Some of the staff at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre – Back Row: Tish, Ingrid, Janelle, Danielle; Front Row: Sonda, Rachael, Pauline and Sian (Photo: Kerin Pollock)
Story by Belle Butler
Tucked into a leafy nook in Lawson, the Belong Blue Mountains Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre is a delightful place to have a quiet break, learn a new skill, do an exercise class, participate in a social group, or take the kids to playgroup. It also offers resources and services essential to a thriving community.
Key Points:
Neighbourhood and community centres are central hubs for community connection, relationship building, learning and belonging. They provide essential resources and services that strengthen social cohesion, well-being and community resilience.
Belong Blue Mountains run three community centres in the Blue Mountains LGA – Blaxland, Lawson and Katoomba. Each centre strives to meet shared and distinct community needs.
Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre in Lawson offers a vast array of activities, resources and services tailored to suit a range of ages and diverse needs.
From May 13-19 2024, the nation celebrates Neighbourhood Centre Week with the theme ‘Stronger Together’ – an apt slogan for our Blue Mountains centres that listen closely to the pulse of our community and work hard to keep it healthy and strong.
When I moved to Lawson pregnant with my first child, I experienced first-hand the social benefits of getting involved with my local neighbourhood centre. Starting fresh in a new place with a newborn can be isolating, but the usual challenges of building a social network were abbreviated for me by the existence of a few invaluable community services.
One such service was the Kookaburra Playgroup held at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre every Monday from 9:30 – 11am. I took my bub, Leo, with me every single week before he could even benefit from the toys or social engagement himself, because at that point, the outing was my dose of connection with other adults and other parents.
Leo loving the leaves during Kookaburra Playgroup at Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre, 2016(Photo: Belle Butler)
The playgroup provided participating adults with a chance to chat about the joys and dramas of parenthood, to make new friends (some of which have remained my closest companions), to gain insight into the quirks of babies and toddlers, and to seek advice when things were rough. Once our kids were old enough, playgroup provided them with the invaluable experience of social interaction. This is where they first started to learn about making friends, sharing, being gentle, and (hopefully) about not eating the sand in the sandpit.
Still friends – Leo, Frankie and Addie used to hang out together at Kookaburra Playgroup back in 2016 – now they do backyard-fire-nights and movies.(Photo: Belle Butler)
Kookaburra Playgroup is still held on Monday mornings, 9:30-11 during school term, and remains one of many opportunities for social engagement accessible to the community at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre. The Centre in Lawson is one of three community centres run by Belong Blue Mountains, with the other two located in Blaxland and Katoomba.
Belong Blue Mountains prides itself on the organisational values of being inclusive, collaborative, agile, principled and person-centred, while creating an environment that fosters mutual respect, empathy and social justice. “Our centres play a vital role in promoting equity and social justice within our local communities,” said Danielle Wilding-Forbes, Community Engagement Manager Belong Blue Mountains.
“By offering targeted services and support to marginalised populations, such as low-income families, older and isolated community members, and individuals experiencing homelessness, these centres help to address systemic inequalities and empower individuals to overcome barriers to social and economic advancement.”
With centres in the lower, mid and upper Blue Mountains they provide a broad range of services across the LGA. These services include information and referral, social support, community development, practical assistance such as phone, printing and digital support, child and family services, emergency relief, and auspice support for community groups.
Attendees at the MYST ‘Battle of the Bands’ event held at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre 2023.(Photo: Belle Butler)
While shared community needs are noted across the LGA, Belong Blue Mountains acknowledges distinct differences in each centre. In order to ensure flexibility and responsiveness to community needs, centres are staffed five days a week with experienced community workers in Admin and Community support roles.
Danielle noted that one of the key benefits of neighbourhood centres is their ability to provide personalised support and assistance to residents in need. “Skilled workers at these centres can offer one-on-one guidance, helping individuals access the resources and support they need to address specific challenges, such as navigating the NDIS or My Aged Care intake, accessing social support groups, accessing healthcare services, or addressing mental health issues,” Danielle said.
