Blue Mountains Planetary Health Day 2025

Join us on Saturday 1st March for a full day of fun and inspiration with live music, plant-based food, talks, tours, demonstrations, workshops, stalls and a Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition. There’ll even be a ping pong tournament, giant chess and an opportunity for all ages to get hands-on experience doing Bushcare!

Explore how we can all be safer, happier and healthier in the face of a challenging future and view our Water Demonstration Site which includes ways we can manage water to reduce the risk of future disasters.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Frogs of the Blue Mountains Exhibition: see photographs of all the known frogs of the Blue Mountains and listen to their calls with the Australian Museum’s Frog ID app.

DEMONSTRATIONS:
Michael Tricket from Able Mobile Sawmill will demonstrate how you can turn fallen trees into usable timber rather than just wood chip.

Teya Brooks Pribac from Plant Inspired will return with her popular Plant Based Cheesemaking Demonstration and Tasting.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Mitchell, conservation biologist and ecologist and Frog ID validator at the Australian Museum, will share her experience of working on FrogID and her research: “Australia’s frog species in the Anthropocene – habitat loss, climate change, behaviour, and disease”

Dr Hans Coster: Biophysicist, Bioengineer and builder of Middle Earth (an underground sustainable and disaster-resistant home run on nickel iron batteries) will discuss how we can protect our biosphere to restore the health of our planet.

Frank Inzitari from Fire Halo (featured on Shark Tank): Will discuss his affordable and versatile invention that helps you clean your gutters while protecting your home from the threat of bushfire ember attack.

Mark Liebman, Engineer and Founder of Sustainability Workshop, will share the latest research on Bushfire Sprinkler Systems and then do a guided tour of our Water Demonstration site, including the 150K litre underground water tank built on site as a demonstration of how we could collect stormwater at the end of flame zone streets around our City to reduce stormwater damage and protect against future fires.

Karina Rafailov, founder of Earthy Haus and Kirstie Wulf from Shelter Building Design sharing How to Build Smarter using Passive House Design and natural building materials.

Liam Ramage, threatened species officer from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society on the unseen threat of concrete.

Wildplant Rescue on how they salvage native plants from building sites.

WORKSHOPS:
Upcycling Fashion with Sherlie McMillan (Bookings essential: Cost $10)
Boomerang Bags: Make Your Own

TOUR:

Tour our Water Demonstration Site which includes how to build a frog pond, wicking beds, drip irrigation, domestic and underground water tanks for firefighting, a composting ‘cool seat’ and demonstration bushfire sprinkler systems.

STALLS:
Blackheath Community Farm selling locally grown garlic and seeds (eg. Salsify)
WIRES Blue Mountains
Bibi’s Kitchen
Plant based sweets
Permaculture Matters
Blue Mountains Conservation Society
Wildplant Rescue
The Repair Network
Katoomba RFS
Fire Halo

GAMES & FUN ACTIVITIES:
Ping pong and giant chess
Children’s art activity with Sarah Daniel from Kindle Hill

BUSHCARE:
Check out our monthly Planetary Health Bushcare group which is regenerating habitat for wildlife on the Planetary Health site. Find out how you can get involved.