Living on a farm near Jerrys Plains since 2012, Louise Stokes has witnessed first hand, the impacts of coalmining on her community and the local environment.
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She only has to check the water filter on her tank to see the accumulation of black coal dust that has landed on her roof and then washed into that tank to know air quality remains a serious health issue for anyone living near those mines.
Air quality and how extreme weather events impact lives and infrastructure are just two of the reasons why she decided to stand as a councillor for Singleton Council in this year's local government elections to be held in September.
She will be the first Greens candidate to stand for Singleton Council and the first person in the Upper Hunter to seek a council position as a Greens at their first attempt. The former Upper Hunter Shire Greens councillor Sue Abbott, first stood as an independent, and was elected as a Greens member for her second term on Council.
Ms Stokes is a high school teacher having worked in the Upper Hunter for a number of years and that is another reason she is seeking elected office, to work towards a better future for young people.
"I have two teenage sons and I am standing not only for them but for all young people who need to know we care about their futures and are prepared to work for a better environment by tackling issues like air quality, climate change, and social and affordable housing," she said.
"We live in shire at the coalface of these issues and I want to try and do something constructive at a local government level."
Originally from Tenterfield she and her husband Bryan Chapman spent nine years living in Darwin .
During that time they experienced five cyclones.
"Living through a cyclone means you understand the power of the weather and the fact you cannot hold back that weather - so prevention is better than cure when it comes to climate change," she said.
"Singleton's infrastructure is already being impacted, for example we have new bridges being built supposedly well above flood levels only to see them go under in weather like 2015 and 2022 floods.
"We must act immediately to protect our community."
Her sons are the fifth generation of Chapmans to have lived on their farm at Apple Tree Flat.
When Doyles Creek coalmine was proposed to go under the farm in 2008 it prompted her and Bryan's decision to make the move back to Jerrys Plains to assist her late father-in-law Doug Chapman on the farm and to fight against the mine ever gaining approval.
The awarding of the Doyles Creek mine exploration licence went first to an Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing and then a criminal trial. The mine never went ahead and for Ms Stokes that was the correct outcome.
That experience and the failure of last year's Voice referendum convinced her of the need to take action now rather than say this is all too hard.
"If we act now I believe we can make a difference," she said,
Louise Nichols
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