Dedicated volunteers also help the centres run smoothly. Sue in reception has been volunteering one day a week at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre for the last four years. “I feel it’s important to support my local community,” she said. “I enjoy the reception work, meeting new people and developing a connection with the clients. The staff are all very supportive and appreciative, and they make me feel welcome too.”
Danielle echoes Sue’s sentiment: “I love that we are person-centred and respect the lived experience. The passion of my colleagues to see that we all do better for our most vulnerable spurs me on.”
Andrew Solomon from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society at an event at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre, 2023.(Photo: Belle Butler)
Something for Everyone
The Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre, like its sister centres, is a central hub that fosters community engagement while providing essential services and cultural enrichment opportunities to a range of ages and differing needs. Acting as a scaffold for connection, relationship building, learning and belonging, it plays a vital role in strengthening social cohesion, wellbeing and community resilience.
“These centres serve as a hub for community engagement and collaboration,” said Danielle. “By bringing together residents, community organisations, and local businesses, these centres facilitate networking and partnership opportunities that can support community development and promote social cohesion. This sense of community connectedness can lead to increased civic engagement and collective action, fostering a more vibrant and cohesive neighbourhood.”
Danielle noted that many of their most popular programs started with an individual popping in and simply asking for support of an idea.
Activities and services on offer
Below are some examples of what’s on offer, but for a comprehensive peek you can peruse the full list on the Belong Blue Mountains website.
Chess Club for All Ages and Abilities – Wednesdays from 3:30. This is a relaxed social chess club for players of all ages and experience levels with hosts Steve and Bill.
I can personally attest to the value of Chess Club having taken my son, Leo, there for many months. There are few opportunities for mixed ages to come together and share something they love – this provided that unique experience and allowed my son to gain knowledge and skills from other kids and adults in the community. While we now have a basketball clash with this activity, Leo still hopes to return: “Chess is fun! I learnt the king and castle swap move at Chess Club. I look forward to going back.”
Participants at Chess Club. (Photos: Kerin Pollock)
Community Café – Thursdays 10-12. Come along and meet some new faces while you enjoy a cuppa and a light snack in this friendly social group.
“I really enjoy volunteering at the café. It’s great to spend time sharing stories and I love the conversation and the humour.” – Lyn, volunteer at Community Café.
Tech ‘n’ Connect – Tuesdays 10-12. Learn to better use your digital device, email, photo, zoom and more.
Standing Strong Classes – Tuesdays, in 10 week blocks. Group exercise classes for over-65s to improve strength, balance and mobility.
Allied Health for eligible over-65s, which aims to: keep people safe & active whilst living at home, build capacity and resilience, support wellness, and provide re-ablement and restorative care for older people within the Blue Mountains community;
The ‘Be Ready’ program, aimed at ensuring community members are ‘aware, capable and prepared’ in the event of an emergency.
These are just a few of the activities and services available to the community. Please contact the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre on 02 4759 2592 or visit their website for more information about services, activities and resources.
And as if that wasn’t enough… remember you can also hire a room at the Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre for your next group activity or birthday party!
Take Action:
Check out the Belong Blue Mountains website and get involved – The Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre has something for everyone.
Come and celebrate Belong Blue Mountains during Neighbourhood Centre Week at a BBQ at Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre on May 15 from 10am-12pm.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
As 190 countries gather for the @cop16colombia UN Biodiversity Summit, to focus on how we can protect the world’s flora and fauna, we’d like to thank all those local individuals and organisations dedicated to the same goal who came together for World Animal Day at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre on Saturday 5 October. They offered ways for everyone to learn more and take action. From the Blue Mountains Bird Observers, who led over 40 people on a guided Breakfast with the Birds walk, to many others who offered information stalls, talks, workshops, a Wild Life exhibition, live music, plant-based food and hands-on Bushcare. We also launched the Community Plant Based Cooking Project with the first class to be held on Saturday 9 November at @roseyravelstonbooks in Lawson. Places are limited. Learn more here: https://plantinspired.com.au/ #worldanimalday #biodiversity #plantbased #planetaryhealth #bluemountains #katoomba...
