Ian Wright sampling the Wollangambe River in 2014Ian Wright sampling the Wollangambe River in 2014  (Nakia Belmer)
Our mission is to help protect, conserve, and advocate for, the natural environment of the Greater Blue Mountains.
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March 2024 edition
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March Hut News
The Society's newsletter
Les Coyne
Les Coyne
Fix Our Climate Laws
350 Australia logo
350 Blue Mountains
Campaign Workshop
Saturday 23 March 10am
Lawson
Annual General Meeting
Dr. Ian Wright
Wed. 27 March at 6.30pm
plus
Dr. Ian Wright presents
State of Our Waterways
Native Plant Nursery
Native Plant Nursery
Sunday 14 April
Our nursery stall at the Blackheath Growers Market
Gecko Newsletter
Autumn 2024 edition
Gecko Newsletter
Blue Mountains City Council Bushcare's newsletter
Proposed Housing Reforms
Welcome to the Blue Mountains

We've had our say!
Read our submission
Western Sydney International
Western Sydney International (image: Andrzej Kostrzewa)

We've had our say!
Read our submission
Soft Plastics and
e-Waste Recycling
Soft Plastics and e-Waste Recycling
Blue Mountains City Council commences new soft plastics and e-waste recycling trial

March Hut News
the Society's newsletter

The March 2024 edition of Hut News is now available for downloading.

Les Coyne Les Coyne
In this edition you will find:

Native Plant Nursery
Cut-leaf Mint-bush Cut-leaf Mint-bush (Prostanthera incisa)  (Gisela Schumacher)
The Society's Native Plant Nursery will be at the Blackheath Growers Market.

We will have a good selection of tube stock: Prostanthera (mint bush) for a splash of purple or mauve, Crowea and Bauera pretty in pink, Acacia for a bright gold, and many more.

Visit our Native Plant Nursery webpage for our range of plants.

For enquiries or to place an order - Please contact : Nursery Manager, Paul Irwin: plantnurserybmcs@outlook.com


350 Blue Mountains Campaign Workshop
Fix Our Climate Laws
Saturday 23 March 10am-1pm
RoseyRavelston Books
1 Badgery Cres, Lawson
wrecking ball
We're kicking off 2024 with a national plan to win climate laws that can block fossil fuels and we want you to be a part of it.

Join our Blue Mountains campaign workshop where we'll be bringing people together to:

Last year we had some incredible wins. After a sustained grassroots campaign, Commbank ruled out lending to all new and expanding oil and gas projects! Just a few weeks later, the federal government changed out environmental protection laws to include water protection for fracking projects. This was a huge win after 10 years of campaigning by Traditional Owners, supported by 350 supporters ramping up the pressure on Labor.

But there's still so much to do! This year, we're calling on Labor to fully fix our environmental protection laws to include climate protections and greater accountability, and we need you to be a part of our campaign to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

Whether you've been volunteering with 350 Australia for years or it's your first event, we want everyone to join us and hear about how you can be involved in the campaign!

When: Saturday 23rd March, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm with snacks and lunch after

Where: RoseyRavelston Books, 1 Badgery Cres, Lawson NSW 2783

RSVP so we can keep track of numbers and we will send you an email with all the details!


Annual General Meeting
Wednesday 27 March at 6.30pm
Wentworth Falls School of Arts
Cnr Great Western Highway and Adele Ave, Wentworth Falls
Please register - but it's free

Dr. Ian Wright Dr. Ian Wright
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on 27th March. (See Notice of AGM below).

Please come along and support your Society.

Vote for a management committee to serve the Society for the coming year.

Consider nominating for a position.

Learn what the Society has been doing in the past year and what is planned for the coming year.

Here are the proposed 2024-25 Management Committee positions and descriptions and a nomination form,

If you want to find out more, please email bmcs@bluemountains.org.au or leave a message on 0490 419 779 with your name, contact number and what you are interested in. A member of the management committee will respond.

After the formal part of the meeting, there will be a short break for supper and you will hear from our guest speaker Dr. Ian Wright on the State of the Waterways in the Greater Blue Mountains Area.

Registration: To assist with catering, please register or phone 0490 419 779 and leave a message indicating your attendance - this is a free event.

Visitors are very welcome!

Society logo
Blue Mountains Conservation Society
1 March 2024

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of the Society to be held at the Wentworth Falls School of Arts, 217-219 Great Western Highway, Wentworth Falls, at 7 PM on Wednesday 27 March 2024.

Business will include receipt of reports, adoption of annual accounts, changes to Constitution, determination of structure of Management Committee, election of President, Management Committee members and other office holders and appointment of auditor.

Changes to Constitution

You will be asked to vote on Management Committee's recommendation that the following Clauses be changed as set out below. (Changes shown in green.)

In recent times it has become difficult for the Financial Report to be produced in time for the AGM, which is currently required to be held in the month of March. In order to alleviate this situation the relevant revised clause will read:-

Clause 9. Annual General Meeting

“The Annual General Meeting of members shall be held by 30 April each year, when the Annual Report and audited financial statements shall be presented."

