Governments

Rain gardens are a brilliant way to manage water runoff. Recently Council teams and contractors collaborated with Sydney Water to create three different types of native rain gardens at Glenbrook Visitor Information Centre, showcasing how sustainability and beauty are the natural features of these innovative but simple water management solutions.

Blue Mountains City Council hosted the local Binfluencer Awards to recognise and reward those who are working to encourage and increase waste avoidance, reusing or recycling in their local communities.

Blue Mountains libraries now stock free-to-borrow ‘My Energy and Water Saver’ kits that Blue Mountains residents can use to assess their homes for energy and water efficiency. Belle Butler borrowed one of the kits and discovered some room for improvement in her Lawson home.

The Forged by Fire Festival was not the ‘usual’ Bushfire recovery or resilience event. Instead of focusing on consequences of fire, the Lithgow City Council event focused on human relationships with fire. Tracie McMahon ran a storytelling booth at the event, asking, what does ‘Forged by Fire’ mean to you? The answers were surprising, uplifting and sobering.

The first Blue Mountains Planetary Health Day was held on 24 February 2024 in Katoomba, and was a huge success with an estimated 600 attendees. With the goal of equipping people with the knowledge and resources to achieve their sustainability goals, the day featured workshops, stalls, activities and much more.

In September each year, rural fire sheds across NSW host Get Ready days to help their communities prepare. We visited the Hartley brigade to learn what you can do to prepare your property and family for fire season.

Most of us have got into the groove around recycling. But what do we do with those items that can’t go in the recycling bin? A new local recycling initiative has soft plastics, old undies and socks, broken tech, plant pots and more, sorted.

In the Black Summer of 2019/2020 many communities in regional and rural areas found out the hard way how vulnerable our communications systems are during disasters. The best way to mitigate this risk is to be prepared, as Lithgow Area residents found out at the recent Telecommunications Roadshow. Here’s what they learned.

Fighting bushfires in rugged, mountainous terrain inaccessible by fire tankers requires considerable skill and endurance. Winmalee’s Bruce Coomer has spent 20 years battling fires deep in the bush as a volunteer remote area firefighter. He shares his experiences with writer Julie Nance.

Bushcare's bimonthly Weed Walk and Talk in Hazelbrook is attracting both young and old to learn more about protecting our bushland. Getting rid of weeds supports biodiversity and reduces fire risk by maintaining healthy native bush with less fuel. Volunteers are also joining the group to meet people and do something for the environment.