Climate-conscious community projects awarded $100,000 in funding by Whanganui District Council

Operations at Tarapuruhi Bushy Park will be aided by $20,000 in council funding. Photo / Bevan Conley

Eight community projects have shared $100,000 in funding from the Whanganui District Council.

The Community Climate Action Fund supports not-for-profit projects that will either reduce greenhouse gas emissions or enhance the community’s resilience to the effects of climate change.

Tarapuruhi Bushy Park received the most at $20,000, followed by Woven Rivers Trust ($18,500), Heritage Food Crops Research Trust ($17,500), The Eco School ($11,500), A Rocha Aotearoa ($10,500) Ngapera-Kehu Ahu Whenua Trust ($10,000), Sustainable Whanganui Trust ($9000) and House of Science ($3000).

Council’s climate change adviser Caroline Arrowsworth said she was impressed with the range of topics that were addressed.

“This is the second round of the fund and it was great to see a high standard of applications once again.

“The funded projects range from re-establishing local wetlands to future-proofing our district’s biodiversity, providing free home consultations to promote energy efficiency, and enabling church communities to take practical action to mitigate climate change.”

She said it was unfortunate there were more applicants than the fund was able to support.

“Nevertheless, it’s a positive sign that the community is committed to addressing climate change with creative ideas.

“The initiatives all have a role to play in benefiting our district in the long term.”

The recipients of the grants were chosen by the Community Climate Action Fund advisory panel - made up of tangata whenua and community representatives, subject matter experts and council staff - and approved by the council’s sustainability and waste advisory group.

There is $100,000 to allocate each financial year, which comes from existing funding allocated to climate action in the council’s Long-Term Plan 2021-31.

The fund is on a two-year trial and is now up for review.

Arrowsmith said Whanganui was one of four councils around the country chosen to have aspects of its climate change work programme audited by the Office of the Auditor General.

“Auditors will be looking at how strategies have progressed from planning to implementation.

“In our Climate Change Strategy, we committed to empowering our community to take climate action and the Community Climate Action Fund is an important part of how we are doing this.”