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  It’s hard not to be biased about what a great place Blackheath is, and to not boast that it’s possible to go for months without even leaving the place! In a community that has almost everything, we even have the good fortune to have our own Credit Union. I’m particularly thrilled about the Credit Union structure as a way to keep money circulating ethically, and equitably, …

Helen Proudfoot and Yvonne McCready At 87 and virtually blind, Yvonne McCready does not regard herself as socially isolated or in need of “someone to chat to.” Why would she? Monday to Friday she walks more than 1.3 km from her Blackheath cottage into “town” where she either stops for the community lunch or catches a train to Katoomba for a hot meal. “I meet …

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 …

  Children see things differently. Not only are they a little closer to the ground than your average adult, but so many of the things they encounter are being experienced for the first time. With eyes wide open, their minds absorb every little detail. So when Jacqueline Reid, from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, began working with schoolchildren to …

Blackheath, in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains, Australia, has become the world’s first town in which all the shopfront businesses have agreed to phase out plastic straws. Thirty businesses – all the cafes, restaurants, bakeries, grocery shops, delicatessens, takeaways, service stations and pubs – now display signage indicating that they will only offer straws on request. Some businesses, like The Piedmont Inn, have …

FRONT: Carole Petrie, Murray Reid, Octavia O’Brien, David O’Brien, Gary   BACK: Leah Godfrey, Kelly McMahon, Ron Lyons It’s a bustling Thursday morning at the Blackheath Community Op-shop (BCOS). Volunteers are happily accepting donations of furniture, clothes and boxes of books, and satisfied customers are loading up the same. Passing by the racks of clothes to a large sorting table in the rear, I …

  “There’s a lot of great people doing amazing things in the world and you can be one of them” – Emma Magenta If you’re not sure if you’re powerful enough to change the world, just look at the fact that you’re still alive in a system designed to kill you. You’ve survived this far and congratulations. This is no …

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 …

  For over ten years Lithgow High School Filmmakers have been making award winning films that have been screened all over the world with high regard. Their talented teacher and Blackheath resident, Sean O’Keeffe, has involved these young filmmakers with the wider community and with the Blackheath community in particular … from the multi-award winning “Wind Girl” in 2009, to “Bullets to Buttons” in …

When The Big Fix approached local businesses to see if they’d agree to help Blackheath phase out plastic straws, one common remark was that men rarely use straws … it’s mostly women and children. This triggered an idea that local artist and designer Ian Dalkin developed into a cartoon. It has since become the basis of the Blackheath Gets Real Campaign … …