The new multipurpose all-weather turf at Waitaki Boys High School in Oamaru received a substantial funding boost from the latest round of grants from the Otago Community Trust.

Waitaki Boys High School was awarded a grant totalling $100,000 to support the new artificial surface development. The new turf will be developed to provide the school and local community with multipurpose courts that will cater for a range of sports including Basketball, Hockey, Netball and Tennis.

Rector Darryl Paterson said the school is very much looking forward to the new space. The current tennis courts have deteriorated significantly over the last few years and are now quite dangerous when playing sports, cracks in the concrete and the uneven surface make them unsafe.

Mr Paterson said the schools sees it as an area where not only sport can be played but it will also be a great outdoor "wet weather" area for curriculum delivery, for boys to access at interval and lunchtime as well as enhancing the facilities available to the boys in the boarding house (Don House).

“It will act as a real recreational hub for the boys at the school.”

Pine Hill School in Dunedin also received funding support for a large landscaping project that will see three sides of the boundary of the school re-fenced and re-barking of the schools two playground areas.

Principal Melissa Ward said the school was absolutely delighted to hear that a grant of just over $41,000 had been approved.

“This grant now means we can “press go” on our project and we are really delighted. It has been a very challenging year with COVID and fundraising for a school with modest roll numbers has been hard”.

“Having Otago Community Trust step up and provide the remaining funding was just brilliant news for our small school community,” Ward said.

Journeys Charitable Trust received a further funding boost for its programme aimed at empowering Central Otago girls through outdoor adventure. A $12,860 grant was approved to support the running of the newly developed programme during the 2021 year.

Barbara Bridger, Otago Community Trust chief executive said the Trust was pleased to support the new outdoor adventure programme which provides an opportunity to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of girls and women.

“It is great to see new youth focused programmes being developed that focus on resilience and empowerment. This programme aligns very well to our strategic priority area of youth, health, wellbeing and employment and we are pleased to be able to support it in its second year of delivery.”

Other organisations benefiting from grants in October included A3 Kaitiaki who received a $69,000 grant to support funding the Whāngaia nga pa Harakeke programme focused on addressing family harm and violence.

The Save the Otago Peninsula (STOP) Society were awarded a $17,800 grant to assist with the cost of native plant revegetation projects on the Otago Peninsula and the Southern Lakes Arts Festival Trust received $65,000 to support the 2021 Festival of Colour which is arguably becoming known as one of New Zealand’s leading regional arts festival.

The Otago Community Trust approved just over $570,000 to 42 organisations in October 2020, this included Arts Capability funding of $58,298 to nine Dunedin based arts and culture organisations for capability-based initiatives in areas of governance and management.

The contestable Arts Capability Fund is jointly run with the Dunedin City Council and is only available to Arts and Culture organisations based in the Dunedin City boundary which are committed to supporting and contributing to Ara Toi Otepoti: Our Creative Future - Dunedin’s Arts and Culture Strategy.

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