Diary of a Flood Survivor

We met our new neighbours over the weekend.

That may not seem like a big deal anywhere else, but when your neighbourhood has gone through a massive food, for new people to consider living in the area brings with it a mountain of hope.

Hope that the community will be flled with people again, hope that life will get back to normal and hope that it will not be so ominously quiet due to the empty houses that were not renovated and are no longer liveable.

Since the food I can count three brand new houses that have been built in the area, and now four when our neighbours are fnished with their project.

While we have seen a number of renters come into the town, which in itself is a good sign, it’s the home-owners who are willing to make our village their forever place that has lifted our spirits.

While the buy-back scheme is a great idea for those whose homes were in the path of last year’s food and possible future inundations, it leaves gaps in a community, like a lovely smile with missing teeth.

I have heard rumours of a number of buy backs in my street alone, so it makes me wonder, if the gossip is true, how that will look once all the formalities have gone through.

So to fnally meet the people who will be erecting a house on the empty block we have lived next door to for more than 13 years is an exciting development.

A couple of other houses have elected for raising, which I fnd fascinating as they were already two storey homes.

Could these be Woodburn’s frst high rises?

At Southern Cross Care NSW & ACT, we want to support you to stay living at home, active and connected within your community. If you’re aged 65 years and over, or Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander aged 55 years and over, why not enquire about how home support services could assist you.

Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) is a leading not-for-profit aged care provider that has been caring about people for more than 50 years.

We provide a comprehensive range of personalised, flexible services to help keep you living at home.

“We have a fairly big yard, I’ve tried to keep it nice. The Southern Cross Care team have organised mowing the lawns for me. Gardening makes me feel a lot better. It keeps the mind active.”

– Home Care Client Bill

“I like going to the pool. I’ve noticed it’s easier for me to get up and down, and I’m walking a bit easier.”

– Home Care Client Judith

It’s tough as a climate warrior

Title: Tough is not

Enough

Author: Steve Posselt

Price: $19.95

Publisher: Ebono Institute

Publishing

By Samantha Elley

If we all had the passion for what was important to us as Steve Posselt has in ghting climate change, who knows how much better the world would be. Depends on what you are passionate about, I guess. Hot o the back of his marathon kayak trip down the Murray-Darling River from Brisbane to Adelaide in 2007, to raise awareness of the state of our rivers, Steve knows more needs to be done.

As an engineer in the water industry he knows rivers are our lifeblood and if we are going to leave the planet in a decent state for our grandchildren, awareness, hopefully leading to action, needs to be raised.

For this reason, in 2015 he starts to plan an epic trip across three conti-