Tag Archives: Community

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.

Amidst the sound of sawing, carving and hammering, there’s laughter and chatter. Friendships are strengthened and skills are traded. Members of the Blue Mountains and Penrith Woodworking Club are supporting charities and each other.

For seven years, Blaxland Preschool Kindergarten has been delivering an innovative nature-based program that encourages adventure & risk-taking. Inspired by Scandinavian Forest Kindergartens, Bush Preschool is offered to children one day a fortnight.

Every Friday at the Lower Mountains Neighbourhood Centre, women come together to transform balls of wool into blankets, beanies & teddies. Their creations find their way to people in nursing homes, premature babies, vulnerable children, homeless people or those living with terminal illness.

Teddy bears started posing in windows worldwide during 2020's COVID lockdowns, the suburban bear hunts providing a little joy and respite. In 2023, they're still creating connection in the Lower Mountains.

From running the Rotary Recycles Op Shop, to replacing disposable coffee cups with crockery at the Glenbrook Rotary Markets, volunteers in the Lower Blue Mountains Rotary Club are taking up the challenge of Rotary's newest area of focus - Supporting the Environment.

Tom Gleeson was just 11 when he joined his mum and 20 other Warrimoo residents in a community-based program called Sustainability Street. Locals of all ages met regularly in backyards, lounge rooms, a school hall & parks to learn about sustainable ways of living, working, thinking & acting.

As a child, Beth Healy loved reading The Secret Garden. When she became a mum, Beth created her own outdoor treasure trove at her Blaxland home. 'Dirt Mum' is passionate about spreading her love of nature and its bounties to her 9 and 11-year-old daughters and Lower Mountains school children.