Jill Rattray, who was a long-term and valued member of the Blue Mountains Bushcare Team, passed away after a long illness. Jill leaves a legacy, restoring and protecting our natural environment in the Blue Mountains through her work with our current groups, many from their inception.

Her horticultural expertise and bushland management knowledge, combined with her love of our natural environment, and interest in people, made her a valuable member of our team. Jill was a great educator, teaching many of our bush regenerators and community at the Blue Mountains TAFE, as well as working with the local retail nursery industry in the mountains. The result is that the majority no longer stock environmental weeds.  Her musical interests also extended to the Gang Gangs Bushcare band.  

Jill will be sadly missed by her colleagues, and the volunteers who worked with her, and the community members she had touched.

Jill’s funeral will be held on Monday 21 March at 11am, at the Leura Memorial Gardens. 

With Traditional Custodians, our community, educators and researchers from a number of universities, Blue Mountains City Council is exploring opportunities related to planetary health initiatives at the former Katoomba Golf Course precinct (clubhouse and adjoining 30 hectares of public land). 
 
Our City is perfectly positioned to explore ways to care for our planet’s natural systems and share these solutions globally.  
 
Blue Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill said: “Given the increase in natural disasters and the critical urgency to stop climate change now – as well as the need to protect our World Heritage Area – Council has established the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. Our community cares about planetary health – including the health of our environment, the health and wellbeing of our people and the health of all life. So with many stakeholders and our community we are looking at how the former Katoomba Golf Course site could be transformed, for the long-term benefit of our City and our community, and to create new job opportunities.”
 
Council is developing a Precinct Plan for the site and receiving specialist advice relating to urban design, environment, bushfire and transport matters. The plan will provide a holistic planning framework that guides the short and long term future land use of the site, and initial community feedback is being received until 14 April, 2022.

How you can get involved!

• We want to know – what opportunities you see for the former Katoomba Golf Course site? How do you think this site could be transformed to help restore planetary health?
• Share your vision with words or images or art online at: yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/katoomba-golfcourse-precinct-plan and take our survey to provide more detail.

 
We are accepting your thoughts until 14 April 2022.

Bushcare is launching an online registration with online training for volunteers.
This process will ensure Bushcare Officers can access your emergency contacts in the field and that you can keep your details up to date.

There will be online training added throughout the year starting with Health & Safety at Bushcare.

It will be compulsory for everyone to do this quick online training and we will offer support for those who would like some help. You will also have the ability to do this onsite with our iPad over the coming months.

Narrow Neck Bushcare Group

Margaret Baker has been awarded a Medal Of The Order Of Australia (OAM) in the 2022 Australia Day Awards. Bushcare would like to congratulate Margaret and thank her for her services both in training most of the team and for her presentations and sharing her plant knowledge.

The Gazette article can be found on page 8 if you missed this.

https://specialpubs.austcommunitymedia.com.au/fcn/bmg/3dissue/

The Christmas period is the time to reconnect with friends and family, so take the time out see the people you love and do the things you have missed over the past year.

The Bushcare team would like to wish all our volunteers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers in the program for caring for Blue Mountains Bushland and each other over this unsettling year.

Council is closing down over the 2021/2022 Christmas/New Year period from
Friday 24 Dec 2021 (from Midday) –until Tuesday 3 January. Some groups take a break in January so please ensure everyone is notified and we will see everyone back on site in February for our 30th year of Council support for this wonderful program.