Did you know that old lino, window putty, and adhesive can contain asbestos? Yesterday the Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conference kicked off with a pre-conference workshop at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. It included hands-on `spot the asbestos` and asbestos sampling sessions. This year`s theme is `Working together for a safe and healthy future`. #asbestos #hazardousmaterials #conference #planetaryhealth #bluemountains #katoomba...
Delicious plant based and gluten free pastries courtesy of Clean Cravings at World Animal Day today at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. Such a lovely day! #planetaryhealth #worldanimalday...
Paul Nagle and other members of the Blue Mountains Bird Observers leading 40 people on a Guided Breakfast with the Birds as part of World Animal Day at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Precinct. It`s a stunning day. Lots more to come at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba....
A huge thank you to Josh Logan from Logan Signs, Lithgow, for installing our Circular Water Signage in time for our World Animal Day Celebration today at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre (33-39 Acacia St Katoomba). We have a full program of events with lots of information on how to prepare for the summer ahead and how to create urban areas that help us share our home respectfully with all species. It will be a fun family day too with storytime, craft and live music for kids! (Link in profile) #worldanimalday #planetaryhealth #familyday #katoomba #bluemountains...
And our Wild Life exhibition is now up for World Animal Day tomorrow at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. Photographs by Warren Hinder, Merryl Watkins, Holly Kent and Tracy Burgess. Check out all the other events from stalls, talks, possum box demo, kid`s craft and animal storytime, plant based food and live music to Bushcare. @33-39 Acacia St Katoomba Link in profile. #planetaryhealth #worldanimalday #katoomba...
Join the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative at World Animal Day this Saturday 5 October for a discussion on the history of the Plant Based Food Movement in Australia and a discussion of exciting contemporary trends. It will be followed by a Plant Based Cheese Degustation to launch the Plant Inspired Community Cooking Project. This will be a series of cooking classes to introduce the community to plant based cooking techniques. The event is free but places are limited so bookings essential (link in profile): https://bit.ly/3Bzbwhu #plantbasedcooking #worldanimalday #bluemountains #katoomba #planetaryhealth #communitycooking...
We share the Blue Mountains with so many extraordinary beings but have you seen them and do you know their names? Do you know the difference between a Royal Spoonbill and an Eastern Shrike-tit, or the difference between a bandicoot and an antechinus? Come and check out our Wild Life Exhibition at World Animal Day this Saturday to learn more from the stunning photographs by Warren Hinder, Merryl Watkins, Holly Kent and Tracy Burgess. There will be also be a Breakfast with the Birds at 8.30am, Animal Storytime and Craft for kids from 10am, stalls, talks, food and live music. The day is free but please book via Eventbrite to help us cater (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4eMhbz0 @bluemountainswalks @merrylwatkinsphotography @bestofbluemountains #royalspoonbill #easternshriketit #wildlife #birdsofthebluemountains #bluemountains #katoomba #worldanimalday #biodiversity #planetaryhealth...
To coincide with the first day of Bushfire Season we launched Air Watch at the Planetary Health Centre yesterday. For the last seven years Blue Mountains Unions & Community have been working tirelessly to ensure residents of the Blue Mountains and Lithgow are able to measure and track the quality of the air we breathe. The Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative has worked closely with them over the last year and now there are 20 PurpleAir monitors distributed throughout the Blue Mountains and Lithgow, including one at the Planetary Health Centre. You can now view real time air quality measurements at each of our local news sites and on the Purple Air Map https://map.purpleair.com We have 10 more sensors available, so if you’d like to install a sensor, members of BMUC will be at World Animal Day at the Planetary Health Centre this Saturday 5 October to take applications and share more information about the project. Bookings for World Animal Day here (link in profile): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/world-animal-day-promoting-respectful-cohabitation-tickets-1029328889417
It was a fabulous day yesterday as each speaker highlighted how critically important this project is: Dr Rosemary Dillon CEO of Blue Mountains City Council Trish Doyle MP Dr Jenna Condie from Blue Mountains Parents for Climate Dr Maggie Davidson, environmental scientist from Western Sydney University Matthew Riley, Director Climate and Atmospheric Science from NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and Peter Lammiman and Ann-Maree McEwan from the BMUC’s Airwatch Committee. @bluemountainsunionists @nswdcceew @bluemountainscitycouncil @westernsydneyu @trishdoylemp @parentsforclimatebluemountains #airqualilty #airqualitymonitors #bluemountains #planetaryhealth...
