Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative
Our Council has a strong vision to grow Planetary Health...
Council's existing and future partnerships are critical in helping us to grow Planetary Health.
As the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative grows we'll be involving community groups, educators and researchers, organisations, businesses, creatives and collaborations of all kinds and across all disciplines, to help us develop the outcomes we need so that our human and non-human communities can thrive.
Strategic investment in Katoomba to create future benefits
In September 2020, Blue Mountains City Council bought the former Katoomba Golf Course site after the Blue Mountains 2040: Living Sustainably Local Strategic Planning Statement identified a long term aim of establishing a centre of excellence for environmental science, sustainability or planetary health in the Blue Mountains.
The former Katoomba Golf Course site is currently being investigated as a location for the new Planetary Health Initiative.
Council received the Blue Mountains community's initial thoughts on the site, as part of the first stage of the Katoomba Masterplan, that took place between November 2020 and February 2021. Get more information
The vision for the site will continue to be shaped by extensive community consultation that will take place during the second stage of the Katoomba Masterplan, that gets underway in early 2022. Stay up to date on this project at our community engagement website: yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/katoomba-masterplan.
New partnerships
Since the former Katoomba Golf Clubhouse site was purchased, the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative has forged education and research collaborations with the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Western Sydney University, the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, the University of Notre Dame, the University of NSW and TAFE NSW, to explore how we can all work together to develop planetary health solutions for the future.
Read the Media Release: MOU signed to explore Planetary Health options
Other partnerships
Blue Mountains City Council also continues to partner with other local government leaders on a number of sustainability initiatives:
- Western Sydney Energy Program (WSEP). We joined nine Western Sydney councils to launch the Western Sydney Energy Program (WSEP) which aims to reduce Western Sydney's emissions by 200,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. The Program is coordinated by the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) and focuses on four key areas: renewable energy, transport infrastructure, supporting communities and implementing best practice in energy planning and design for buildings and precincts. Learn more.
- Resilient Sydney. The Blue Mountains is one of 33 councils involved in developing Resilient Sydney – the first resilience strategy for metropolitan Sydney. The strategy was developed in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities and in consultation with over 1,000 residents and 100 businesses and government organisations. Find out more
- Cities Power Partnership (CPP). In 2018 we joined The Cities Power Partnership, a free, national program created by the Australian Climate Council that brings together towns and cities making the switch to clean energy. We were among the first 100 Councils to sign up to what is now Australia’s largest Local Government climate initiative. Learn more
BMCC volunteers
Our extensive network of volunteers continue to undertake valuable sustainability work.
We have over 500 local volunteers, and 600 local school students, who work on bush regeneration and waterways projects across the Blue Mountains. This
number continues to grow.
Other partnerships
Council also recognises the crucial role that our community plays in helping us achieve our vision of an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable Blue Mountains.
Get more information on how we work with our community to help grow Planetary Health