Tag Archives: Bushfire

Develop a grassroots strategy to ensure everyone is informed and prepared for an emergency. HUFF aims to eliminate isolation and connect neighbours. Bates Hall, Blackheath Comm. Centre. Enq Mina 0419 629 407

Architect Simon Anderson and his partner Kim Bell-Anderson designed and built an off-grid, fire-resistant home in the Megalong Valley. Explore the property, see how they did it and get tips on how to make your own home fire resistant and more sustainable here.  

Margaret Gough ran a WIRES animal refuge for more than two decades, was District Commissioner for Scouts in the Blue Mountains, and coordinated the Lithgow Community Centre for a decade. Her home was burnt in Mount Victoria during the 2013 fires, but she’s rebuilt and is now more prepared. She continues to nurture the diverse life on ‘her patch’.  

Julie Paterson and Manda Kaye’s home in Blackheath was designed with bushfire in mind and they are now preparing for the bushfire season. They’ve also moved to renewables and Julie is working on collaborative community art projects that embody the philosophy of re-using and re-making.

The 2013 fires damaged much of Andy Stevenson's property on the Darling Causeway in Mount Victoria. Andy was determined to survive the next fire, while also creating a beautiful haven for family, guests and wildlife. Read his story here.

Habitat for Humanity is supplying the Medlow Bath community with CB radios and providing property services to vulnerable people to reduce risk during disasters.

Hamish Dunlop interviews Deborah Wells in the Blackheath Campbell Rhododendron Gardens. She shares how a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers have created a community space that is a haven for all species, and how they've helped it recover from drought, fire, flood and pandemic.

Blue Mountains City Council has been recognised by an internationally renowned Rights of Nature law firm and advocacy group for innovation in Rights of Nature policies.

  In March this year, Japanese journalist Harumi Hayakawa wrote a piece for the Japanese publication Asahi Weekly in which she explained why the terrifying Australian fires of December 2019 actually made her like the Blue Mountains even more.     In her article she described the many ways the community came together during and after the fires and how, …

After devastation, the restorative forces of nature begin the process of healing. On the 22nd December 2019, Australia’s biggest forest fire, which had already destroyed an area seven times the size of Singapore, raced up the gully below Clarence St and burnt to within 10m of Eva and Bill Johnstone’s property, just above Pope’s Glen in Blackheath. It burnt all …