The Waitaha Action to Impact Fund is a contestable fund for community organisations in Canterbury. The fund aims to build community engagement and action for a better environment in the region.

The Waitaha Action to Impact (WAI) Fund will open applications in July 2023 for around eight weeks. This is year three of our three-year planning and funding cycle. In response to requests from community groups, we have allowed for multi-year allocations in the last two funding rounds, meaning that a significant proportion of this year's funding is already allocated to a variety of exciting projects across Waitaha.

In year one, 2021/2022, we received over $800,000 in funding requests and we allocated $200,000 which was the amount budgeted for that year. Councillors agreed to a one-off increase in funding available for year two, 2022/23, meaning that we had $600,000 available. We received funding requests totalling in excess of $1.5 million.

Councillors also agreed, for years two and three, to 'pre-allocate' up to 50% of the funding available for multi-year projects to provide more certainty for those groups. For year three, 2023/24, and as agreed in the Long-Term Plan 2021-31, we anticipate having $350,000 available for community groups to take action for the environment. This will be confirmed when Council adopts the Annual Plan 2023/24 in June. Fourteen groups that made multi-year applications have already been allocated $167,558 (subject to funding being confirmed in the Annual Plan, and agreed milestones being met), leaving approximately $182,000 available for new applications in 2023/24. The following year, 2024/25, will see a new planning and funding cycle begin.

The Waitaha Action to Impact Fund is just one option for community groups to receive support from Environment Canterbury. Other funds include Zone Committee Action Plan funding and Regional Biodiversity, Zone Delivery, and Me Uru Rākau work programmes also support a number of community groups to deliver on-the-ground work to support Council priorities.

Successful applications by zone

2021/22 funding round

Kaikōura zone

Hutton's Shearwater Charitable Trust
Kaikōura Community Conservation Kete – developing a “go anywhere” kit of diverse, multi-functional, educational and promotional resources for conservation groups of Kaikōura to enable recruitment / succession of volunteers, and to promote Kaikōura conservation. Awarded $2,000.

Waimakariri Zone

Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust
Tūhaitara Coastal Park rehabilitation – enhancing the native biodiversity in this corridor linking the Waimakariri to the Ashley Rakahuri. Awarded $5,000.

Christchurch West Melton zone

Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust
Estuary restoration, protection and enhancement – building a better understanding of the values of the estuary, and what action we can take as individuals to enhance the quality of the Estuary, providing opportunities to volunteer in any of five wetland restoration projects. Awarded $25,000.

Avon Ōtākaro Network Inc
World Rivers Day Event 2022 – multiple groups undertaking river clean ups and riparian planting in their specific area, with a shared BBQ and music event at a key site. Will include messaging about the effects of urban stormwater runoff into the river and climate change. Awarded $5,000.

Christchurch Envirohub
Community-led mapping and directory – a digital geological mapping application to enable users to visually see any environmentally-focused projects or activities occurring within the wider Canterbury region, eg, planting events, recycling drop points, pest management organisations, river care groups, restoration sites and energy organisations. Awarded $24,000.

Port Hills Trust Board
Mt Vernon Park Enhancement project – planting of ecosourced natives on erosion prone hillsides and flats reducing sediment into the Ōpāwaho Heathcote, removal of woody weeds, and volunteer opportunities. Awarded $10,000.

Styx Living laboratory Trust
Pūharakekenui Work Programme– supporting the community-led mahi to help create a ‘living laboratory’ for research and learning. Awarded $10,050.

Summit Road Society
Predator Free Port Hills – a backyard and community trapping programme which aims to eliminate rats, possums and mustelids from the Port Hills and Lyttelton Harbour by 2050. Awarded $20,000.

Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch
Speak for the Planet – a speech, art, drama, poetry, video/music competition for young people from Year 7 to age 24. Based on the World Environment Day 2021 theme of 'ecosystem restoration'. Awarded $6,000.

Banks Peninsula zone

Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust
Kororā (little blue penguin) monitoring at sea – aiming to protect kororā from possible ongoing population decline by monitoring their activities at sea using GPS sensors. Awarded $10,000.

Hidden Valley Conservation Trust
Hidden Valley Conservation Quick Start – seventy-two hectares at Purau, long-recognised for its high natural, cultural and landscape values, with work to accelerate the change from farming to conservation for an immediate benefit to the biodiversity and public recreation, including weed and pest control and monitoring. Awarded $8,000.

Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust
Te Ahu Pātiki Park Ecological Survey and Stocktake – contributing to a management plan to secure enduring public access, respecting Ngāi Tahu cultural values and protecting and restoring native biodiversity as part of its QEII covenant. Awarded $10,000.

Selwyn Waihora zone

Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust
Feral cat eradication - eradicating all feral cats in the vicinity of Arthur’s Pass Village to help protect native wildlife for future generations to enjoy. Awarded $8,000

Waimakariri Ecological and Landscape Restoration Alliance (WELRA)
Upper Waimakariri Community Wilding Conifer Control 2021-2022 – galvanising and leading the community in the fight against wilding conifer spread in the upper Waimakariri catchment. Awarded $20,000.

