Planetary Health NewsStrengthening community and restoring the health of our planet.
The Blue Mountains Zine Fair
Estee Sarsfield, who started the Mtns Zine Club in 2022
Visiting the Blue Mountains Zine Fair was exhilarating! On Saturday 29th March it was a grey wet day in Katoomba, but from the moment we stepped out of the lift at the Cultural Centre, we felt as though we’d been hit by an explosion of creativity, warmth, joy and proof that ‘the resistance’ to the destructive forces at play in our world is alive, well and spreading infectiously.
Key Points:
Zines are small, handmade independent ‘magazines’ that are not-for-profit and made for love.
The zine community is creative, inclusive and welcoming.
The Mtns Zine Club meets on the third Sunday of each month from 1.30-3.30pm at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre (27th April this month because of the holidays)
Like our hyperlocal news sites in every neighbourhood, zines offer an alternative to mainstream publishing and news, that’s not-for-profit and made for love!
They are generally small hand-made magazines, but what the Zine Fair demonstrated was that diversity is celebrated in every way in the zine community and that there are many ways to communicate complex ideas and emotions, to express your creativity, and to have fun!
At the Fair there was even an opportunity to participate in creating a collaborative Megazine:
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Zine Fair, which we got our first glimpse of as we stepped out of the crowded lift, was the wide age range of those attracted to zines.
The Fair included 72 tables of zine makers of all ages, and the Cultural Centre was buzzing with young people attracted to the event.
Elka Hay and Marnie Tomczyk
Elka Hay, one of the younger members of the Zine Club, who was demonstrating how she makes her zines at the Fair, is attracted to zine making because “you can do whatever you want. It is really creative.”
As well as very young and first-time zine makers, the Fair also included pioneers of zine culture in Australia like Vanessa Berry, author of Calendar, and the long-running zine series I Am a Camera (2000-present). Her works are held are held in the collections of many zine libraries in Australia and around the world.
The Mtns Zine Club, which organized the event, meets on the third Sunday of each month (but 27 April this month), and attracts between 25 and 40 participants of all ages.
These social meetings are an opportunity to both make and swap zines at the Cultural Centre, with materials and tea and coffee provided, and an opportunity to become part of this welcoming and inclusive creative community.
If you missed the Fair you can always pop in to the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre to pick up a zine from the Zine Dispensary:
Take Action:
Support zine makers by purchasing a zine from the Zine Dispensary at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
Drop in to a meeting of the Mtns Zine Club at the Cultural Centre on the third Sunday of the month to learn more.
Thank you to our food vendors catering Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026! 🌱
🍚 @eatsreallyyummy Eats Really Yummy is a food truck serving delicious Taiwanese-inspired fusion cuisine, bringing bold flavours and creative dishes to the Blue Mountains. Join them at Plate to Planet for a taste of their delicious street-food-style offerings while celebrating the diversity, creativity and community of our local food scene.
🌴 @kokomoislandcafe Based in Wentworth Falls, Kokomo Island Café is a female-owned food trailer bringing vibrant Caribbean flavours to the Blue Mountains. For the Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026, we’ll be serving a delicious menu of vegetarian snacks and dishes made with locally grown Blue Mountains produce, celebrating the region’s incredible growers. Join us for nourishing food, bold flavours, and a day dedicated to community, sustainability, and the remarkable food being grown in our region.
☕ @fidelity.coffee Fidelity curates a rotating selection of exceptional coffees from leading Australian and international roasters. From rare single-origins to innovative processing methods, every coffee is chosen for its unique character and outstanding quality.
🥐 @goodfatpastry Good Fat Pastry creates scrumptious plant based pastries for your enjoyment and donates proceeds to people in need. Do yourself good by eating tasty things. Do others good by supporting their needs.
To view the full program and register your place, visit the event website: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair...
We’re excited to launch the 2026 program and website for PREPARE: Disaster Risk Awareness Expo, hosted by Blue Mountains Planetary Health.
Key event information: 📆Date: Saturday 7 November 🕙Time: 10am - 4pm 🌏Venue: Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba 🪙Cost: Entry free, some sessions ticketed. Registration essential.
