Regional council-funded projects report progress

Waikato Regional Council funds have helped in the establishment of a new kiwi house at Otorohanga, as well as the building of a leading edge school environmental project and the delivery of summer festival environmental education in Hamilton.

The council’s finance committee this week received updates on work that has been carried out or is due to be done with the support of more than $50,000 worth of Environmental Initiatives Fund support.

Highlights of the feedback to the committee included:

• The Otorohanga Zoological Society, which had been awarded $11,000 for upgrades to the Otorohanga Kiwi House, said the money helped work on a new nocturnal house for kiwi, including re-vegetation and project management costs. A thousand volunteer hours were used to assist the project.

• Hamilton’s Rhode St School, which was also awarded $11,000 to support an ecological island project, reported the funding went into construction of a drawbridge over a creek to gain access to outdoor laboratories, lighting, insulation and other materials.

• The committee also heard that the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival Foundation, which was awarded $23,000 for an environmental education programme around sustainability and the Waikato River, ran a number of relevant events. These included a debate, plays and art exhibitions focusing on the river.

ENDS

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