The Country Women’s Association is known for selling scones and crafts at kerbside stalls, but is less known for being one of the largest lobby and environment activist groups in Australia. There are local branches in Glenbrook, Leura and Blackheath.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.

Visiting Belgian medical graduate Louis Wauters reports on the recent visit by medical students from the Rural Clinical School of Notre Dame University to the Blue Mountains Planetary Health precinct in Katoomba, and what they learnt about the connection between human health and planetary health.

Blackheath Public School is providing hands-in-the-dirt lessons on how the students can make their school more sustainable. Students will soon be eating spinach and cheese scrolls made by the canteen using garden produce.

What do tea, samurai clans, William McArthur, Benjamin Franklin, Vietnam and the Botanic Gardens at Mount Tomah have in common? Read on to explore the way camellias and cultures are woven together and why it’s important we think about conserving biodiversity as a global project implemented at a local level.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.

Mushrooms are a hot topic at the moment with more and more research illuminating the essential role these organisms play in the health of the planet as well as the significant health and medicinal benefits they hold for humans. Belle Butler visited local mushroom grower, Alex Felix, at his farm in Lawson to talk about the mighty mushroom.

On the last Sunday of March 2024 the car park at Springwood Train Station was transformed into a vibrant community space with food stalls, art opportunities and live music. Tamsyn McGrouther reports on the event.

A small group of Blue Mountains women is helping local women survive and thrive and also contributing to improve maternal and newborn survival in developing countries. Assembling birthing kits for women in remote locations is just one of the many ways the Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains is empowering and supporting women, both abroad and at home.

Sal Isaksen, owner of Sal-On in Katoomba, is making a stand against fast fashion and its environmental impacts. Visit her store and hear her story in this piece by volunteer writer Camille Walsh.