Community Groups

Photo of Peter Baldwin by Berndt Selheim “He who knows only his own side of a case, knows little of that” – John Stuart Mill The first time I meet Peter Baldwin we are at the Blackheath Philosophy Forum. It’s Saturday afternoon, on the lingering tail of a golden Blackheath autumn, and the community hall is packed. It’s thrilling, in a way, that hundreds of …

Toolo .. If I had a hammer Remember when NASA launched the Hubble and the astronauts had everything they needed EXCEPT a crowbar? That’s the philosophy driving Justin Morrissey and the Katoomba Toolo: if you are out there doing a creative project, you should be able to get your hands on any tool you need. Toolo is a Library of Things, with everything owned …

Mina Howard – HUFF Coordinator   On a hot windy day in Blackheath (perfect fire weather we both agree), I meet Mina Howard for a cup of tea in the Govett Café. In 2009 Mina established something called HUFF and I am there to find out how it works. HUFF, or Heads Up For Fire (and other emergencies), was born in the aftermath of the …

  The tiny village of Bell, on the junction of the Bells Line of Road, Chifley Road and the Darling Causeway, at the most north-western tip of the City of the Blue Mountains, has become a new destination for pilgrims. Carrying rocks all the way from Emu Plains to Bell, on the 7-day Epiphany Pilgrimage, or the Way of the Magi, the pilgrims are commemorating the Christian …

Popes Glen Creek rises in Memorial Park, close to the town centre of Blackheath, then flows east for about 4km through Popes Glen Bushland Reserve and into the Grose River. Over decades this beautiful interface between the town and the Blue Mountains National Park had suffered the effects of polluted urban stormwater inundating a natural system, and had become a …

Photo by Trish Davies   To devote yourself to the community is an extraordinary thing. How does it happen? For Simon Hare it started with his family motto: “be curious, try everything and learn everything you can”. In Simon’s family people were just human animals and animals were people too: their menagerie of a donkey, chickens, cats, guinea pigs, geese and two …

  Recently The Big Fix launched its first Youth Cafe in Blackheath … a space for 14-18 year olds to gather on a Wednesday night to socialise, get inspired, and collaborate on tackling both local and global issues that concern them. Two of the members recently trained as barristas, so there’s no shortage of fabulous hot chocolates on the night. …