BUZZBUZZ, the new Leura village shop is all about bees and other pollinators.
Story and photos by Linda Moon
Australian Pollinator Week 2023 is 11-19 November. And BUZZBUZZ is a new shop that has opened in Leura to champion pollinators. You can too.
Key Points:
The latest new shop in Leura is all about celebrating and raising awareness of pollinators.
Without pollinators the health of the planet is at risk.
There’s a lot that you can do to help pollinators.
What flower visitors do you owe for your chocolate bar, orange juice, smashed avo, nut trail mix, almond milk and juicy watermelon (in fact, about a third of our food supply)? You probably guessed it: pollinators.
Pollinators – for those who don’t know – are creatures that transmit pollen from the male part of flowers to the female part. Though unintentional, this action is highly significant. An essential part of plant reproduction, it enables many plants to make fruit, seeds and new plants.
Along with their vital role in our food supply, pollinators also help sustain the planet’s wildlife and the health of ecosystems.
The newest shop in Leura Mall is helping celebrate them as it opens its doors in Pollinator Week.
Bee-centric products
The creation of Joanne Day, a passionate beekeeper and former owner of Little Paris Cafe, BUZZBUZZ features unique, feel-good reminders of the value of bees and other pollinators. Along with local honey, organic chocolates and sticky chai sweetened only with raw, natural honey, there are colourful homewares, handmade jewellery, watches, potted flowers, soaps, glassware, beeswax candles, moisturisers, clothing, books and more to browse.
I’m trying to showcase as many Blue Mountains creatives as possible – Joanne Day
“There’s this wonderful woman based in Hazelbrook doing some gorgeous jewellery for me. She grows the flowers in her garden, and presses them in resin. The flowers are connected, because without the bees and all the other pollinators we don’t get so many flowers.”
BUZZBUZZ also sells bee and pollinator friendly seed packets. “You don’t have to be a beekeeper,” she says. “I’ve got so many other things in the shop.”
Joanne Day, owner of BUZZBUZZ and Sue Carney of Blue Mountains Beekeepers hope to create a buzz about bees.
Have a pollinator-friendly chat
Beyond the retail side of things, Joanne’s intention is public education and engagement. “I have a bee buddy (Sue Carney, founder and vice-president of Blue Mountains Beekeepers) working two days in the shop,” she explains. “She’s creating some amazing documents that I can hand out to people who are interested. We’ll have lots of information, things like, ‘what to do if you have a swarm’, all these reference points for people, like if you want to become beekeepers.”
Joanne has two hives of her own at her Blue Mountains home and has been practising beekeeping for nearly 10 years. “I think it will be a great place to come and have a chat,” she says. “Beekeepers, when they get together, we just talk about bees. We’re a funny lot.”
While we tend to associate bees with the European Honey Bee, there’s an estimated 2,500 different bee species (about 10 per cent of the global species) in Australia. Amazingly, a good portion of these haven’t even been named yet. And, sadly, they may become extinct before anyone discovers them.
Birds, butterflies and other pollinators
Of course, bees aren’t the only pollinators.
“I’ve also found a wonderful creative who is an entomologist and creating these museum grade specimens of butterflies,” Joanne says. (The specimens are butterflies that have passed away on butterfly farms.)
Joanne handpicks her wares to preference creatives with good sustainable business practices.
And take note local art and craftspeople: she’s had trouble locating products that showcase bats. “Bats are major pollinators,” Joanne says. “They do the night shift.”
Unique handmade beeswax candles and pollinator art, just some of the locally crafted wares at Leura’s BUZZBUZZ.
Pollinator week 2023
In the spirit of Pollinator Week, BUZZBUZZ will be gifting free pollinator info and small packets of ‘feed the bees and pollinators’ seeds to customers over 11-19th November 2023. All purchasing customers are also eligible to go into the draw for a free hamper of goodies from BUZZBUZZ.
Australian Pollinator Weekis a designated annual space for raising awareness and creating helpful community actions around pollinators.
While bees (including the wild kind) do the lion’s share of pollination, pollinators cross many unique and diverse species. This includes well-known and loved critters – birds and butterflies – and less acknowledged, unsung ones like wasps (which are related to bees), some species of flies (such as hoverflies), beetles, bats, moths, some reptiles (skinks, lizards and geckos) and some small mammals like rodents and the Australian long-nosed honey possum.
