A Tawny frogmouth, often mistaken for an owl. Mat: “They’re beautiful and so well camouflaged.”
Story by Julie Nance, photos and video: Mat van der Aa
Mat van der Aa swapped detonating explosives in the Air Force for life as an outdoor educator and guide. His ‘office’ is the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and his mission is to inspire teenagers to respect and love the bush as much as he does. The lower Mountains resident shares some of his favourite wildlife photos and videos, including his most memorable moment – a Superb Lyrebird mimicking other birds and dancing.
Mat immerses himself in nature every week and enjoys motivating young people to gain the physical and psychological benefits he does.
Mat was having a rough day when he chanced upon a lyrebird on Prince Henry Cliff walk in Katoomba. He had spotted lyrebirds in the bush plenty of times but this was the first time he saw one dance. The biggest bonus was being able to sit and watch its performance for 15 minutes.
“It actually moved me quite a lot,” Mat says. “I was a little bit emotional driving home and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed. It was magical.”
Carol Probets, Blue Mountains birding guide of more than 30 years, explains what the lyrebird is doing in each of the videos:
Video 1: This is a typical stream of mimicry of other bird calls interspersed with the lyrebird’s own territorial song. Other bird calls include Pied Currawong, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Eastern Whipbird, Grey Shrike-thrush and Satin Bowerbird.
Video 2: Male lyrebirds generally display on a scratched-up mound of earth, but they also display on logs and in trees, as this bird is doing. Here, his tail is inverted over his body and spread wide. You can see the right lyrate feather is broken off with only a short stub remaining. A new feather will grow the next time the bird moults. The repeated clicking sound is part of the bird’s normal breeding display and may serve as an invitation to females.
Q and A with Mat
You are a 19-year veteran of both the Army and Air Force, the latter part working in explosive ordinance disposal. That sounds more nerve-racking than your current role.
I wanted to give back to society. Defence around the world has put a lot of explosives out there and I wanted to get rid of at least some of them. It didn’t end up agreeing with my body so I thought of another path and that’s what I’m doing now.
I help facilitate school camps and Duke of Edinburgh programs which involve a hike but at times a paddle too or just a paddle program.
It has an emphasis on service, volunteering, learning new skills and sport. It’s an adventurous journey which basically puts the students outside their comfort zone and builds resilience. I get to have fun and run around in the bush as well. For the school camps I run activities including confidence courses, kayaking, canoeing, bushwalking, abseiling, climbing, a bit of archery and an obstacle course.
Mat climbing in his spare time: “I grew up on a dairy farm in New Zealand. Since moving to the Blueys, I’ve developed a strong appreciation of the Australian bush.”
How important is connecting to nature for you?
It’s integral to good mental health. We’ve come a long way from sticks and stones and having to run our prey down but we didn’t evolve to live inside four walls.
I just know that previously dealing with depression and anxiety, if I’m out in nature it really helps. A Sydney Red Gum loves a good hug and it’s super nice when it’s a really hot day and the tree is quite cool. It’s the same if I’m in a kayak, canoe or on a stand-up board; you realise you are very small in the grand scheme of things. While my problems are very real, they don’t particularly matter a whole lot to everything else that’s going on. Being out in nature just gives you a bit of perspective every now and then.
“Some kind of cool caterpillar. He was just down below Martin’s Lookout where there’s a rock climbing crag, Slab World.”
Are students nervous in the bush?
I obviously do a brief on snakes before we start running around. All the usual things like stop and back away slowly. Snakes aren’t by nature aggressive and they’re not going to attack unless you step on them or they feel threatened or cornered. Normally though, they’ll go the other way quite quickly.
You definitely get a lot of squeals with spiders and that’s something we have to drum into students, that a spider is not an emergency. Don’t wake us up if there’s a spider in your tent.
Diamond python: “That was the second one I saw that morning. You respect their space and they won’t enter yours.”
What on earth is that? Mat: “Sawfly larvae. They love gum leaves.”
What do you like most about sharing your bush playground with students?