Visit the website and register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/host/blue-mountains-planetary-health
Following the success of last year’s event, this year’s Expo will once again bring together the community, emergency services, researchers, local organisations and experts to share practical knowledge and explore how we can better prepare for disasters and build safer, healthier and more resilient communities.
The 2026 program includes a range of interactive workshops, talks and activities, including:
- iFire / UNSW - iFire Immersive Bushfire Simulation - Australian Red Cross - EmergencyRedi workshop - Resilient Blue Mountains - Climate Fresk - Blue Mountains City Council - Hidden hazards before a disaster - WIRES - caring for wildlife during disasters - Blue Mountains City Council - response and recovery after the 2019 / 2020 Black Summer Bushfires
Key emergency services – NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW State Emergency Service and Fire and Rescue will also be on site with vehicles, displays and activities.
Rapid Relief Australia will be providing free food and refreshments throughout the day.
Visit the website and register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/host/blue-mountains-planetary-health
We’re looking forward to seeing you and your families there!...
Looking for a fun, educational and sustainable day out these school holidays?
Come along to Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair in Katoomba on Saturday 10 October, with a line-up of free talks, activities and entertainment for all ages!
🌿 The Importance of Bioregions in Uncertain Times Join permaculture pioneer Rowe Morrow to explore how our land, water, food, energy and communities are connected - and how we can build a more resilient Blue Mountains.
🌱 Discover Old Man Saltbush Get up close to this remarkable native plant with Anne Elliot, and discover its potential as part of a more diverse and resilient food system.
🪱 Have a go at worm farming Learn how easy it can be to turn food scraps into valuable nutrients for your garden - with a hands-on worm farm activity from BMCC.
🎶 Enjoy live music Take a break, relax and soak up the atmosphere while enjoying live music by Olivia Dustmann throughout the day.
🎨 Kids` Corner - all day! Rock painting, crafts and story time, with plenty of fruit and veggie-inspired fun for younger visitors.
Explore local stalls, food, gardens, wildlife, sustainability and practical ideas for creating a more resilient food future.
Entry to the Fair and markets is free, with a range of free and paid sessions and workshops available throughout the day. Some sessions have limited capacity, so registration is recommended.
View the full program and register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
📅 Saturday 10 October | 9am–4pm 📍 Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba...
Join Andris Heks, Yogic Psychotherapist, winner Best Actor, Blue Mountains, for his workshop to laugh as you never laughed before, as part of a movement to globalise people-bonding cheerfulness through kookaburra laughter contagion as an antidote to distressing world divisiveness.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop
View the trailer and the GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/globalise-unconditional-love-through-kookaburra-laughter
Key event information: - When? 10:15AM - 2:30PM, Sunday 4 October 2026 (1st day of Daylight Saving - 1 hour forward) - Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, 33-39 Acacia St, Katoomba, NSW, 2780 - Fee? $60 or what you can afford - Note: please bring your own lunch
What to expect: - Learn how to stay cheerful for good - Learning the funny, human emulated, communal kookaburra laughter and meditation - How communal kookaburra laughter promotes bonding even amongst strangers - The awesome native treasure of the laughing kookaburra phenomenon - Why Kookaburra Yoga is the ‘most excellent of Yogas` - How communal kookaburra laughter contagion boosts the subtle and gross national product - How you could contribute to the kookaburra laughter contagion
This event is supported by Blue Mountains Planetary Health.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop...
Come along to the Planetary Health Centre this Saturday for the next Skill Share Saturdays event!
