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“He who knows only his own side of a case, knows little of that” – John Stuart Mill The first time I meet Peter Baldwin we are at the Blackheath Philosophy Forum. It’s Saturday afternoon, on the lingering tail of a golden Blackheath autumn, and the community hall is packed. It’s thrilling, in a way, that hundreds of people are willing to give their weekend …

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 bags are placed in stores …

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 …

  In an era that is being defined by adversarial politics and short term thinking, the Blackheath community is demonstrating another approach –and one that’s proving to be extraordinarily effective. By working collaboratively, with the long game in mind, they’re proving that their strategy is clearly worth emulating. Ten years ago, when a Federal election led to the announcement of a $250 million upgrade of the Great Western Highway between …

  The tiny village of Bell, on the junction of the Bells Line of Road, Chifley Road and the Darling Causeway, at the most north-western tip of the City of the Blue Mountains, has become a new destination for pilgrims. Carrying rocks all the way from Emu Plains to Bell, on the 7-day Epiphany Pilgrimage, or the Way of the Magi, the pilgrims are commemorating the Christian …

Mark Liebman, Sarah Laborde and Harry Twenty seven years ago, a young auditor at Ernst & Young in Sydney, one of the “Big 4” accounting firms, came across a newly published report, “Blueprint for a Green Economy.” Prepared for the UK Environment Department, the report claimed that environmental problems had their roots in “economic failures.” This struck such a chord …

  It’s not hard to see why Blue Mountains City Council’s Family Day Care service was named the NSW Family Day Care Service of the Year in 2016. When I walked into Kathryn Tang’s exquisite cottage in Blackheath, it was like entering childhood heaven. Berry muffins were baking and filling the air with a most delicious aroma, every bit of décor looked as though it had been created …

  Sports psychologists and coaches frequently tell players that, when you’re challenged, you have the choice to respond to your situation by believing that your glass is half full, or that it’s half empty. For the enthusiastic new management team at the Blackheath Golf & Community Club, the glass is most definitely half full. According to Board member Rodney Tubbs, “It’s no secret that golf, as …

  It’s hard not to be biased about what a great place Blackheath is, and to not boast that it’s possible to go for months without even leaving the place! In a community that has almost everything, we even have the good fortune to have our own Credit Union. I’m particularly thrilled about the Credit Union structure as a way to keep money circulating ethically, and equitably, …

At 87 and virtually blind, Yvonne McCready does not regard herself as socially isolated or in need of “someone to chat to.” Why would she? Monday to Friday she walks more than 1.3 km from her Blackheath cottage into “town” where she either stops for the community lunch or catches a train to Katoomba for a hot meal. “I meet another interesting person every day,” …