Ashburton zone

Bike Methven
Mt Hutt Forest Bike Park XC Rejuvenation Project – eradicating wilding sycamores on a family friendly bike track and re-planting with natives endemic to the Mt Hutt/Ōpuke Region. Awarded $10,000.

Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora zone

Mackenzie Community Enhancement Board
Opihi River Revegetation Project – native vegetation planting alongside the Opihi River, partnering with the Fairlie Lions Club to create a community project that will involve all the schools in the Fairlie District and any interested groups and individuals. Awarded $4,560.

Orari River protection Group Inc Soc.
Trapping predators and weed eradication – increasing the automatic trap assets to increase efficiency and uptake of traps by stakeholders in the upper and lower catchments of the Orari, and maintaining / increasing weed eradication to help sustain a safe environment for rare reptiles and other flora and fauna. Awarded $6,500.

Peel Forest Outdoor Pursuits Charitable Trust
Peel Forest river corridor trapping project – pest animal control, utilising technical expertise from biosecurity specialists, and engaging community in restoration activities to provide riparian habitat protection to promote local flora and fauna recovery in the wider landscape. Awarded $11,080.

Lower Waitaki South Coastal Canterbury zone

Sustainable South Canterbury Trust
Eco Centre Launch and Progression – a launch festival, sustainable and healthy food/living displays, and workshops to educate adults and children for actions on waste, energy, climate, land use and water. Awarded $10,000 (also covers the Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora Zone).

2022/23 funding round

Waimakariri zone

Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust*
Tūhaitara Coastal Park rehabilitation – enhancing the native biodiversity in this corridor linking the Waimakariri to the Ashley Rakahuri. Awarded $5,000.

Hurunui Waiau zone

Hurunui Biodiversity Trust
Linking Community and Biodiversity Outcomes – providing education, resources, and networking services to encourage and empower people to value and look after native biodiversity on their properties and in their communities. Awarded: $20,000

Christchurch West Melton zone

Summit Road Society**
Avoca Valley community engagement programme – providing trees and mats for a volunteer planting programme and equipment for a citizen science monitoring programme, and a summer scholarship for a University of Canterbury student. Awarded $6,000.

Christchurch Envirohub*
Community-led mapping and directory – a digital geological mapping application to enable users to visually see any environmentally-focused projects or activities occurring within the wider Canterbury region, e.g. planting events, recycling drop points, pest management organisations, river care groups, restoration sites and energy organisations. Awarded $24,000.

Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust*
Estuary restoration, protection and enhancement – building a better understanding of the values of the estuary, and what action we can take as individuals to enhance the quality of the Estuary, including opportunities to volunteer. Awarded $30,000.

Port Hills Park Trust Board*
Mt Vernon Park Enhancement project – planting of eco-sourced natives on erosion prone hillsides and flats reducing sediment into the Ōpāwaho Heathcote, removal of woody weeds, and volunteer opportunities. Awarded $10,000.

Opawaho Heathcote River Network 
Ngā Puna Wai – restoring the mauri of urban freshwater springs: the Cashmere Stream and Ōpāwaho Heathcote River, facilitating a programme of work with mana whenua, councils, scientists and community groups, contributing to healthy freshwater springs. Awarded $29,980.

Summit Road Society*
Predator Free Port Hills – a backyard and community trapping programme which aims to eliminate rats, possums and mustelids from the Port Hills and Lyttelton Harbour by 2050. Awarded $20,000.

Styx Living Laboratory Trust**
Pūharakekenui Awa Freshwater Education & Awareness Project – raising the profile of the Pūharakekenui awa and communicating freshwater values/advocating for the protection in innovative ways. Awarded $20,000.

Richmond Community Garden Trust
Riverlution Evo Park Rain Gardens – storm water capture and grey water capture to help reduce the runoff from urban environments into our rivers and save mains water usage by using the tanks to water gardens. Awarded $11,100.

Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch**
Speak for the Planet – a speech, art, drama, poetry, video/music competition for young people from Year 7 to age 24, based on the World Environment Day theme. Awarded: $5,000.

Christchurch Envirohub
Te Tuna Taone / Urban Eel – action learning programme for tamariki to learn about the special nature of Aotearoa's unique endangered eel species (longfin tuna), and determine what actions they could deliver to improve the aquatic and terrestrial habitat for urban longfin tuna. Awarded $20,000  

Banks Peninsula zone

Living Springs Trust
A living firebreak design for the Port Hills – a functional alternative that increases carbon sequestration, allows native fauna to move in response to climate change and aids habitat restoration in the landscape. Awarded $14,850.

Hidden Valley Conservation Trust*
Hidden Valley Conservation Quick Start – seventy-two hectares at Purau, long-recognised for its high natural, cultural and landscape values, with work to accelerate the change from farming to conservation for an immediate benefit to the biodiversity and public recreation, including weed and pest control and monitoring. Awarded $9,695.

Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust*
Kororā (little blue penguin) monitoring at sea – kororā are a key indicator species of the health of the marine environment. Their activities at sea will be monitored using GPS sensors, with the aim of protecting from population decline. Awarded $30,000.

