Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens

Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is located under 2-hours’ drive from Sydney & is home to some 21,000 species. It is the only Botanic Garden located in a World Heritage Area and is focused on the conservation of cool climate plants.

The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is in a unique position of being the only botanic garden in the world within a World Heritage area and has by necessity always been conscious of sustainable practices. The Garden has always captured its own rainwater for both irrigation and drinking, recycled green waste, plastics, glass, and cardboard. 

For over 15 years, the sewerage treatment systems have returned liquids to the garden irrigation via a filtration system. This has been upgraded to increase capacity and further process sewerage so that more can be retained on site and utilised to help the garden flourish. Solar power has been utilised since 2011 with more being installed recently catering to 40% of the Garden’s energy needs currently. Our mission is to be the first botanic garden in the world off the grid by 2020. We provide electric mobility scooters and a solar powered garden shuttle to assist visitors around the garden. Solar powered compacting bins have been installed which reduce landfill by compressing waste by up to one eighth of its original size.