Due to Government changes the Register of Environmental Organisations, on which we were registered as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), no longer exists, and we are now classified as an Environmental Organisation with the Australian Tax Office. In order to reflect his change the following clauses will read:-

Clause 14.1 The Public Gift Fund

(h) “In the event that the Public Gift Fund is wound up, any remaining assets in the fund are to be transferred to another fund with similar objectives that is an Environmental Organisation.”

Clause 19 Dissolution

(b) “… The receiving Organisation must have similar objectives to the Society, and must be an Environmental Organisation.”

By order of the Management Committee
Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc.

Grose River Mountain Blue Gums on the Grose River  (Ian Brown)
Dr Ian Wright - State of the Waterways in the Greater Blue Mountains Area

Ian is a science communicator, researcher and senior lecturer in Western Sydney University's School of Science.

He teaches classes in water science and management, environmental planning and environmental regulation across several degree programs.

Prior to WSU, Ian was a scientist in the urban water industry, mainly working at Sydney Water.

His research interests include freshwater ecology, water quality, water policy and water pollution (science and management). He also has a long-standing research interest in the impact of concrete materials on water quality and also on impact and management of coal mining activities on streams and rivers.

Ian has provided independent expert testimonies for environmental science matters for the NSW Land & Environment Court.


Proposed Housing Reforms
We've had our say
Read our submission

Welcome to the Blue Mountains Welcome to the Blue Mountains
The NSW Government’s commitment to increase housing supply under the National Housing Accord has resulted in another ‘one-size-fits-all’ planning proposal that will radically change the character of the Blue Mountains.

Under the government’s proposal, increased building heights and density will be permitted in certain areas. In the Blue Mountains this will mean:

These new heights and densities (called ‘non-refusal standards’) will override Council’s current development controls, including environmental and heritage protections.

You won’t know that one is being built next door until the bulldozer or concrete truck arrives.

Is this what we want for the Blue Mountains?

Here's more information including the points you may wish to make in your submission.

Here's the Society's submission


Flight Paths Impact
Western Sydney International Airport
Submissions now closed

Here's the Society's submission on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport Airspace and Flight Design.

Residents Against Western Sydney Airport Update No 39 - March 2024 - what's the latest!

Background and Concerns

Tawny Frogmouth a disturbed Tawny Frogmouth  (Alan Page)
The Western Sydney International airport will be operational in 2026 and at capacity in 2055 when it is predicted there will be 226,000 flights out of WSI per year – that is 619 flights per day. At least half of these flights will go over some part of the Blue Mountains.

The flight paths cross most of the 1.03 million hectares of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. In areas furthest from the airport, the height of flights will be up to 20,000ft above the runway. Remember – the elevation of the Blue Mountains increases as you move west. So if you live at Katoomba (elevation 1023m = 3356 ft) and the flight goes overhead at 17,500ft above the runway, then it is at a height of 14,144 ft above you.

These flight paths will change the way we live and enjoy our lives and they are permanent. We do not believe that our concerns have been listened to in the past.

We are concerned about:

We want:


What Other Organisations are saying and doing

World Heritage Status
Here's the Blue Mountains City Council's media release raising concerns to our World Heritage status due to flight paths.
Linden Residents' Initiative
Linden residents have created a website on the impact on them and how to make a submission.
RAWSA Update
Residents Against Western Sydney Airport Update No 38 provides a guide on how to make a submission, and what else you can do.
BMCC Submission
Here's the Blue Mountains City Council's submission.
WHI Submission
Here's the World Heritage Institute's submission.

Gecko Newsletter
Autumn 2024 edition
Gecko Newsletter
Gecko is the Blue Mountains City Council Bushcare's seasonal newsletter.

The Autumn 2024 Edition is now available to download.

In this issue you will find -

First Nations: Local News and Alerts: Ecological Restoration & Biodiversity Science: Extra: What’s on – Autumn 2024:

Previous editions of the Gecko Newsletter can be found here.

Information about the Blue Mountains City Council Bushcare can be found here.


Blue Mountains City Council commences
new soft plastics and e-waste recycling trial
Soft Plastics and e-Waste Recycling
The Blue Mountains City Council is running a new recycling trial from Monday 13 November 2023 to June 2024.

During the trial period, residents can drop off household quantities of soft plastics for recycling for free at Blaxland and Katoomba Resource Recovery and Waste Management Facilities.

Residents can also now drop off all e-waste (anything with a cord) for recycling at the facilities.

Council has teamed up with RecycleSmart who will collect the soft plastics and e-waste items and deliver them to their recycling partners for processing.

These new options will allow residents to divert waste from landfill and help the Blue Mountains transition to a circular economy.

The circular economy reduces waste by sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended and can minimise the amount of waste in landfills.

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “As part of Council’s goal to transition the Blue Mountains to a circular economy, we have found a solution to assist residents to recycle their soft plastics and e-waste and help divert them from landfill.

“This means residents can confidently recycle soft plastics including bread bags, bubble wrap, cereal box liners, packets from lollies, chocolates and chips, resealable bags, grocery bags and plastic film.

“They can also recycle e-waste including all small appliances, DVD players, smartwatches, electric toothbrushes and more.”

Visit the Council's Waste & Recycling webpage for a list of acceptable soft plastics and e-waste items that can be recycled at its facilities.

(The above article was taken from the Council's website.)


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© 2024  Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land
– the Darug and Gundungurra people –
and pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.
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