Carmarthenshire’s Community Strategy, which was published in 2004, is being revised this year. The Strategy brings together an agreed vision for the future of Carmarthenshire – one that the council, public and private sectors, voluntary and community sectors and the Welsh Assembly Government can help deliver by working together, planning together and doing together. It is the over-arching long-term plan for the area which should influence everything the partner organisations do! The Strategy has a number of ‘pillars’: Safer Communities, Lifelong Learning, Regeneration, Health and Well being and the Environment.

In revising the strategy the Partnership is keen that everyone has an opportunity to set the vision for 2020 and is conducting a series of consultation and engagement exercises to ensure that the public has an opportunity to express their viewpoints.

It is important that as many viewpoints as possible are received, including those on the environment. Many people regard their environment as the built environment around them and make comments about litter, dog fouling, chewing gum and vandalism. We need to make people more aware of the importance of our natural environment. It is important that in any long-term vision for Carmarthenshire that the natural environment does get left out – recycling, energy, transport are big issues (and rightly so) but Carmarthenshire's natural environment is threatened and cannot be taken for granted.

So, imagine yourself in the year 2020. How do you want Carmarthenshire’s natural environment to look and be regarded by everyone? Be bold, imaginative and creative. Forget about the boring and the ordinary – the Partnership wants big ideas, big ambition!

My headline: Biodiversity Officer takes early retirement – the county’s natural environment is in good shape!!

Go to www.thecarmarthenshirepartnership.org.uk and fill out an online form.