Le Bons Bay Environmental Education Trust
Le Bons Bay Inanga Restoration Project – fence and replant a tributary of the Le Bons Bay stream, known to be a inanga/whitebait habitat. Awarded $6,000.

Ōtamahua /Quail Island Ecological Restoration Charitable Trust
Ōtamahua/Quail Island 2023 Planting – planting a 0.34ha basin to link with areas previously planted in 2001 and 2015. Awarded $5,000.

Wainui Residents Association
reWild Wainui – a community initiative, lending a hand to mother nature by helping reduce weeds, removing pests, and replanting natives, to enhance Wainui as a haven in which nature and people thrive.  Awarded $14,496.

Wairewa Rūnanga
Improving water quality and fisheries in Wairewa – providing opportunities and projects in collaboration with our community, local school and Treaty Partners to rehabilitate the bio-diversity values of traditionally significant areas in our takiwā. Awarded $30,000.

Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust
Feral Pig Control (Te Waihora Catchments) – a well-managed community led initiative to continue with feral pig surveillance and control in Prices, Kaituna, Western and McQueen’s Valleys and upper zones immediately to the north of Mt Bradley and Mt Herbert. Awarded $30,000.

Selwyn Waihora zone

Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust*
Feral cat eradication – eradicating all feral cats in the vicinity of Arthur’s Pass Village to help protect native wildlife for future generations to enjoy. Awarded $12,000.

Waimakariri Ecological and Landscape Restoration Alliance (WELRA)
Implementation of the Upper Waimakariri River Weed Control Strategy – a partnership approach to assist in delivering a catchment-wide collaborative approach to the management of weed species in the upper Waimakariri catchment. (NB, wilding pines are not the main focus of this project). Awarded $24,000.

Craigieburn Trapping Alliance
Monitoring Project – to enhance the current trapping activities in the Craigieburn Forest Park and environs, by providing formal funded training opportunities to its volunteer members and the equipment to help facilitate evidence based best practice monitoring of predator populations (mustelids, rats and possums), and outcome monitoring (birds).  

The Fantail Trust
Trapping and planting in the Rakaia Gorge – to create a native plant and bird sanctuary in the Rakaia Gorge. Awarded $5,250.

Ashburton zone

Bike Methven*
Mt Hutt Forest Bike Park XC Rejuvenation Project – to eradicate 40.4 hectares of wilding Sycamores and re-plant with natives endemic to the Mt Hutt/Ōpuke Region. Awarded $20,000.

Staveley Campsite Committee
Staveley Camp Forest Regeneration Project – providing opportunities for learning and connection with nature and a safe and rich habitat for birdlife. Awarded $30,000.

Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora zone

Mackenzie Community Enhancement Board*
Opihi River Revegetation Project – native vegetation planting alongside the Opihi River, partnering with the Fairlie Lions Club to create a community project that will involve all the schools in the Fairlie District and any interested groups and individuals.  Awarded $16,560.

Orari River protection Group Inc Soc.*
Trapping predators and weed eradication – working in partnership to sustain and improve weed eradication to help provide a safe environment for rare reptiles and other flora and fauna.  Awarded $6,500.

Peel Forest Outdoor Pursuits Charitable Trust*
Peel Forest river corridor trapping project – pest animal control, utilising technical expertise from biosecurity specialists, and engaging community in restoration activities to provide riparian habitat protection to promote local flora and fauna recovery in the wider landscape. Awarded $6,500.

Upper Waitaki zone

Mackenzie Basin Wilding Trees Trust**
To raise awareness of the wilding conifer risk to community values in the Mackenzie Basin and to facilitate the community’s active engagement in the fight against wilding conifer spread. Awarded $10,000.

Lower Waitaki South Coastal Canterbury zone

Hakataramea Sustainability Collective
Community Native Nursery, Biodiversity Education and River Protection Projects – an action-based education programme to increase biodiversity, and co-ordinate weed and pest control along the lower reaches of the Hakataramea River, delivered at the Waitaki Valley School and our newly established Community Native Nursery.  Awarded $30,000.

Sustainable South Canterbury Trust*
Eco Centre Launch and Progression – a launch festival, sustainable and healthy food/living displays, and workshops to educate adults and children for actions on waste, energy, climate, land use and water. Awarded $10,000 (also covers the Orari Temuka Opihi Pareora Zone).

Regional

BRaid
Braided Rivers biodiversity restoration – to enhance community awareness of protecting and regenerating the biodiversity of braided river ecosystems through a central networking hub, and through outreach to stakeholders. Awarded $24,000.

Sea Cleaners Trust
Sea Cleaners Lyttleton Activation for all of Canterbury – focused shoreline and waterway clean-up in advance of the Sail GP event in Lyttleton in March 2023. Awarded $30,000.

*Received multi-year funding allocation.
**Three projects were also allocated funding from other Environment Canterbury budgets in addition to the funding from the Waitaha Action to Impact Fund.

Community groups an inspiration

Community groups in Waitaha and their work in the environmental space is an inspiration to us all. They show us what we can all achieve if we put our minds to it. We are proud to work with so many great community groups across Waitaha.

Check out this video to get a glimpse into the fabulous work they do.