A lot of kids are book smart but don’t venture outside much. Some haven’t been exposed to the bush at all. At the start of a camp everything seems very unachievable to them. When we’ve gone up a hill, down into a saddle and back up and you’re sitting there looking back at the hill; it’s not particularly high by an adult’s standards but these kids look back in disbelief. And then there’s a little light in their eyes like ‘I just did that. I can do these things’. It’s pretty cool to watch the evolution of the thoughts in their minds and the looks on their faces.
The group I had last week, it was wonderful watching the growth from the first day to the fourth day of camp when they were leaving. I like being able to impart a little bit of love and curiosity about the environment, how to have minimal impact and all the different animals we come across.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable final Skill Share Saturday for the year yesterday with Qigong, Fashion Upcycling, Seed Saving and Bushcare! We shared seeds from local gardens and harvested carrots, as well as Mizuna, Broad Bean, Daikon and Land Cress seeds from the Planetary Health garden. We then packaged up (and shared) our first Upper Mountains Seed Savers packs for our fledgling Seed Bank. In Bushcare it`s very exciting to see whole new areas of the Planetary Health Precinct open up as we remove invasive weeds. It`s been a year of great progress as we`ve restored habitat for wildlife and given local native plants the opportunity to flourish and re-establish on the site.
Join the Planetary Health Centre this Sat 6 Dec for the last Skill Share Saturday of the year: Qigong at 9am, Seed Saving & Gardening Group at 10am, and Bushcare at 1.30pm. One perfect day with great company, great coffee and food, and great steps for living a healthy balanced life, while also contributing to the health of our planet for present and future generations. All ages welcome!
Registration links in profile and below.
Register for Qigong here: https://bit.ly/48wlHjD Register for Seed Saving & Gardening here: https://bit.ly/4prcRe7 Register for Bushcare here: https://bit.ly/4oAFDrz
We have a rare opportunity to learn about the newest and best possible ways to support family and community members struggling with mental health issues, at a free talk and afternoon tea provided by Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise Rotary at the Planetary Health Centre at 2pm this Saturday 29 Nov. Hear from Peter Joseph AM, Chair of the Black Dog Institute, and Professor Helen Christensen AO, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and former Executive Director and Chief Scientist at the Black Dog Institute. They`ll be in conversation with journalist Emma Rossi. Dr Christensen is a pioneer in using the internet to reach young people struggling with depression. Her digital mental health interventions are used by millions globally, delivering evidence-based therapy for depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention. Her research uses data from smartphones and wearables – like movement, screen use, and sleep – to detect early signs of mental health issues. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4oOnYxz
This Saturday Sherlie McMillan from Rotarians 4 Planetary Health will be running a workshop on How to use a sewing machine from 9am at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba. Learn how to set up a machine, service it, troubleshoot when it`s not sewing correctly, and learn some basic sewing skills.
Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/how-to-use-your-sewing-machine
NB. This class is a prerequisite for our very popular Fashion Upcycling classes held once a month.
We`re thrilled to announce that Professor Helen Christensen, a pioneer in using the internet to reach young people struggling with depression, will be joining the conversation with Peter Joseph AM from the Black Dog Institute and journalist Emma Rossi at the Planetary Health Centre at 2pm this Saturday 29 November. Helen was the Executive Director and Chief Scientist for the Black Dog Institute for 10 years and has now been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Her digital mental health interventions are used by millions globally, delivering evidence-based therapy for depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention. Her research uses data from smartphones and wearables – like movement, screen use, and sleep – to detect early signs of mental health issues. This free event is being co-hosted by Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise Rotary and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. Afternoon tea will be provided. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4oOnYxz
Human composting is increasingly being legalised around the world. Read about it in Katoomba Area Local News here (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/legalising-human-composting/
If you’d like to see this option available in NSW you can now sign a live petition to the NSW Parliament here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/43QIHbz
Thanks to everyone who contributed to deliver a fantastic Disaster Risk Awareness Expo and Family Day yesterday. @mark_greenhill_mayor opened the event at which we celebrated the 13th birthday of Betty the Asbestos Education House; @firecoat_au demonstrated and launched its range of fire retardant products that can help protect homes, gardens and even electricity poles; the Bushfire Retrofit Toolkit was launched; Santa arrived and delighted young and old; and @plantinspired99 and Action for Animals fed us all with a delicious plant-based sausage sizzle. The day was filled with talks, workshops, stalls and the sharing of a huge amount of expertise to keep us, and the other species we share our planet with, safe and healthy! @southkatoomba.rfb @nswses @fireandrescuensw @nswrfs @redcrossleura @redcrossau @shelter.building.design @firehalo.au @asbestosawareness @amelie_ecology @bbagsbluemtns @wireswildliferescue @handsheartfeet
