About Us
The Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative was established by Blue Mountains City Council in 2021. It is a groundbreaking initiative that is the culmination of Blue Mountains City Council’s 25-year journey, with its community, to create a Sustainable Blue Mountains: socially, environmentally and economically.
It addresses the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and public health, from the local to the global. The Initiative collaborates with all sectors to action research and innovation to accelerate our response to these crises. Its goal is to lead a ‘bottom-up’ revolution for planetary health from one local government area to another.
Its programs span immersive education (Blue Mountains Pluriversity), solutions-focused media (Planetary Health News), towards zero-waste events and natural system restoration activities.
The Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre
The Initiative has established a Planetary Health Centre on Council’s 30ha Planetary Health Precinct and Parklands site in Katoomba. This site boasts both a parkland and a Temperate Highland Peat Swamp, nestled within the stunning backdrop of the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains.
The Centre operates as a self-funding entity within Council, leveraging grants, leases, donations and social enterprises, with a goal to achieve financial sustainability within three years (2028). Its unique value lies in its whole-systems approach, combining environmental, social, and economic strategies to reduce disaster risk and restore ecological health.
The Blue Mountains Disaster Ready Fund and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Environmental Trust
Accessing philanthropic support will be critical for the ongoing sustainability of the Centre and its ability to deliver environmental projects, and to build disaster risk reduction infrastructure for the community.
The Blue Mountains Disaster Ready Fund and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Environmental Trust have been established to support the development of the Centre and its programs.