WITH almost 6000 Facebook followers, Liverpool Plains Youth is not going to sit quietly and wonder what’s happening – they’re going to make things happen.
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The group of young farmers from the fertile blacksoil plains is busy finalising dates for a rally in Sydney next month, in conjunction with the Caroona Coal Action Group.
Their aim is to stop Shenhua Watermark’s open-cut coal mine on the Liverpool Plains from going ahead.
“We have a change.org petition we want to present to Parliament and we will most likely team up with NSW Farmers at AgQuip,” Liverpool Plains young farmer Sarah Hubbard said.
“We’ll be going into the shed with them and are looking at ways to raise some money for our fighting fund.”
One idea Miss Hubbard said the group was looking into was creating a range of merchandise, such as caps and T-shirts, to sell to help spread the word.
“We’re getting into some prototype logos, so we can kick the fundraising into high gear for our campaign,” she said.
The group’s Facebook page was only established in February this year and has already attracted thousands of followers.
Miss Hubbard has dreams of one day taking over her parents’ blacksoil-rich Spring Ridge property and believes the Breeza mine is simply in the wrong place.
She said her group had grave concerns for the impact mining could have on the region’s precious groundwater resources.
“The Liverpool Plains has one of the highest percentages of young farmers in any area in Australia, due to its ability to generate such magnificent crops,” she said.
“If we’re unable to generate that 20 years down the line, it creates a lot of issues for young farmers when that’s what they’ve known their whole lives.”