Bees are in decline and need our help.
Can you help?
Pollinators badly need our help. Surveys show their populations are in rapid decline. Over 40 per cent of insect species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades, according to a review of 73 reports on declining insect populations in the journal Biological Conservation, January 2019. Species decreasing in the greatest numbers include butterflies, moths, bees and wasps.
Key causes include pesticides, fertilisers and other agricultural chemicals, land clearing and habitat destruction (especially that caused by agriculture), plus parasites like Varroa Mite.
A 2022 study by Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health claimed the global loss of pollinators is contributing to 500,000 early deaths a year through reductions to the yield of fruit, vegetables and nuts. Such plant-based foods protect human health from disease.
The solution, according to the study authors, is to halt pesticide use, preserve and restore natural habitats and grow more flowers.
We can all make a difference in our own backyard. And, because we’re so deeply connected to pollinators, when we help them we help ourselves!
Take Action:
Visit BUZZBUZZ and get some free info. It’s located next to the Leura carpark in the Strand Arcade.
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.
Join Andris Heks, Yogic Psychotherapist, winner Best Actor, Blue Mountains, for his workshop to laugh as you never laughed before, as part of a movement to globalise people-bonding cheerfulness through kookaburra laughter contagion as an antidote to distressing world divisiveness.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop
View the trailer and the GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/globalise-unconditional-love-through-kookaburra-laughter
Key event information: - When? 10:15AM - 2:30PM, Sunday 4 October 2026 (1st day of Daylight Saving - 1 hour forward) - Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, 33-39 Acacia St, Katoomba, NSW, 2780 - Fee? $60 or what you can afford - Note: please bring your own lunch
What to expect: - Learn how to stay cheerful for good - Learning the funny, human emulated, communal kookaburra laughter and meditation - How communal kookaburra laughter promotes bonding even amongst strangers - The awesome native treasure of the laughing kookaburra phenomenon - Why Kookaburra Yoga is the ‘most excellent of Yogas` - How communal kookaburra laughter contagion boosts the subtle and gross national product - How you could contribute to the kookaburra laughter contagion
This event is supported by Blue Mountains Planetary Health.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop...
Come along to the Planetary Health Centre this Saturday for the next Skill Share Saturdays event!
This weekend`s agenda:
8:30AM - 10AM | Learn how to use your sewing machine class with Sherlie McMillan
8:30AM | Planetary Health Cafe open, serving Good Fat Pastry and Whisk and Pin
9AM - 10AM | Tai Chi and Qigong class with Virginia Field
10AM - 12PM | Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountain permaculture workshop with Leni from Alchemy Farms
10AM - 3PM | Fashion Upcycling Workshop with Sherlie McMillan
10:30AM - 12PM | Learn to make focaccia from scratch with Laura Zucchetti (no experience needed)
1:30PM - 4:30PM | Planetary Health Bushcare with Karen Hising
For more information and to purchase a ticket, please visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
📣HEADLINE SPEAKER📣
Our headline speaker is Julian Cribb AM – a renowned Australian science writer, journalist and author who has spent more than 50 years communicating science, agriculture, climate and global sustainability issues. He is the author of several influential books, including The Coming Famine (2010), Food or War (2019) and How to Fix a Broken Planet (2023), which explore the future of food systems, planetary health and humanity`s long-term survival.
He is widely recognised as one of Australia`s leading voices on global food security and sustainable development.
To register for his talk, and view the rest of the program, visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair...
At our next Skill Share Saturdays event on Saturday 5th September, join Laura Zucchetti at 10:30am to learn how to make focaccia from scratch!
Come along for a 90 min class where you`ll mix, rest and stretch your own focaccia dough from start to finish, guided every step of the way. You’ll take home your dough to bake on the day in your own oven.
Sign up to this session, and view the other offerings on the day via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
We are pleased to announce that the program and registration for Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026 is now live!
Follow this link to view the program and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
Key information:
When? Saturday 10 October, 9AM - 4PM
Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba
Who is it for? Families, gardeners, enthusiasts, community groups and businesses, anyone looking to learn about how to be more resilient through local and sustainable food systems.
What to expect? Talks, workshops, demos, market stalls, family activities, music, food
Is there a cost? Entry to the Fair and Markets is free. Talks and workshops are ticketed (both free and paid) and have limited capacity, so please register in advance.
