Stories From: Community

Six Blue Mountains artists take strikingly different approaches to expressing ecological emotions associated with fire, flood and pandemic.

Hamish Dunlop visits Sonters Fern Nursery in Winmalee. David Sonter tells him how the 2013 Winmalee fire destroyed the nursery and spore bank, and of its recovery with a lot of community help.

Leura’s Harvest Festival made a joyful return this year after three years of reluctant hibernation. Volunteer Adele Cannella tells us how the event brings the community together and showcases the Blue Mountains.

In April the Maldhan Ngurr Ngurra Lithgow Transformation Hub launched its first citizen science activity for 2023: the Lake Pillans BioBlitz. I spoke with Alice Blackwood, ecologist and Field Technician at Western Sydney University about citizen science and their findings at Lake Pillans.

What goes on under all those poly-tunnels at Lithgow & District Community Nursery? Get the low down here.

Zig Zag Railway is open again after series of disasters. How does a team of volunteers keep coming back, despite so many adversities ?

In the heart of Katoomba, tucked away behind the Uniting Church, is a well-stocked tool library where you can borrow a whole range of quality power and hand tools. Explore Toolo with Liz Durnan here.

Sick of the city commute, Emma Madison created Indy Mtns, a bright, airy co-working space above Springwood’s main street. Read her story here.

A ‘Battle of the Bands’ may conjure up fierce rivalries and competitive theatrics, but contestants and audiences at the 2023 MYST Youth Festival last month, were bound by mutual awe at the exceptional talent on display.

In this series of events to restore the songlines of the Seven Sisters across Australia, seven song women from Uluru visited the Blue Mountains to return ancestral knowledge to over 40 women and children who came from east coast mobs living in an area ranging from Queensland to the South Coast.