fantastic place to live, visit, work and raise a family.
I am lucky enough to have seen a lot of this amazing planet over the years and as much as I love to travel into strange lands I am always eternally grateful to live in such a pleasant, green, well watered and peaceful place as the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
LAST week I went for a walk out into the bush beside the Wingecarribee River in the Berrima Reserve.
I sat on a rock and watched a platypus foraging for food. It was quiet, with the only noise a gentle chattering of parrots feeding in the huge eucalypts above.
There was an autumn crispness in the air and the sky was clear.
I spent a couple of hours there and as I headed back home through Berrima couldn’t resist stopping in at the bakery for a pie - a chicken and mushroom pie.
I wandered off along the Stonequarry Track and found another rock overlooking the Wingecarribee River where I sat to eat my pie as I watched the river flow through a gentle rapid on its way downstream.
The pie was delightful and that rock was the best restaurant table you could ever want.
As I sat there I couldn’t help thinking that we live in a stunning district with so many hidden treasures like this pleasant walk beside the river just minutes from the Berrima Pub.
AND that’s what I want to be doing in 2031...
That’s my vision - sitting on a rock overlooking a river when I am 81, eating a chicken and mushroom pie, while listening to the birds chortling overhead, spotting a lizard scurrying after an insect and watching a platypus in the pool below, while water trickles peacefully over the rocks. A simple pleasure maybe, but for me, that’s gold.
BEYOND that rock, my vision would also to see the Southern Highlands Shire (that’s what it will be called in 2031) retain its patchwork of varied landscapes, dotted with towns and villages, each with their own individual character.
Our natural bushland will be healthy and the water quality in our rivers and waterways will be superb.
Socially we will see fit, healthy, happy, positive, creative, energetic kids with strong values who are able, wherever possible, to walk or ride a bike safely to school each day.
Economically I see a successful enterprise zone in Moss Vale and a prosperous business community filled with a variety of interesting jobs and I see a couple of vibrant new well planned villages like Renwick to help handle the inevitable growth.
Governance would be strong and ethical. There will no longer be state governments, with their traditional functions gradually farmed off to the Federal Government and a strengthened regional government.
MANY more people will be growing food in their backyards and on local farms, while there will be a noticeable shift in focus from wasteful consumerism to an emphasis on creating a more self reliant community that supports local business and consumes more local seasonal produce.
I see people building smaller energy efficient houses and I see producers of waste being responsible for the disposal of waste.
Energy consumption will have dropped here by 2031 with more solar power, wind generation and a network of recreational pathways across the shire allowing many more people to hop on their bike or walk whenever possible.
BUT that’s enough of my vision. There is plenty more I’d like to see, but more importantly, what is your vision? Don’t tell me, but do tell the council because you won’t get a better opportunity to have your say about the place you would like future generations to inherit.
Geoff Goodfellow has lived his life in the Southern Highlands and is well known in local sporting and social circles.
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