Stories From: Bushfire

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.

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.

A green roof, with soil and a vegetation layer, reduces energy use, boosts biodiversity and reduces bushfire risk. Read about a home in Linden where the owners have enjoyed the benefits of their green roof for over 30 years.

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.

In Lithgow, the once common call of the Gang Gang Cockatoo has become a rarity. On Threatened Species Day 2023, Lithgow and Oberon Landcare volunteers banded together at Farmers Creek to see what could be done to address their decline.

Architect Simon Anderson and his partner Kim Bell-Anderson designed and built an off-grid, fire-resistant home in the Megalong Valley. Explore the property, see how they did it and get tips on how to make your own home fire resistant and more sustainable here.  

Margaret Gough ran a WIRES animal refuge for more than two decades, was District Commissioner for Scouts in the Blue Mountains, and coordinated the Lithgow Community Centre for a decade. Her home was burnt in Mount Victoria during the 2013 fires, but she’s rebuilt and is now more prepared. She continues to nurture the diverse life on ‘her patch’.  

The Long-nosed Bandicoot is back in the Lower and Mid Mountains, and many residents are rejoicing at having visits from these furry friends. Find out about the benefits they bring and how to create a bandicoot-friendly garden here.

The preparation and resilience shown by the Blue Mountains community in the 1994 bushfires helped create Fire and Rescue NSW’s Community Fire Unit (CFU) program. Meet the Blue Mountains-based head of the Statewide program and a dedicated CFU member in Winmalee.

As we rethink how to live in a warming world, building designers like Kirstie Wulf in Hazelbrook are exploring new fire-resistant building materials like hempcrete. In 2015 Kirstie received the National Building Designers Association Award for her first hempcrete home and she’s been designing them ever since.