Hamish Dunlop talks with Joe and Merylese Mercieca about the journey from a ‘fibromajestic’ home to their newly completed Passivhaus, and how sustainable design and building methods can support human health and the health of the planet.
Read More »Tag Archives: Water
It Takes a Village to Care for a Creek
Southeast Asian rice paddies are one of the inspirations behind a stormwater treatment initiative at Glenbrook, designed to protect Knapsack Creek and ultimately, the Hawkesbury Nepean River.
Read More »“We’re all in this together”: Towards Community Net Zero
Having been declared a natural disaster area five times in just four years, Blue Mountains City Council is reaching out to all sectors of the community to join in creating a Community Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan.
Read More »The Turtle Saviour
A deep passion for turtles can take you to some interesting places – waist deep in mud one day and onto a movie set the next. Shane Davies leads Turtle Rescues NSW, saving thousands of Australian native freshwater turtles from certain death each year.
Read More »Plants for the Planet’s Sake: The Life and Times of a Bush Doctor
Shane Grundy at Bush Doctor HQ explains how soft engineering techniques are helping rejuvenate swamps and improve water quality in the Blue Mountains.
Read More »Citizen Science at Lake Pillans
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.
Read More »Rooves, Tanks & Rain Gardens: Things We Can Do at Home to Save Water and Help the Environment
Planetary Health Initiative writer Hamish Dunlop talks to Amy St Lawrence from Blue Mountains City Council’s Healthy Waterways Team. Amy explains what she’s doing at her home to collect and use water. She also talks about how her rain garden reduces run-off during and after rainfall.
Read More »Govetts Leap Catchment Group: Collaborating to Protect our Wilderness from Weeds
Keith Brister is on a mission. He and his fellow Bushcare volunteers spent years “achieving the impossible”, protecting Blackheath’s stunning natural bushland, only to see the weeds return when COVID restrictions limited Bushcare. But Keith did not despair. Instead, he asked what else could be done, and set about doing it.
Read More »The Exquisite Sights & Sounds of a Recovering Swamp
Twenty years ago the hanging swamps of North Lawson were being churned up by 4WDs and motorbikes. The passion of local residents saved them - discover their story here.
Read More »Swamp Diaries: A Weedy Bunyip & the Water We Drink
The Swamp Diaries is an initiative of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute. Over 12 months, artists are spending time with precious and endangered upland swamp ecosystems across the Blue Mountains and creatively documenting the flora and fauna they observe.
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