This weekend`s agenda:
8:30AM - 10AM | Learn how to use your sewing machine class with Sherlie McMillan
8:30AM | Planetary Health Cafe open, serving Good Fat Pastry and Whisk and Pin
9AM - 10AM | Tai Chi and Qigong class with Virginia Field
10AM - 12PM | Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountain permaculture workshop with Leni from Alchemy Farms
10AM - 3PM | Fashion Upcycling Workshop with Sherlie McMillan
10:30AM - 12PM | Learn to make focaccia from scratch with Laura Zucchetti (no experience needed)
1:30PM - 4:30PM | Planetary Health Bushcare with Karen Hising
For more information and to purchase a ticket, please visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
📣HEADLINE SPEAKER📣
Our headline speaker is Julian Cribb AM – a renowned Australian science writer, journalist and author who has spent more than 50 years communicating science, agriculture, climate and global sustainability issues. He is the author of several influential books, including The Coming Famine (2010), Food or War (2019) and How to Fix a Broken Planet (2023), which explore the future of food systems, planetary health and humanity`s long-term survival.
He is widely recognised as one of Australia`s leading voices on global food security and sustainable development.
To register for his talk, and view the rest of the program, visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair...
At our next Skill Share Saturdays event on Saturday 5th September, join Laura Zucchetti at 10:30am to learn how to make focaccia from scratch!
Come along for a 90 min class where you`ll mix, rest and stretch your own focaccia dough from start to finish, guided every step of the way. You’ll take home your dough to bake on the day in your own oven.
Sign up to this session, and view the other offerings on the day via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
We are pleased to announce that the program and registration for Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026 is now live!
Follow this link to view the program and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
Key information:
When? Saturday 10 October, 9AM - 4PM
Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba
Who is it for? Families, gardeners, enthusiasts, community groups and businesses, anyone looking to learn about how to be more resilient through local and sustainable food systems.
What to expect? Talks, workshops, demos, market stalls, family activities, music, food
Is there a cost? Entry to the Fair and Markets is free. Talks and workshops are ticketed (both free and paid) and have limited capacity, so please register in advance.
Program highlights:
🌏Headline talk: The age of renewable Food – Julian Cribb AM 🎋Wild edibles foraging workshops – Diego Bonetto, Eat More Weeds 🏞️The importance of bioregions in uncertain times – Rowe Morrow, Permaculture Matters 🥒Home canning and food preservation workshop – Kirsty Berté, Permaculture Hawkesbury Valley 🏡Designing your own Permaculture Property – Leni Nyssen, Alchemy Farms 🍃Utilising what’s in front of you – Uncle Lex, The Ganya Shed 🪱How to worm farm - BMCC 🎸Live music by Olivia Dustmann 🌾Community crop and seed swap
Tickets are limited so please register your place now: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
We are also seeking stallholders for the event. If you are a grower, retailer, community organisation or business that would like to get involved, please reach out to [email protected]!...
Thank you to everyone that joined us at the Planetary Health Centre on Saturday for the first of our Skill Share Saturdays program!
The Centre was a hive of activity all day, and we heard from @alchemyfarms_permaculture, the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains team and Andy Mann. Also thanks to Sherlie McMillan from Greater Blue Mountains Rotary for teaching the Fashion Upcycling workshop, and Virginia Field for the Tai Chi and Qigong class.
The next event will be held on Saturday 1st August - you can register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
🖐Get involved!
Do you have a skill, program or interest that promotes planetary health that you`d be willing to share with members of the local community? We are looking for more workshop and session hosts for our future events.
Join us at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on the first Saturday of every month for Skill Share Saturdays!
Our July program includes: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Eating for Earth - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion upcycling and clothing reuse workshop - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
If you have a skill that you want to share, or any questions or queries, please contact [email protected]
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place.
Join Andy Mann, a 23 year old Lawson local, for their Eating for Earth session 🌏
Eating for Earth is a judgement-free plant-based educational workshop that all types of eaters are encouraged to attend. There will be a presentation about the environmental impact of diets, a discussion section, and best of all, food! The food will be fully plant-based.
Andy wants to help inform our passionate community about how we can better reduce dietary environmental impact.
The session will run from 11AM - 12PM on Saturday 4th July.
Other sessions include: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains Climate - Fashion Upcycling - Tai Chi and Qigong - Bushcare on the Planetary Health site - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
To register your place, visit our website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
“Every body can help the planet” is the tagline of Earthly Remains, a not-for-profit organisation set up to advocate for human composting as a more sustainable death care option in Australia.
