Tag Archives: Sustainability

Rowe teaching in Kabul, Afghanistan After its development in Tasmania in 1978, Permaculture has become one of Australia’s most successful exports. Practitioners are now certified in more than 140 countries and Katoomba resident, Rosemary Morrow, co-founder of the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute, has been one of the pioneers responsible for this global uptake.   This week young people (aged 16+) …

  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 …

Students from Blackheath Public School Stage two Blackheath Public School students could hardly contain their excitement today as they were the first people EVER to cultivate the endangered species Zieria Covenyi. They’ve spent the last few weeks learning about biodiversity and endangered species, and the important role they are now playing to protect this endangered plant. Only around 2000 of …

Lucas Trihey from Event Safety Services On the edge of the Simpson Desert, 35 km from the nearest town, lies the bed of an ancient, dried-out lake which every July becomes home to the Big Red Bash, the largest remote music festival in the world. The festival has featured well-known artists such as Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes and Missy Higgins. Now …

Students and teachers in the Permaculture Design and Social Enterprise Project The Blue Mountains has long told the story of how its young people are forced to leave the Mountains to study and work, primarily because there haven’t been enough opportunities for them there. But that story may now be about to change! Led by The Big Fix, a broad …

  Blackheath businesses have been proactive in the ‘War on Waste’. In 2016, Blackheath became the world’s first town to agree to phase out plastic straws – still a ‘work in progress’. The community and businesses have also supported Boomerang Bags and are working to reduce the use of plastic bags. To tackle organic waste, the Wattle Cafe, Blackheath General …

Blackheath Public School – Sidney Edwards To make a change in one’s life takes effort, but to make change in your community takes a certain kind of courage – the courage to stand for something, and to back up your stand with action. As viewers saw when War on Waste aired on the ABC, some actions are big, others not …

Matt Hodge – Business Manager at Mountains Christian College Set in one of the most coveted locations in the Blue Mountains, overlooking the magnificent Kanimbla Valley, Mountains Christian College is very conscious of its environmental impact. It was the first school in Blackheath to say no to plastic straws, and in November last year it installed a 99.84kW solar system. …

Photo by Margaret Ryan Imagine an initiative that helps to reduce the devastating environmental impact of plastic while also building community, teaching new skills and upcycling materials. Boomerang Bags is doing all that and more, and it’s arrived in the Mountains. Boomerang Bags first began on the Gold Coast in 2013. It addresses the problem of plastics at a grassroots level by engaging communities of volunteers to make cloth shopping bags out of upcycled materials. The …

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 …