Community Groups

Take a tour of the Gang Gang Farmers Market in Lithgow, meet some stallholders and whet your appetite for their Spring re-opening.

The story of Lithgow Environment Group is a saga spanning nearly two decades of their heroic struggle against fire, local habitat destruction, weak government legislation and in particular, irresponsible mining practices.

Intergenerational play is creating connection, changing lives and inspiring young and old in Blackheath. Hamish Dunlop visited a play session to experience the fun and joy that intergenerational play brings to all involved.

Boomerang Bags Blue Mountains is part of a global, grassroots movement replacing single-use plastic bags with sustainable recycled fabric alternatives: one sewing bee at a time. The volunteers were hard at work when Belle Butler visited the group to find out more.

Take a tour of the community farms in Blackheath where you'll find alpacas, compost to die for, hundred-year-old ‘Shipley’ apple trees, native bees, friendly faces, wonky tomatoes, life philosophies and much, much more.

“At first, I thought this wouldn't have been my thing but that one day changed that. I encourage everyone to seriously give this a go and see what the outcome is.” Mikayla Chadwick

The community-driven post-fire recovery of Bell, Clarence and Dargan is extraordinary. Its success goes against what was believed to be possible. Find out how they did it here.

Growing fruit and vegetables is immensely gratifying, but doing it consistently well is hard: and that’s where Community Gardens are an invaluable resource. Visit Mid Mountains Community Garden with Belle Butler to dig deeper.

The Black Summer bushfires were devastating in Lithgow. Where once there was birdsong and rustling eucalypts there was silence and sticks. Many asked, “What can we do to help?” Lithgow Environment Group was listening, and together with Lithgow Area Women’s Shed, they did something: they created habitat for endangered Eastern Pygmy Possums.

Food wastage is one of the biggest problems in the developed world, contributing to landfill, climate change and food insecurity, but in the Lower Blue Mountains a number of organisations are finding ways to reduce food waste while helping locals access delicious fresh food and slash their grocery bills.