Treat yourself this weekend with a fun-filled and informative World Animal Day event at the Planetary Health Precinct in Katoomba. As well as a Breakfast with the Birds, stalls and a possum box demonstration, there will be a fabulous wildlife exhibition with photos by Warren Hinder, Merryl Watkins, Tracy Burgess and Holly Jayne; live music with Mem Davis, Joe Flood and Duck Keegan; lots of fun for kids with Sharon Baldwin and Naomi Crew leading animal storytime and craft with Julie Refferty; delicious plant based, gluten and dairy free treats, pastries and donuts from Clean Cravings; a plant based cheese degustation and warming Dahl, rice roasted cauliflower with veggies, pakoras, tamarind chutney, and salad courtesy of Bibi’s Kitchen. Come and learn more about Blue Mountains Bird Observers, Blue Mountains Conservation Society, WIRES, Action for Animals Blue Mountains and Animal Sanctuaries, Wombat Rescue, the Women’s Shed, and Animal Welfare Laws in Australia.
Guest speakers throughout the day will include Elizabeth Ellis, lecturer and author of Australian Animal Law; Hal Ginges, a local lawyer and animal activist from Action for Animals who advocates for animal rights and raises money for sanctuaries; Mark Berriman who has been President of the Australian Vegetarian Society NSW since 1989, as well as Co-ordinator for Animal Liberation NSW, Director of the Natural Health Society of Australia and the World League for Protection of Animals; and Teya Brooks Pribac, a researcher in the area of animal studies and the award-winning author of Enter the Animal. She’s also published Not Just Another Vegan Cookbook and will be sharing her culinary skills with the community in the Plant Inspired Community Cooking Project.
The event is free but please book your place to help us cater (link in profile): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/world-animal-day-promoting-respectful-cohabitation-tickets-1029328889417
We are so looking forward to kicking off World Animal Day Celebrations on Saturday 5 October with an 8.30am Breakfast with the Birds. Join Paul Nagle from the Blue Mountains Bird Observers on a guided bird walk around the Planetary Health Precinct visiting different habitats on the site to observe and talk about the birdlife that is resident and that visits the site. Binoculars are highly recommended.
World Animal Day will be an inspiring family day celebrating the extraordinary diversity of animals we share our world with! The theme is `Promoting Respectful Cohabitation`. Bookings for the Breakfast with the Birds (link in profile) or here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/breakfast-with-the-birds-tickets-1028664983657
We all need clean air to breathe, but how can we tell how clean our air is? Thankfully the Air Watch subcommittee of Blue Mountains Unions & Community has worked for years to find ways to help us measure the quality of the air we breathe. Over the past year the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative has worked with them to install Purple Air Quality monitors across our bioregion from Lithgow to the Lower Mountains. You can now view real time air quality on each of our Local News Sites! Air Watch`s Purple Air quality monitors give the Blue Mountains` 78,000 residents, workers and 3 to 5 million/year visitors the power to make timely, informed decisions about their activities and health. It will also be a reliable source of data for the scientific community. To coincide with the start of the Bushfire Season on Tuesday 1 October, we`re inviting the whole community to join us to launch Air Watch Blue Mountains and Lithgow at the Planetary Health Precinct. If you`d like to join us book a place here https://bit.ly/4dp2qko (link in profile)
Belle Butler is a writer, musician and occasional photographer. She likes mix-and-matching these artforms and often explores the same themes through each of them. Her short fiction has been published in numerous Australian literary journals and she recently received a WestWords Fellowship and Mentorship with Delia Falconer for her novel manuscript, ‘River.’ Hopefully it will be published one day.
Bundjalung Yaegl woman and Bullaburra resident, Janelle Randall-Court, has a long history of working creatively to inspire people to care for Country. We interviewed her after watching her give a cultural presentation for Greening Australia’s Cooling the Schools Project.
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