Applications will soon open for Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) annual ECO Fund.

More than $1M is available for projects across Otago which protect, enhance, or promote the environment.

The overall funding has increased from $918,000 last year to a total of $1.05M this year.

It is spread across six categories and is open to a wide range of applicants, ORC ECO Fund assessment panel chair Alan Somerville said.

Every year the ECO Fund has been oversubscribed and people should contact ORC staff now for advice on applying before applications open on March 1, he said.

Applications will be open for only one month.

Alan said the ECO Fund had supported community-led environmental projects around Otago since 2018.

“It’s the communities who know what matters most locally and these funding programmes can empower them to turn those great ideas into action.”

Local recipients from previous years have included Friends of Bullock Creek, Hāwea Charitable Trust, Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust, and many more.

To assist 2025 applicants, ORC is running a webinar on February 25 and ORC staff are also part of in-person funding clinics, which are being run by the Otago Community Trust.

ORC environmental implementation manager Libby Caldwell the ECO Fund is a great example of the ORC and communities in Otago working together.

“These programmes enable communities to either take first steps to begin a new project, or continue and enlarge existing projects, to improve the state of the environment across numerous types of needs,” she said.

Find more information about the ECO Fund, including the categories, grant values, webinar and in-person information sessions, here.

PHOTO: Wānaka App