Our marquee is up and we`re excited about our Expo and Family Day tomorrow (Sat 22 Nov). There`s something for everyone from a free sausage sizzle, plants from Santa and drumming and pollinator workshops, to sessions on keeping you and our community safe from extreme weather events and hazardous substances like mould and asbestos. Learn how intumescent paints can slow the spread of fire and pick up a sample pot; check out all our emergency service organisations; learn how to dispose of hazardous materials; paint a native orchid, make some seed balls or sew a boomerang bag to give as plastic-free Christmas presents this year; enjoy coffee and locally made sweets; and get tips on how to retrofit your home safely and beautifully to be prepared for future extreme weather events. View the full program and register here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nFrY1J
There are so many new and innovative ways of doing things, like the new cooking techniques being explored by Michael from Good Fat Pastry, and the new fire protection methods being launched at the Planetary Health Centre`s Expo and Family Day on Sat 22 Nov. Check out Michael’s recent presentation at the Food Security Fair in our video here: https://bit.ly/4pnXbIg (link in profile) and come along to taste his delicious carrot cake and pastries at the Expo on Saturday. Check out the program and register to attend here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nFrY1J
In 2006 Peter Joseph’s son Michael suicided after a 14-year episodic battle with mental illness. Peter is now the Chair of the Black Dog Institute which is working to achieve better outcomes for all those struggling with mental health issues. Journalist Emma Rossi will engage Peter in an intimate and moving conversation about a life of purpose and mental health advocacy. As a Rotary scholar Peter will also reflect on how Rotary helped shape his values and sense of purpose as a young man - and how those early lessons continue to guide his work today. This free event is being hosted by the Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise Rotary Club and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative on Saturday 29 November from 2-4pm at the Planetary Health Centre at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba. Afternoon tea will be provided. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4oOnYxz
Learn about intumescent fire retardant paint and a range of other strategies to prepare for extreme weather events, and to manage hazardous materials, at the upcoming Expo and Family Day at the Planetary Health Centre on Sat 22 Nov. You can register to attend here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nFrY1J We checked out how intumescent paint works in this video.
When temperatures reach a certain point the intumescent paint begins to swell and expand, often up to 50 times its original thickness. It forms a thick, carbonaceous "char" that acts as an insulating barrier. This layer slows the rate at which heat reaches the structural elements and buys valuable time for people to safely exit a building during a fire. It makes the structure safer for firefighters and rescue teams. #intumescentpaint #fireretardant #bushfire @firecoat_au...
Mould, lead paint, asbestos, silica dust from engineered stone bench tops and a wide range of chemicals, are amongst some of the many hazardous substances entering our environment and negatively impacting our health. Asbestos is found in over 3000 products including textured paints, moulded garden pots, brake pads and clutch linings in older cars, floor and ceiling tiles, lino, fibro, roofing, pipes and gutters, hot water systems, backing for switchboards and insulation boards in air-conditioning ducts, insulation, sealants, fillers, caulking and adhesives, gaskets for industrial and lab equipment and more. We’ll have information to take away and Blue Mountains City Council and the Asbestos and Hazardous Materials Consultants Association (AHCA) will be running free workshops on how to identify and manage these hazardous substances at the Planetary Health Centre`s Disaster Risk Awareness Expo in Katoomba on Sat 22 Nov. Find out more and register to attend here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nFrY1J
Julie Nance is a community storyteller with the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. In her coverage of the Lower Mountains area, she brings 30 years’ experience in communications, publishing and journalism.
After specialising in health and social issues as a journalist, Julie led creative teams in the government and not-for-profit sectors including the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, YMCA NSW, Cancer Council NSW and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Julie is passionate about empowering people with quality information to help them make informed choices.
The concept of planetary health is rapidly gaining attention globally, as the world increasingly confronts the interconnected challenges of environmental degradation, climate change, and public health crises. But what does the term 'planetary health' really mean, and why does it matter?
