I am in my 40's and teach English for academic purposes at Sheffield University to overseas students of all nationalities and cultures. I live just outside the ward in a terraced house in Hillsborough and stood as the Green Party candidate in West Ecclesfield in 2006 and 2007. I am the Press Officer for Sheffield Green Party.

I am passionate about the environment and taking action on climate change. I bike to work and use the tram. I am a keen composter and I share two allotments with friends. I shop locally and have a weekly organic box of fruit and vegetables from a local supplier.

Our local communities are under threat and I support the "Living Streets" campaign for residential areas where residents can reach a post office, chemist, bank and a food shop within a 15 minute walk of where they live. Local shopping facilities are vital to the most vulnerable in society such as the elderly and disabled. I fully support the recently passed "Local Communities Sustainability Bill" which will help reverse the trend towards "Ghost Town Britain" with no local shops and services.

Car drivers are frustrated by gridlock with North Sheffield residents struggling to get through hotspots like Hillsborough. We all suffer from traffic pollution and noise. Keeping services local reduces the need to travel. If more journeys were made on foot, bicycle or public transport, it would help essential car users. We need better railways, trams and buses. The Green Party is pushing push for re-regulation of the bus service, public funding of any further routes axed by the commercial operators and more spending on pedestrian crossings.

On the Westwood Country Park wind farm proposal Green councillor Jillian Creasy has commented : "We see wind turbines as iconic symbols of a sustainable future. We must move to renewable energy because fossil fuels are running out. But there are clearly issues for the people who live close by and for the users of Westwood Country Park. We think that the community should be allowed to buy into the project. Energy production is a big, profitable business and local people should have a stake in those profits."