Program highlights:
🌏Headline talk: The age of renewable Food – Julian Cribb AM 🎋Wild edibles foraging workshops – Diego Bonetto, Eat More Weeds 🏞️The importance of bioregions in uncertain times – Rowe Morrow, Permaculture Matters 🥒Home canning and food preservation workshop – Kirsty Berté, Permaculture Hawkesbury Valley 🏡Designing your own Permaculture Property – Leni Nyssen, Alchemy Farms 🍃Utilising what’s in front of you – Uncle Lex, The Ganya Shed 🪱How to worm farm - BMCC 🎸Live music by Olivia Dustmann 🌾Community crop and seed swap
Tickets are limited so please register your place now: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
We are also seeking stallholders for the event. If you are a grower, retailer, community organisation or business that would like to get involved, please reach out to [email protected]!...
Thank you to everyone that joined us at the Planetary Health Centre on Saturday for the first of our Skill Share Saturdays program!
The Centre was a hive of activity all day, and we heard from @alchemyfarms_permaculture, the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains team and Andy Mann. Also thanks to Sherlie McMillan from Greater Blue Mountains Rotary for teaching the Fashion Upcycling workshop, and Virginia Field for the Tai Chi and Qigong class.
The next event will be held on Saturday 1st August - you can register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
🖐Get involved!
Do you have a skill, program or interest that promotes planetary health that you`d be willing to share with members of the local community? We are looking for more workshop and session hosts for our future events.
Join us at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on the first Saturday of every month for Skill Share Saturdays!
Our July program includes: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Eating for Earth - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion upcycling and clothing reuse workshop - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
If you have a skill that you want to share, or any questions or queries, please contact [email protected]
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place.
Join Andy Mann, a 23 year old Lawson local, for their Eating for Earth session 🌏
Eating for Earth is a judgement-free plant-based educational workshop that all types of eaters are encouraged to attend. There will be a presentation about the environmental impact of diets, a discussion section, and best of all, food! The food will be fully plant-based.
Andy wants to help inform our passionate community about how we can better reduce dietary environmental impact.
The session will run from 11AM - 12PM on Saturday 4th July.
Other sessions include: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains Climate - Fashion Upcycling - Tai Chi and Qigong - Bushcare on the Planetary Health site - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
To register your place, visit our website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
We’re excited to announce the second Blue Mountains Food Security Fair, taking place in Katoomba in October 2026.
This annual event will bring together growers, thinkers, makers, and community members to explore one of the most important challenges of our time: how we grow, share, and sustain food in a changing world.
Across the weekend, we’ll be exploring themes including: - Healthy soil and regenerative systems - Food and human health - Plant-based food futures - Home and community food resilience - Water-sensitive and climate-adapted growing - Indigenous food knowledge and systems - School food systems - Australia’s food procurement - Global food security challenges Expect a dynamic program of inspiring speakers, practical workshops, and hands-on experiences designed to leave you informed, empowered, and connected.
Key information Date: Weekend of 10th October 2026 Location: Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba, NSW We’ll be announcing speakers and program details soon.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program, host workshops, run a stall or partner with us.
Do you struggle making the most of your veggie garden all year round?
Join Leni from @alchemyfarms_permaculture on Saturday 4th July for her Permaculture Workshop: Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountains seasons, rather than battling against them.
During the two-hour session, you`ll cover crop selection for different seasons, what to grow from seeds vs seedlings, frost and wind protection, and nurturing your soil with a seasonal cycle.
Register for this and other sessions as part of our Skill Share Saturdays program via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
From Saturday 4 July, we are opening up the Planetary Health Centre for our monthly Skill Share Saturdays program: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Throughout each day, you can expect to find a variety of sessions focused on restoring the health of the planet, in terms of the environment, community and economy.
Sessions at the first event include:
- What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Plant-based eating - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion Upcycling and clothing reuse workshop
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Registrations essential.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program - please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested!...
Linda Moon has lived in the upper Blue Mountains since childhood and is a freelance writer for Australian media. A qualified naturopath, permaculture designer, mother and former student of social work, her passion is building local community, gardening, mental, emotional, social, housing and environmental health – all of which are linked!
As global food insecurity increases, research suggests that the ‘planetary health diet’ is one solution. This calls for a shift towards a plant-based diet and more local food production. Local social enterprise Farm it Forward is showing how this can be done in school yards and one backyard after another.
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